Why has the Black Country been overlooked in latest Lords list?

Out of 45 new peers entering an already stuffed second chamber - the Sedgley-born former Solihull MP Lorely Burt is the only one with links to a region with a population larger than that of Scotland.

Ms Burt, who represented Solihull from 2005 to May's General Election, when she lost to a Conservative, said: "It is a real honour for me and I'm glad I can still represent the people, businesses and interests of the borough and wider region I have been so involved with for the last decade."

She will be known as Baroness Burt of Solihull.

Ms Burt is one of 11 new Liberal Democrat peers from the party that wants to replace the Lords altogether with an elected second chamber.

And it has raised questions from within its own ranks over whether the second chamber, now stuffed with 826 peers, should be scaled back.

But the electorate reduced the Lib Dems to a rump of just eight MPs in May. Other notable Lib Dems, now elevated to the Lords, include former leader Sir Menzies 'Ming' Campbell and Jonny Oates, who was Nick Clegg's chief of staff in the coalition government.

The Conservative list of no fewer than 26 new peers is stuffed with people who have either been MPs or worked for the party.

There are few new peers whose previous contribution to public life has largely been through business, rather than their political loyalties.

One notable exception is Michelle Mone, the Ultimo underwear tycoon.

The rest are mainly a London and south England-centric crop including the likes of Catherine Fall, David Cameron's deputy chief of staff, Kate Rock, a Tory party vice-chairman, as well as a good crop of Yorkshire names such as James Lupton, a former party co-treasurer, also chairman of Greenhill Europe and the former foreign secretary William Hague.

Douglas Hogg, the former MP shamed in the expenses scandal for claiming the bill for cleaning his moat, also gets a peerage.

Labour's list of eight consists almost entirely of former MPs such as David Blunkett and Alistair Darling, although there is a peerage for Spencer Livermore, a party campaign strategist. He was campaign director for this year's General Election, when Labour slumped to its lowest number of MPs since 1987.

The new list has brought dismay and accusations of cronyism.

And it is lacking of any representation from the Black Country or Staffordshire.

Former mayor of Wolverhampton Bert Turner, whose late brother Dennis Turner served as Lord Bilston until his death last year, said: "Dennis was one of those who knew people and represented them.

"He knew who he was talking about, what mattered to them and what worried them and he did whatever he could to put things right.

"There's a lot of others, particularly in this new list, that don't look like they have any affinity other than with their own section.

"It's appalling that people who have put their lives into helping people are being obliterated while there are others who are there because of their politics."

Lord Cormack, the Conservative peer and former MP for South Staffordshire, said: "There are many on the list I do not have the pleasure of knowing but I'm glad to see the likes of William Hague on there.

"I look forward to meeting those I do not know and will do my best to give them a warm welcome.

"But I think this list does underline the need to look at the numbers in the House of Lords and I have recently become the chair of a small committee looking at this issue. We will be making our recommendations towards the end of the year."