Tory Peers May Need To "Tutor" New Conservative MPs After Election Defeat

Tory peers could end up "tutoring" new MPs if a heavy election defeat results in the party having limited experience in the House of Commons, a Conservative Lord has said.

Lord Philip Norton of Louth, who has been in the Lords since 1998, told PoliticsHome that depending on the size of the Conservative party’s House of Commons contingent following the General Election, that Lords – many of whom have considerable Commons experience – could be “maintaining a voice for the Conservative Party”. 

Meanwhile, another Tory peer suggested there could be a more "radical" approach from right-leaning Conservative peers in a bid to push the wider party to the right after 4 July.

While opinion polls vary in terms of how heavy a defeat awaits Rishi Sunak's party next month, all currently agree that it is going to lose a very large number of seats. The gloomier polls suggest the Tories are on course to fall well below 100 in two-and-a-half weeks' time — which would represent a collapse of historic proportions.

Many of the Conservatives who have stood down from Parliament in the run-up to 4 July, which is close to 80, are some of the party's most experienced MPs when it comes the House of Commons and the work of government ministers. 

Lord Norton, who is also professor of government at the University of Hull, said it's possible that defeat next month could leave the Conservatives with so little experience in the House of Commons that peers may step in to help them get used to Parliament.

“It remains to be seen the size of the parliamentary party in the Commons, and of course not just the numbers, but who it is," he told PoliticsHome.

“Are these fairly experienced parliamentarians or are they predominantly inexperienced? You might be looking to