The star pollster of this election, Lord Ashcroft, is retiring from the House of Lords with immediate effect.
He has decided that his other pursuits are an obstacle to him devoting enough time to parliament. Yet retired peers are allowed to keep their title and use the House’s facilities if they choose.
Here’s the statement from his website:
Earlier this year Baroness D’Souza, the Lord Speaker, said that any Member of the House of Lords who can “no longer contribute meaningfully” should retire. She added that since the House has close to 800 members, “retirement at the right time should be seen as a condition of membership of the House of Lords – a duty as well as a right”.
I agree with the Speaker, and have concluded that my other activities do not permit me to devote the time that membership of the Lords properly requires.
Accordingly, I have today written to the Clerk of the Parliaments giving notice of my resignation from the House of Lords with immediate effect, pursuant to Section 1(1) of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.
I will continue my involvement in politics through Lord Ashcroft Polls and my political publishing interests: Conservative Home, Biteback Publishing and Dods.
Westminster politicos will be relieved that he isn’t stepping down from his best-loved pursuit: polling marginal seats.
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