This film suggests a way out of the stale argument about elected or appointed Lords: let us choose them at random from the population. This goes back to the classical roots of democracy, and comes out of consideration of what the Lords is for. They are not there to make new legislation -- that is what we elect MPs for. Rather, they are there to scrutinise the legislation that our elected politicians make. Who better to do that than ordinary people, a representative cross-section of the voters who elected them in the first place?

In the legal system, juries enjoy high public trust and are a bastion against the arbitrary power of an "elected dictatorship". Why not use the same system for scrutinising legislation? There are many ways this could work: appointment could be part-time for a fixed term, or a new jury could be chosen for each Act of Parliament, for example. Besides safeguarding against tyranny, this would provide a valuable way for ordinary people to get involved in the law-making process. The Power Inquiry's remit rightly and urgently asks "how political participation and involvement can be increased". Here is a very practical solution.
Mark Wainwright