A senior Liberal Democrat has complained that peers cannot get by on the £300 a day they get for turning up at the House of Lords.
Baroness Olly Grender, who worked as an adviser to Nick Clegg, said that the tax-free payment left peers relying on their partners for financial support.
She told the House political magazine: “What you don’t get is a hairdresser, what you don’t get is a bus driver. And why don’t you get those people?
“Because it’s unaffordable for most people to do this kind of thing unless you are relying on a partner.
“A salary in the Lords alone, a bank won’t accept it as payment for a mortgage.
Article continues below
“It varies dramatically because you clock on when you sit because it’s an allowance rather than a salary.”
The attendance allowance is paid instead of a salary.
