It’s wrong that the disgraced politician can keep his title, but the real issue is the need for a second chamber the public can trust

• Jenny Jones is a Green party peer

Peter Mandelson has resigned from the House of Lords, but even if he is sentenced to prison for misconduct in public office he can still use the title Lord Mandelson until either an act of parliament, or death, takes it off him. That sums up the problem with living in a semi-feudal system.

Patronage first lifted Mandelson into the Lords in 2008, despite his being forced to resign twice as a minister. The first resignation came in 1998 when he failed to declare a home loan from a millionaire backer; the second time, in 2001, was because he helped a millionaire funder for the Millennium Dome get a British passport. So elevation to the Lords allowed him to maintain influence despite his conduct losing him two ministerial positions.

Jenny Jones is a Green party peer