Federation of Muslim Organisations
I am writing with regards to the Federation of Muslim
Organisation's (FMO) views in relation to the Government's proposals
to reform the House of Lords.
The FMO has been established for over 25 years and
serves as the umbrella body for almost 200 organisations in the
multi-faith environment of Leicester, the UK's most ethnically
diverse city outside of London. We work on a range of issues including
education, youth, health, housing and inter-faith work amongst
others. The Federation is run by an executive committee which
is democratically elected bi-annually by the Federation's affiliates
and is bound to operate in accordance with the constitution of
the Federation. Adopting a professional, diligent, pragmatic and
diplomatic approach has enabled us to gain the trust of the local
community in a unitary, collective effort and has also led to
us developing outstanding relations with our various faith and
non-faith based partners. Indeed, such has been our success that
we have been used as a frame of reference by many other organisations
who have sought our consultation on a range of issues.
The Federation welcomes the opportunity to have an
input on changes that will affect the way that the state of Britain
is run. As an organisation that places a significant emphasis
on promoting a dialogue between our community and with representatives
of other communities we believe that we are well placed to offer
a contribution to the consultation on House of Lords reform particularly
the debate in relation to what factors need to be considered in
the process of selecting Lords. In the ever changing social landscape
of Britain, the decision to reform the House of Lords is a pertinent
one as it takes into account the need for increased representation
from currently under-represented communities. Whilst we recognise
the need for reform, we feel strongly that there should be a process
of tweaking the current system rather than a radical evolution.
There is a wealth of experience in the House which must be retained
by whatever means including membership of possible House of Lords
expert groups.
We would like to bring to your attention some issues
for your consideration in this consultation. One of the many issues
that we have to contend with from our own community is the feeling
that the political arena is often seen as being too London-centric
with many feeling that the views of those outside London are not
given due attention. The social makeup of certain cities such
as Leicester requires representation which is at present insufficient.
Members of our local community feel strongly that a city which
is close to becoming the first majority-minority city in the country
needs to be more proportionately represented in the political
domain. I have no doubt that representatives from other significant
metropolitan areas harbour the same feelings. As such, it is imperative
that a wider net is cast so that new representatives in the House
of Lords are drawn from a wide geographical base.
The process of selecting representatives from other
faiths is a pivotal one and must be done in an engaging and effective
manner that avoids tokenism and selects the most expert representatives.
Any desire to choose religious clerics for these roles must be
allied to a strict selection criterion to assess potential candidates'
awareness and expertise with regards to local issues. This is
because clerics may not necessarily have the same knowledge and
awareness of local issues which community advocates possess. What
the role of a Lord in the House requires is a wide specialism
over many areas, especially in the area of inter-faith and inter-body
dialogue that many of the religious clerical hierarchy do not
engage in and have not had sufficient experience with. The training
that is received by some such as Church of England clerics is
not necessarily the training that has been received in a structured,
uniform manner by clerics from other faiths. This is because the
dynamics of other faiths are far more complex and in many cases
more sectarian thus meaning that they do not enjoy the structured
training apparatus that the Church of England possesses.
A combination of elected and appointed expert figures
in the House is fundamental to the running of a potent Chamber.
All members must possess a grasp of a wide range of local, national
and international socio-economic political issues thus making
it absolutely crucial that those selected for the House have a
wide range of skills and abilities. To enable a successful recruitment
process of such skilled experts it may be pertinent to create
an independent appointments body to verify the candidates in terms
of their track record, experience and commitment. Liaising with
public bodies such as local authorities and the police will be
central to the process of determining the suitability of candidates
in terms of gauging their experience and expertise in dealing
with issues in a calm and reasoned manner. The efforts of the
Joint Committee must also avoid the clichéd approach adopted
in other areas of public life, which is that of acquiring the
voice of only one faith community and in doing so acquiring people
who do not necessarily have proven experience of working positively
on integration issues.
I appreciate the magnitude of the task that the Joint
Committee has undertaken and I wish you the greatest of success
in your efforts. Should you require any further assistance from
me please do not hesitate to contact me.
27 December 2011
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