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The House of Lords in London
Photo: POOL/ REUTERS
In the British Parliament, only the lower house is elected, the members of the upper house are determined.
Now the Conservative Party is being accused of selecting its MPs in the House of Lords based on their willingness to donate.
According to a report by The Guardian, one in ten Tory MPs in the House of Lords has donated more than £100,000 (€113,000) to the party.
In total, these 27 "peers" gave the party nearly £50 million, the Guardian newspaper wrote.
The evaluation is likely to exacerbate the allegations of nepotism and corruption.
The Tories are consistently accused of rewarding big donors with a seat in the House of Lords.
With the appointment to the second chamber of parliament, the contribution of the honoree to society should actually be appreciated.
Last year, hedge fund manager David Winton Harding was knighted.
He had donated £1.5million to the Tories.
It is now eagerly awaited to see who Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will honor in the traditional »New Year Honors List«.
Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "Resignation Honors List" has not yet been published.
The entrepreneur David Ross, who organized a luxury vacation in the Caribbean for Johnson, is expected there.
Labor plans major reform
Recently, the number of major donors who have been knighted has increased, the Guardian said.
Johnson proposed six financiers during his three-year tenure.
Among them were entrepreneurs Michael Hintze, who donated a total of £4.5m, Michael Spencer, who gave around £7m with his company, and Peter Cruddas (£3.4m).
Also because of allegations of nepotism, the largest opposition party, Labor, wants to abolish the House of Lords in its current form and replace it with an elected representative if it wins the next general election.
With well over 800 deputies, the upper house is the largest parliamentary chamber in the world after the Chinese People's Congress.
However, the members do not have a formative function like the members of the lower house.
They act in an advisory capacity and can only postpone laws, but no longer prevent them.
mrc/dpa