The Lords may be overcrowded but peers want to make room on the benches for more. The other day, Lord Lea of Crondall questioned why it has not a single Arab peer. Given the “endlessly” debated Middle East, he noted the “sharp contrast to the strong and indeed excellent contribution made by noble Lords with more affinity with Israel”.

Continuing the balancing act, Lord Soley, chairman of the Arab-Jewish Forum, said that even though he believed the house was too big, the principle of having an Arab presence was right. He confided: “I very nearly got an Arab as a member of this house but unfortunately he got squeezed out.”