Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed 36 new peers to the House of Lords, including several notable Brexit campaigners, including former Labour MP Gisela Stuart. Ms Stuart was the chair of the successful Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 EU referendum, where she worked closely with Mr Johnson and Cabinet Minister Michael Gove. Her role in the upper chamber, though, will have little to do with Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc.
Her appointment suggests Mr Johnson might be planning wider reforms for the Lords, as Ms Stuart sits on the steering committee of the Constitution Reform Group, which backs the Act of Union Bill.
The Bill, which was said to be “on the desk” of Mr Johnson’s team in January, proposes a federal structure for the continuation of the Union, establishing the principle of self-determination among all four parts, as well as radical reforms in Westminster.
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, the prominent Brexiteer explained why the House of Lords can be reformed as opposed to the EU.
She said: “The European Union couldn’t be reformed from within.
“I had once tried to do it and I failed.
“Then, the French and the Dutch people tried to put a block to things in a referendum and it was ignored.
“And then I had a Prime Minister [David Cameron] who told me he had just got back from Brussels with a big deal that amounted to nothing.
“Einstein said the quickest road to madness is doing the same thing over and over again and hope for a different outcome.”
JUST IN: EU’s status as trading force in doubt after halloumi row
“The most admirable thing about the British constitution is its ability to adapt.”
The new peer concluded: “The House of Lords is an institution that requires reform.
“And because it is a democratic system, the House of Lords itself will have a vote on what will happen to it.
“I am glad that I now have a vote in shaping the future of it.”
