EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

And yet, sadly beyond their insistence on subsidised champagne and vintage wines they seem to have more ethics than their elected counterparts. Perhaps reaching the end of a long, coddled life they feel a slight pang of responsibility to the people that actually pick up their tab?

The trouble with abolishing them is what you replace them with.
A fully elected second chamber would demand equal political power to the Commons, which the Commons have no interest in granting as they would have to give up their primacy under the Parliament Act.
A second-division, fully-elected House Of Lords, with inferior, diminished powers, would become full of people who weren't quite good enough to get themselves elected to the Commons, but sharp elbowed enough to win elections with little public interest and low turnout. Basically, all those MEPs you've never heard of would end up as the second chamber, and the House of Lords would face the same public image problems that did for the UK in the EU.
Maybe the way to go is to expand the Appointments Committee, which currently only deals with headhunting the brightest and best to be cross benchers, and get rid of the power of the Prime Minister to recommend people.
Way above my pay grade.