Powerful editorial comment on Blair's "cynical use of the House of Lords" as part of a ministerial reshuffle that has brought a highly controversial biotech entrepreneur, and former head of a biotech lobby group, into the Britsh government.

EXCERPT: Scanning further down the list of new ministers, one's eye is caught by the appointment of Lord Smallpox, aka Paul Drayson, whose enoblement last year was swiftly followed by a cheque to party funds of half a million pounds. The noble lord is now a minister at the Ministry of Defence. It may be unkind to Lord Drayson to suggest that he effectively purchased a seat in parliament, but if the same thing happened in an African kleptocracy we might find it altogether less amusing.
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Reverse gear
Leader
Wednesday May 11 2005
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk

Backwards not forward! How else to characterise Tony Blair's cynical use of the House of Lords to resolve some moves on his ministerial chessboard? Please bend the knee to Lord Crony, aka Andrew Adonis, hitherto a shadowy No 10 adviser, now a junior minister in the Department for Education and Skills.

There are so many things wrong with this appointment, it is hard to know where to begin. Let's start with the most obvious one. Was this a spur-of-the-moment appointment, or had it been in Mr Blair's mind for some time that Mr Adonis might have a future in frontline politics? If the latter, did it occur to either man that Mr Adonis might submit himself to the electorate, as is common in most parliamentary democracies? If not, why not?

Next question: what does the appointment tell us about Mr Blair's views on the future of the second chamber? The manifesto on which he has just been elected promises reform. It will, says the manifesto, henceforth be "effective, legitimate and more representative". So what is legitimate and representative about placing ones closest friends and tamest advisers in a chamber which is ”” again according to the manifesto - supposed to be in the business of "accountability and scrutiny"?

One could ask further questions about Lord Adonis's intended role in the House of Lords and whether Ruth Kelly, the education secretary, welcomes his presence in her team. Scanning further down the list of new ministers, one's eye is caught by the appointment of Lord Smallpox, aka Paul Drayson, whose enoblement last year was swiftly followed by a cheque to party funds of half a million pounds. The noble lord is now a minister at the Ministry of Defence. It may be unkind to Lord Drayson to suggest that he effectively purchased a seat in parliament, but if the same thing happened in an African kleptocracy we might find it altogether less amusing.

Backwards or forward? When it comes to constitutional niceties, the prime minister seems to have no problem locating his reverse gear.