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I would be more than happy with professional specialists, who actually knw something about a subject, (even with Prof. Robert Winstons' dmail/curtain-twitching responses to cycling), being given say, 7-year terms, with the proviso that they are avowedly non-Party aligned, but Clegg's intention was to allow know-nothing ex-MPs to sign for their £300/day with 15 years impugnity for doggedly following a party line.
See Eric Pickles for more detail.
mespilus
But isn't that part of the strength of the HoL - that they do not need to take a short-termist approach? By being immune to the electoral process they can actually take a stand on something, without the fear of being deselected.
15 years seems a decent compromise - you dont want them hanging on for ever, cashing their expenses and falling asleep, but you want them to know they can do what they think is right, even if it doesn't fit with their political party's current position.