Jacob Rees-Mogg has signalled the Tories could overhaul or even abolish the House of Lords after the anti- no-deal Brexit law was fast-tracked through parliament by peers.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the House of Commons leader hit out at the “entirely unaccountable” Lords and said it was “a debatable point” whether it should exist.
Brexiteers were enraged when the Hillary Benn Act, which forces Boris Johnson to seek an extension to the Article 50 deadline if the UK faces a no-deal crash-out of the bloc, was pushed through all of its five legislative stages in two days.
“For the House of Lords to rush through all its stages in 24 or 48 hours hits at the heart of the purpose of the House of Lords,” he told a drinks reception organised by the Taxpayers’ Alliance.
“A second chamber I have always been in favour of, because of its ability to be deliberative. When because they [peers] hate Brexit, they abandon the principle of their existence, you see that reform becomes necessary for their lordships’ house.”
The House of Lords - or upper chamber - is filled with peers who are unelected. It is independent from the Commons but can refer legislation back for MPs to rethink.
As it stands, most peers are pro-Remain as the Conservatives do not have a majority.
The government, whose central policy has been for the UK to leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal, is exploring how to get around the Benn Act without breaking the law.
Rees-Mogg, whose job in government is to control the government business in the Commons, told Conservative activists it was “extraordinary the extent to which the British establishment is doing its best to stop Brexit”.
Admitting he was the “living embodiment of the British establishment”, he added: “But as I grew up in the British establishment I know how awful it is. I see its faults perhaps more clearly than most do and its determination, its anti-democratic wish to cling to its power come what may.”
He said MPs had broken promises made at the last election to deliver Brexit, and added: “The House of Lords is worse. The House of Lords, entirely unaccountable to anybody, has set its face against the British people.
“If the House of Lords exists for anything - and that is a debatable point - but if it does, it exists to ensure that law is made in an organised, structured manner with delay between its stages.”
The North East Somerset MP is not the only politician to target the Lords.
Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to abolish the unelected chamber should Labour win power at the snap election, which is expected to be called later this year.