Rejected Lords speak to BBC's Watchdog about honours 'rip-off'
13 Jul 2006 by D Billingham
They are the forgotten victims of the cash-for-honours scandal. But tonight the spotlight will fall briefly on those unfortunate soles that have been blocked from obtaining a promised peerage, despite donating large sums of money to the Labour party. The BBC's consumer rights programme Watchdog, which more typically focuses on tales of faulty Christmas presents or bumped-up water bills, will devote a half-hour special to the subject this evening.The programme's centrepiece will be a ten-minute interview with property tycoon Douglas Ramsbottom. Mr Ramsbottom BA explains to the BBC's Nicky Campbell that he received correspondence from Labour HQ in November 2005 assuring him that he would gain a seat in the upper house and the title of Lord Bethnal Green in May of this year. He shows the camera a copy of a 2004 Labour Party publication '1-2-3: How to become a peer' and tells viewers that it promised him a £15,000 donation to Mr Ramsbottom's local city academy would procure a peerage. "I might have to even consider sending my own kids there now and there's no sign of my peerage whatsoever!" bemoaned the visibly angry donor.
Ramsbottom's entry to the Lords is believed to have been blocked after the cash-for-honours scandal erupted earlier this year. He tells viewers that the bitter disappointment at not receiving the promised appointment was however "just the ultimate blow in a long line of let-downs". Particular attention is then given to a promotion, advertised on the front page of and elaborated inside the publication exhibited by Ramsbottom, which offers potential peers "a full money back guarantee should they find a seat in a legislative chamber lower than Labour's bargain prices anywhere else". The disappointed customer discovered in January that seats in the Bulgarian Senate can be purchased for just £4,600, but on attempting to gain the promised refund was told over the phone by Labour HQ that this particular offer only applies for a period of 14 days after purchase.
Other tales of woe are recounted in the remainder of the programme. A 35-year-old traffic inspector purchased a peerage from the internet auction site eBay for £500. He attended the chamber for three weeks in March before being noticed and upon being challenged it was discovered that this particular ennoblement was a fake.
A 19-year-old student meanwhile recounts how she received a phone call from a mysterious firm named 'Labourfone' promising her a peerage and a new phone for £30 a month. The young student is yet to become a baroness, but claims that the phone "kicks ass".
