Baron Booth of Bread Street?

The national Elect the Lords campaign is selling dozens of Virtual Peerages at "bargain basement" prices to highlight the need for reform following the 'cash for peerages' row: 17 out of the 22 individuals who have donated more than £100,000 to the Labour Party in the past few years have received an honour; all but one of the individuals who have donated more than £1m have received a peerage. This is totally unacceptable in a modern democracy.

I am not particularly happy with any titles so even a virtual title does not attract....but this national campaign seems an excellent way to highlight this issue - hence I've purshased a title - Baron Booth of Bread Street - for £10.00 - money goes to the campaign to end political patronage. The Citizen printed a scary photo of me from election night when I was 'well-tired' - the Stroud News have taken photos...well you'll have to wait to see the lengths we go to to get an issue covered in the press.

Sadly local papers don't debate the wider political events anything like as much as they could - certainly there are letters but the SNJ for example say they can't carry many stories about Oldbury as it is 16 miles from Stroud!! This seems crazy - so almost none of the work the Stroud Green party have done around nuclear waste and defective graphite has been covered in the local press (see Glos Green party website news section)....yet I know those issues are important for local people.

Similarly democratic reform is not an issue to grab the local press that much - this campaign selling virtual peerages is clearly a great way of making it more local - after all the House of Lords gets to scrutinise our laws. Sometimes it works in the public interest, sometimes it doesn't. Either way, it should represent the public - it is quite shocking that we have been left with an impression that cash buys a way into the Lords.

See more info and how you can buy a peerage at Glos Green party news release.