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Michelle Mone should be stripped of peerage

80 replies

nomas · 04/02/2026 10:03

Following the announcement that Peter Mandelson has resigned his peerage under threat of it being stripped from him, why are the calls for Michelle Mone to be stripped of hers being ignored?

YANBU: Mone’s peerage to be stripped ASAP
YABU: She should be allowed to reman in the House of Lords

OP posts:
Goldfsh · 04/02/2026 10:04

Crazy innit. She defrauded the public of millions of pounds. But somehow we ADMIRE people who get rich on the back of other people's work or suffering.

Mandelson appears in his y-fronts and he's instantly fired. Should have just defrauded tax payers.

araiwa · 04/02/2026 10:07

And in jail
And she has to pay back every penny plus interest plus a fine

Henriettafromdablox · 04/02/2026 10:09

The wider issue here is handing out titles and a place in the upper house at the whim of the prime minister.

I see a role for an upper chamber but it needs radical reform and to be based on some form of democratic vote, rather than patronage.

RedRiverShore6 · 04/02/2026 10:20

I should hope she will if new legislation goes through

randomchap · 04/02/2026 10:21

Henriettafromdablox · 04/02/2026 10:09

The wider issue here is handing out titles and a place in the upper house at the whim of the prime minister.

I see a role for an upper chamber but it needs radical reform and to be based on some form of democratic vote, rather than patronage.

Completely agree. Maybe one that is made up using a form of proportional representation to balance the first past the post commons.

Ohnonononotagain · 04/02/2026 10:22

Michelle Mone was the first person I thought of when the calls started for legislation to make it straightforward to strip people of their peerage.

That Mone was ever made a peer in the first place beggars belief .

The Labour Party have been making noises for years about reforming the House of Lords and the sooner we have an elected Upper Chamber the better.

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:22

You are conflating two things:

  1. A peerage
  2. Attending the House of Lords

Mandelson has said he will no longer attend the HoL. He has not given up, or been stripped of, his peerage.

peanutbuttertoasty · 04/02/2026 10:22

Agreed, get rid. Probably loads more too. Shadowy crony stuffing not ok

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:24

The problem with creating legislation to strip peers, or one particular peer, of their peerage is, where will it end? What will be the criteria?

SerendipityJane · 04/02/2026 10:26

The wider issue here is handing out titles and a place in the upper house at the whim of the prime minister.

Isn't there supposed to be a committee ?

Oh yes

https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/house-of-lords-appointments-commission-role-and-powers/

So it's not solely the PM.

nomas · 04/02/2026 10:30

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:22

You are conflating two things:

  1. A peerage
  2. Attending the House of Lords

Mandelson has said he will no longer attend the HoL. He has not given up, or been stripped of, his peerage.

I’m just quoting The Telegrsph:

“Lord Mandelson, who resigned from the House of Lords before he could be stripped of his peerage by Sir Keir, was Gordon Brown’s business secretary and effective deputy prime minister in 2009 and 2010 when market-sensitive messages were forwarded to the paedophile.”

OP posts:
deeahgwitch · 04/02/2026 10:30

Henriettafromdablox · 04/02/2026 10:09

The wider issue here is handing out titles and a place in the upper house at the whim of the prime minister.

I see a role for an upper chamber but it needs radical reform and to be based on some form of democratic vote, rather than patronage.

Yes. 💯

38thparallel · 04/02/2026 10:32

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · Today 10:24
The problem with creating legislation to strip peers, or one particular peer, of their peerage is, where will it end? What will be the criteria

I would also like to know the answer to this.

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:33

nomas · 04/02/2026 10:30

I’m just quoting The Telegrsph:

“Lord Mandelson, who resigned from the House of Lords before he could be stripped of his peerage by Sir Keir, was Gordon Brown’s business secretary and effective deputy prime minister in 2009 and 2010 when market-sensitive messages were forwarded to the paedophile.”

No peer can be stripped of their peerage without new legislation being passed.

Mandelson has not resigned his peerage. He has said that he will no longer attend the HoL.

SerendipityJane · 04/02/2026 10:34

38thparallel · 04/02/2026 10:32

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · Today 10:24
The problem with creating legislation to strip peers, or one particular peer, of their peerage is, where will it end? What will be the criteria

I would also like to know the answer to this.

Hardly rocket science is it ?

A committee put them there. A committee can remove them.

Next "problem" please.

(Also, I will add my voice to those who have correctly identified that as long as the upper chamber evades democratic accountability, there will always been something like this lurking unseen).

OvernightBloats · 04/02/2026 10:35

I raised an eyebrow when she was given a peerage in the first place - it was all about the connections she had and not particularly her achievements.

There should be a panel of people who decide on who gets peerages which would hopefully mean that dubious appointments like Michelle Mone would decrease.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 04/02/2026 10:35

AFAIK it takes an act of parliament to strip anyone of a peerage.

Well, how about an act of parliament to make peerage-stripping simply a matter of a vote in the House of Commons?

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:35

SerendipityJane · 04/02/2026 10:34

Hardly rocket science is it ?

A committee put them there. A committee can remove them.

Next "problem" please.

(Also, I will add my voice to those who have correctly identified that as long as the upper chamber evades democratic accountability, there will always been something like this lurking unseen).

That's not how it works, though. A peerage is bestowed by the monarch.

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:36

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 04/02/2026 10:35

AFAIK it takes an act of parliament to strip anyone of a peerage.

Well, how about an act of parliament to make peerage-stripping simply a matter of a vote in the House of Commons?

Because it would be a fundamental change to how the peerage system works.

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:38

I myself support an elected upper chamber, with no bishops. However, in discussing the concept of stripping peers of their peerages, we need to see what a fundamental change that would be.

Who decides which peer is nominated to be cancelled? On what criteria is that decision based? What if the vote doesn't agree?

frazzled1 · 04/02/2026 10:39

YANBU. Whatever the mechanisms for bestowing a peerage, there has to be a way to get rid.

38thparallel · 04/02/2026 10:40

Hardly rocket science is it
serendipityjane

Not sure why you had to answer so aggressively but anyway the question was what would be the criteria for removing peerages, not what would be the method of removing them.

Goldfsh · 04/02/2026 10:41

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:38

I myself support an elected upper chamber, with no bishops. However, in discussing the concept of stripping peers of their peerages, we need to see what a fundamental change that would be.

Who decides which peer is nominated to be cancelled? On what criteria is that decision based? What if the vote doesn't agree?

I would think that conviction of illegal activity or breaching parliamentary code should be sufficient. And perhaps being a Director of firms breaching government contracts to the tune of 25 million.

ADayAwayFromYourHeart · 04/02/2026 10:42

frazzled1 · 04/02/2026 10:39

YANBU. Whatever the mechanisms for bestowing a peerage, there has to be a way to get rid.

But that would essentially be creating an elected upper chamber by the back door. You get a peerage, then we can vote to have it stripped when we feel like it.

Also, would that cover the Bishops.

Coffeeishot · 04/02/2026 10:46

Henriettafromdablox · 04/02/2026 10:09

The wider issue here is handing out titles and a place in the upper house at the whim of the prime minister.

I see a role for an upper chamber but it needs radical reform and to be based on some form of democratic vote, rather than patronage.

Yes this, peerages for donors should be banned.

I actuallly thougnt MM had been stripped of her peerage already but yes she should.