AT a time when the Tory Government should be focusing its efforts on helping people and businesses navigate and survive the coronavirus pandemic, it is distressing to see instead that it is more intent on handing out cushty jobs for life in the House of Lords to unelected cronies and friends.
The unelected House of Lords does nothing but remind people of the inequality and privilege the Tories are determined to reinforce in government.
It's beyond doubt that this is an increasingly rotten UK Government driven by privilege, rather than by putting all of its efforts towards helping ordinary people who are struggling during this unprecedented crisis.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson set to reward Brexit supporters with life peerages
At this critical time, the Tory Government is with one hand prematurely winding down crucial income support measures in place to help workers and businesses through this health pandemic – including the furlough scheme – and with the other it is stuffing in more of their cronies into the House of Lords who have been favourable to their policies.
Boris Johnson’s latest plans to award peerages to those who have shown loyalty over his reckless Brexit plans will go down like a bucket of cold sick to people struggling to keep afloat through the current crisis.
It is the worst kind of cronyism and highlights yet again the broken and rotten Westminster system that appears to reward wealth and privilege.
Unelected peers will be gifted with taxpayers' money and have a say over key legislation that is brought forward. It is an insult to democracy that successive Westminster governments have continued to hand out jobs for the boys at the expense of the taxpayers who are left to foot the bill.
However, this move by Johnson reeks beyond comprehension.
The Tory leader’s wish list for the Lords includes rewarding those who have publicly backed his devastating Brexit plans or voted to leave the EU – an act of economic self-harm that will deliver a body blow to Scotland’s key industries and could cost tens of thousands of jobs.
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Time and time again the catastrophic reality of a bad deal Brexit becomes clearer, and rather than accepting the extension to the transition period on offer from the EU to focus on tackling the coronavirus crisis, Boris Johnson is instead filling up the House of horrors with those who backed his plans to make the Brexit nightmare a reality.
Scotland deserves better. It can do so much better.
Westminster is simply not working for Scotland – in fact, it is actively undermining it with its power grab threats and refusal to devolve crucial financial powers.
With support for an independence referendum now the established position and poll after poll showing support for Scottish independence leading, the only way to properly protect our interests and strengthen our democratic processes is by becoming an independent country.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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