“Couch-potato peers” in the House of Lords who took part in less than a quarter of votes and did not speak at all in 2016-17, but still claimed a total of £462,510 in tax-free expenses.
The 33 peers also did not table a written question or sit on a committee though claimed an average £14,015 each, or £746 per vote, the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) said.
The top eight “claimed more than UK average take-home pay”, the ERS asserted. In total 455 peers claimed at this level during the 141-day session, with daily allowance and travel costs coming to more than £19m for the whole chamber, it added.
Darren Hughes, the ERS’s chief executive, said: “Despite some minor reforms, the problems of Britain’s broken upper house continue to fester. With nearly one in 10 unelected peers failing to contribute in key ways – despite many of them picking up large sums – we have a democratic crisis in our second chamber.
“The vast majority of party-affiliated peers toe the line, while many crossbench peers simply don’t turn up. The so-called ‘independent’ chamber is packed full of party loyalists.
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