The upper middle class is not the same thing as the hereditary peers - you seem to be arguing for going back to a version of the good old days where the house of lords was occupied by peers who earned their position there through being born in the right family by looking at a completely different set of people.

 

In the days of the Magna Carta, people working the land were not given any privilege or better quality of life automatically because of the Magna Carta.

 

Now I remember why I hate politics. I'll let someone who gives more of a fuck the chance to get in.

>>for one, the House of Lords can't instigate legislation.

 

Yes it can.

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I didn't say they were. You said all advances stemmed from unprivileged people, that's all I was challenging. The privileged class in any time will act in its own advantage, for the most part, and the classes 'below' will get a bit of trickle-down benefit. Which is what I was saying about the Magna Carta and the rest. The Magna Carta paved the way for parliament, however.