Lord George Foulkes spoke out in the House of Lords this week to lash fellow Lord, Alan Sugar, and criticise him for his low involvement in the house – going on to tell him “You’re fired!”
Lord Alan Sugar received a dose of his own boardroom medicine recently in the House of Lords when he was told “You’re fired”.
The 76-year-old peer was publicly chastised for his lack of participation and attendance in the second chamber of UK Parliament, leading to a dramatic outburst from former Labour minister Lord George Foulkes of Cumnock who gave him his marching orders. The prominent businessman and star of the hit BBC reality show The Apprentice, counts the two word statement as something of a catchphrase as he tells candidates on his show they’re fired when they are voted off the show.
But Lord Sugar has been accused of neglecting his duties as fellow peers fumed over the fact he hasn’t spoken publicly for six years. During Lord Sugar’s formal swearing-in at Westminster, which took place after the summer parliamentary break, Lord Foulkes made his disapproval clear.
Pointing across the chamber, he shouted, “You’re fired!” The remark echoed Sugar’s famous catchphrase from his television show, highlighting the peer’s contentious standing among his fellow legislators.
According to the MailOnline, Lord Foulkes later elaborated on his remarks, stating: “He is one of the peers who treats the House with contempt. There is a growing feeling that we should tighten up the requirements, not just for attendance but also for participation, and kick out those who are not meeting a minimum of both.”
According to parliamentary records, Lord Sugar’s last verbal contribution in the House was in October 2018 during a debate on Brexit. Since then, he has not voted in any division or submitted any written questions.
Records indicate that his attendance has been sporadic, with no recorded votes since 2017. He narrowly avoided expulsion from the House for non-attendance by appearing on the final day of the previous parliamentary session.
The current rules governing the House of Lords do not mandate active participation beyond mere attendance for peers to retain their seat. This has led to proposals for reform, including those put forward by Labour in their election manifesto, which suggested implementing a participation requirement, a mandatory retirement age of 80, and the removal of hereditary peers. However, only the proposal to remove hereditary peers has progressed to the legislation stage.
With concerns about the House of Lords’ size, which currently includes around 800 members compared to the 650 MPs in the House of Commons, calls for reform have intensified. TV star Sugar was appointed his Lordship in 2009 by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
He resigned from the Labour party in 2015, however, due to the toxic management of then-party leader Jeremy Corbyn. He now sits as a crossbencher, but his participation in the House has significantly declined since his departure from the Labour Party.
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.