A total of 30 new peers have been appointed including a slew of
donors, lobbyists and political advisers.
There are 14 new Tory peers, five Labour and 10 Liberal Democrats,
while the Green Party have also appointed their first peer.
Lord Oakeshott, a senior Liberal Democrat and former member of the
joint committee on lords reform, told the Telegraph that giving
peerages to major donors "pollutes parliament and political parties
who collude in this".
He said: "It's now more urgent and vital than ever that we elect the
lords and get big money out of British politics for good."
David Cameron has given peerages to 14 individuals, including Sir
Anthony Bamford, the managing director of JCB.
Sir Anthony, his family and JCB have donated millions to the Tory
party. He was nominated for a peerage in 2010 by David Cameron but was
blocked by the taxman over apparent concerns over his tax affairs.
A source close to Sir Anthony said he had appointed PriceWaterhouse
Cooper to conduct a full audit of his tax affairs which gave him a
clean bill of health.
Mr Cameron also gave a peerage to Howard Leigh, the chairman of the
party's Leaders Group, which gives donors the chance to join Mr
Cameron and other senior Tory party figures. Mr Leigh's company,
Cavendish Corporate Finance, has given the Conservative Party more
than £77,000 since 2006.
Matthew Carrington, a former Tory MP who is now Deputy Chairman of an
Kuwaiti investment bank, has also been given a peerage. The company's
website boasts that he has a "strong track record" in lobbying.
Daniel Finkelstein, a columnist at The Times newspaper and the former
head of Policy at the Conservative Party, has been given peerage. Mr
Finkelstein is a friend of the Chancellor George Osborne.
Ed Miliband has given a peerage to Jon Mendelsohn, the founder of
lobbying firm LLM Communications and was formerly Gordon Brown's chief
fundraiser.
Another new Labour peer, Sir William Haughey, has donated over £1
million to the party since 2003. He made his fortune in fridges.
Nick Clegg has given peerages to two major Liberal Democrat donors,
the Ministry of Sound owner James Palumbo and Rumi Verjee, who brought
Domino Pizza to Britain.
Alison Suttie, Mr Clegg's former deputy chief of staff who was
implicated in the Lord Rennard sex scandal, has also been given a
peerage.
Olly Grender, the former Liberal Democrat director of communications,
has also been made a Liberal Democrat peer.
The appointments bring the number of working peers to almost 800. It
drew strong criticism from the Electoral Reform Society, who said that
the House of Lords had become "bloated".
"The 30 new members appointed today are the latest additions to an
increasingly bloated chamber. Our research shows that the total number
of peers could rise to nearly 1,000 by the end of the current
parliament, and to an astonishing and unsustainable 2,000 after the
next general election."
"Only China's set-up competes with the House of Lords in terms of
size. And that's a real headache for whoever is in government after
2015. No matter which party or coalition of parties takes the helm,
they will have to do something about the supersized second chamber."
The Green Party has given a seat to London Assembly member Jenny
Jones, while Mr Clegg has given a peerage to Brian Paddick, the former
Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate in London and a former Assistant
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Sir Anthony's peerage was initially blocked by the House of Lord
Appointments Commission after concerns were raised by HM Revenue and
Customs.
The Daily Telegraph understands that then he hired
PricewaterhouseCoopers who worked
with a team at JCB to draw up a file on his tax affairs.
The file was then taken by Sir Anthony's advisers to a meeting with
Sir Dave Hartnett, the head of HMRC.
Once HMRC was satisfied that there were no concerns, the team met with
Lord Jay of Ewelme, who chairs the commission.
The source said that none of the other candidates for peerages in the
list had given any money to the party.
A Conservative Party spokesman said that the party "totally refutes"
any suggestion that rich donors had been rewarded with peerages.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the new peers "will make
a valuable contribution to British politics, the House of Lords and
the Liberal Democrat team in Westminster".
"While vested interests prevented us from reforming the House of Lords
in this Parliament, the new peers, along with their Liberal Democrat
colleagues, remain committed reformers and will continue to make the
case for a smaller and more democratic upper chamber."
A Labour spokesman said the party "totally refutes" allegations that
that the peerages were linked to donations. "Doreen Lawrence
demonstrates our commitment to bringing people into Parliament that
deserve a voice," he said.
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