After his retirement from the House of Commons, he was made a life peer as Baron Randall of St Budeaux, of St Budeaux in the County of Devon. During the public debate over the House of Lords Act 1999, Lord Randall opposed the removal of the vast majority of hereditary peers as proposed by the Labour Party, saying that many such peers were "terrific people who contribute massively to the British parliament" and that "to wipe them out overnight is not only unacceptable in humanitarian terms but would degrade Parliament". Randall also opined that "I am 500% more efficient as a real politician in the Lords, but there is an ignorance level in the Commons about the Lords and [MPs] don't know what goes on there." As an alternative to Labour's proposals, Randall suggested that all the hereditary peers at that time could be allowed to remain in the House of Lords, but that their offspring should be disqualified from inheriting their seats in that chamber. Randall's proposition was rejected, and the House of Lords Act 1999 was passed as devised by the Labour government.[3]
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