Hello dtnl42 and thank you for your question.
In fact you do not need to "attract an appproach and invitation" you
can apply to be a People's Peer yourself. (see aplication form and
FAQ's below)
Inspite of the original idea of "People's Peers" opening up the House
of Lords to the "common man" it seems to have fallen short of this
goal, and most "People's Peers" are from a fairly select level of
society. They seem to have the following characteristics in common:
1.Nationally or internationally recognised in a particular field.
2.Over 40 years old.
3.Have a civil award or knighthood (OBE, CBE, etc)
=================================================================
Official selection criteria:
"The Commission will be seeking to recommend nominees:
With a record of significant achievement within their chosen way of
life that demonstrates a range of experience, skills and competencies;
Who are able to make an effective and significant contribution to the
work of the House of Lords, not only in their areas of particular
interest and special expertise but the wide range of other issues
coming before the House;
With some understanding of the constitutional framework, including the
place of the House of Lords, and the skills and qualities needed to be
an effective member of the House ? for example, nominees should be
able to speak with independence and authority;
With the time available to ensure they can make an effective
contribution within the procedures and working practices of the House
of Lords. This does not necessarily mean the same amount of time
expected of ?working peers?. The Commission recognises that many
active members continue with their professional and other working
interests and this can help maintain expertise and experience;
Who are able to demonstrate outstanding personal qualities, in
particular integrity and independence;
With a strong and personal commitment to the principles and highest
standards of public life. Details of the resolutions adopted by the
House on the declaration and registration of Lords? interests can be
found on Parliament?s website at www.parliament.uk [External Site]
Who are independent of any political party. Nominees and the
Commission will need to feel confident of their ability to be
independent of party political considerations whatever their past
party- political involvement. For this reason, all nominees are asked
to respond to the questions on political involvement and activities
which are similar to those used for most public appointments."
http://www.lordsappointments.gov.uk/criteria_guiding/index.asp
===============================================================================
Nomination form:
http://www.lordsappointments.gov.uk/publications_and_forms/doc/nominationform.doc
Post it to:
House of Lords Appointments Commission
35 Great Smith Street,
London SW1P 3BQ
Or email it to:
lordsappointments@gtnet.gov.uk.
================================================================================
Also see:
"8. Can I nominate myself?
Yes. See Question 5, above."
http://www.lordsappointments.gov.uk/frequently_asked_questions/index.asp
===============================================================================
List of "People's Peers"
VICTOR ADEBOWALE, CBE,
Chief Executive of the homeless charity, Centrepoint.
Sir PAUL CONDON
Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
Lady HOWE
Former chair of Equal Opportunities Commission and the Broadcasting
Standards Commission. Married to the Former Foreign Secretary Lord
Howe.
RICHARD BEST, OBE
Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Professor ILORA FINLAY
Cancer specialist.
Sir ROBERT MAY
Former government Chief Scientific Adviser and president of the Royal Society.
AMIR BHATIA, OBE
Businessman. Oxfam trustee and on National Lotteries Board.
Professor SUSAN GREENFIELD
Oxford professor and first woman director of the Royal Institution.
Sir CLAUS MOSER, KCB, CBE
Warden of Wadham College, Oxford.
Sir JOHN BROWNE
Chief Executive of BP Amoco.
Sir DAVID HANNAY, GCMG, KCMG,CMG
Former British ambassador to the UN
Sir HERMAN OUSELEY
Former chairman Commission for Racial Equality
Professor MICHAEL CHAN, MBE
Paediatrician and chair of Chinese in Britain forum.
VALERIE HOWARTH
Chief Executive of Childline.
Sir STEWART SUTHERLAND
Vice Chancellor, Edinburgh University.
DAVID RAMSBOTHAM
Her Majesty?s Chief Inspector of Prisons from 1995 to 2001.
RENNIE FRITCHIE
Commissioner for Public Appointments
================================================================================
Also see:
"The germ of the People's Peers idea came from a left wing think-tank.
It produced a policy paper arguing for a return to the Ancient Greek
origins of democracy, in which citizens were chosen to govern
completely at random.
But, it seems the culture of the Lords was far more resilient than the
government had reckoned with. Far from being a random choice, the
People's Peers' were heavily vetted.
Steeped in the establishment culture himself, Lord Stevenson had a
very clear idea of who would fit the bill - and what their CV should
look like.
So, while it's easy enough to change the selection procedures
themselves, it's more difficult to tackle the underlying assumptions
about who is fit to govern."
"You haven't got your hairdresser in this list. But, if you go back to
our criteria, one of them is that the human being will be comfortable
operating in the House of Lords."
Lord Stevenson, House of Lords Appointments Commission
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk_politics/2001/open_politics/lords/peoples_peers.stm
Thank you for your question, and if you need any clarification of my
answer, do not hesitate to ask before rating my answer.
Very best regards.
THX1138
Search strategy included:
"house of lords" "people's peer"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&q=+%22house+of+lords%22+%22people%27s+peer%22 |
,
0 Comments
)