Peer moans that he should be paid MORE for sitting in the House of Lords despite picking up a £300 a day tax-free allowance

Lord Hope of Craighead said peers who live away from London left out of pocket
Hinted that peers who face bigger transport and hotel bills should be paid more
Made the comments in a debate on reforming House of Lords and cutting costs

By Kate Ferguson, Political Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: 18:30 GMT, 19 December 2017 | Updated: 21:09 GMT, 19 December 2017

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A peer has moaned that he is not paid enough to sit in the House of Lords despite receiving a tax-free allowance of £300 a day.

Lord Hope of Craighead, the former deputy president of the Supreme Court, said peers who live far away from London face being left out of pocket.

He used a debate in the House of Lords to hint that he wants a pay rise - saying the daily allowance is not enough to cover hotel and travel costs.

The crossbench peer, who lives in Edinburgh, said if it does not go up then peers like him who live far away from London will not turn up to Parliament to debate legislation.

Lord Hope of Craighead (pictured in the Lords today) the former deputy president of the Supreme Court, said peers who live far away from London face being left out of pocket

He said: 'We must try to ensure that all regions are properly represented so that the House does not become even more centred on London and the South East than it already is.

'Members who attend less frequently, and would thus be among those more likely to be asked to leave as we reduce our numbers, tend to be those who live further afield. We must not be too ready to ask them to go.'

He added: 'We must also bear in mind that the daily allowances have not been increased to keep pace with inflation since they were introduced seven years ago.

'Left as they are, they risk leaving members who have to find accommodation in London out of pocket day after day after their hotel bills or other costs have been paid.

'Those who live in London do not face those costs and they do not have to travel long distances to get here.

'This is a serious issue for people like myself who do. If, as seems likely, a smaller house will require more frequent attendance, steps will have to be taken to ensure that those who live further away are not so penalised by lack of support that they will stop coming, as some perhaps already do.

'I am sure that other factors will require attention as we reduce our numbers, but the need for proper representation by Members from all parts of the country and ensuring that they are not out of pocket when they come here, that at least they are entitled to expect, should be high in the order of priority.'

The crossbench peer, who lives in Edinburgh, made the comments as he spoke during a debate on House of Lords reform (pictured today)

There are renewed calls for the House of Lords to be reformed and the number of peers to be slashed amid widespread concern that the Chamber has ballooned in size.

There are currently around 800 peers who sit in the House of Lords making it the second largest parliamentary chamber in the world - behind only the National People's Congress of China.

Prime Ministers of all political persuasions use their powers of patronage to try to stuff it with supporters, raising questions about the how representative the Chamber really is.

A major report on House of Lords reform put out at the end of October called for the number of peers to be capped at 600 and for lords to serve a maximum of 15 years.

Some peers make tens of thousands of pounds by turning up to claim their allowance but make very few contributions to debates.

Peers only have to turn up to get their £300 fee, and do not have to speak or ask questions to earn it.

Lord Burns, the crossbench peer and former civil servant who carried out the report into Lords reform recommended a 'two out one in' systems to cut numbers.

And there are still 91 hereditary peers who get to debate and pass legislation in the Chamber.