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Conrad Black, a former international media baron, has been removed from the British House of Lords for non-attendance.
“They told me some while ago that there were some circumstances under which this would happen,” Black told National Post on Thursday. “I had no plan to return there anyway, so my reaction is, I don’t care that much.”
Black said he retains his title as Lord Black of Crossharbour. “It’s good for making dinner reservations in London and stuff like that, and so it’s a nice title,” he quipped.
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Black had said in April 2023, around the time he regained his Canadian citizenship — which he had renounced in order to receive the peerage — that he intended to return as an active Conservative peer, he just hadn’t gotten around to it.
On Thursday, he said that had been his intent, and that he had been interested in returning when Boris Johnson was prime minister. Johnson, after leading the United Kingdom through the COVID-19 crisis, resigned as prime minister in September 2022, and was replaced by Liz Truss. Johnson retired from politics in June 2023.
“After they knifed Boris, I really kind of lost interest,” Black said.
In order to have taken up his seat once again, Black said he would have had to file a British income-tax return and travel frequently to London.
“I would have had to go and take my seat and attend more than it would be convenient to do,” he said. “British politics are just not interesting. They were when I was there and acting.”
Black, who in addition to founding National Post, controlled Hollinger International — one of the largest newspaper companies in the world until its bankruptcy in 2007 — was offered a peerage by then U.K. prime minister Tony Blair more than two decades ago.
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In 2001, Queen Elizabeth II conferred upon Black the barony of Crossharbour. That kicked off a battle with then Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien, who attempted to stop Black’s ascension to the U.K.’s upper chamber, citing a 1919 Canadian provision that allowed Canada to attempt to prevent the Crown from issuing honours to Canadians.
It culminated with a legal fight, which determined that Chrétien had the right to complain to the Crown. Black renounced his Canadian citizenship in order to take the peerage.
“I’m happy enough to have the title. I’m happy to have been there and spoken there a number of times,” said Black of his time in the House of Lords.
“In fairness to the people who run the House of Lords, they’re entitled to have peers who do show up, take an interest, vote and so on. And I did when I lived there.”
With additional reporting from Adrian Humphreys
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