It is desperately disappointing that to many people outside Westminster, the impression that they have of the House of Lords is that espoused by the press over the course of this summer following the reported behaviour of Lord Sewel.

In the days and weeks that have followed, we have seen many claims that Peers abuse their privileged position by not pulling their weight and not taking seriously the role that they are supposed to perform by virtue of their membership of the Lords.

This view is compounded by the fact that no member of the House of Lords has been elected by the general public to be in that position. And each and every one is secure in that membership for life. This is fundamentally wrong.

Regrettably, the good work of our Peers has been overshadowed by a few members of the Lords who, over the years, have shown disregard for their status and responsibility as public servants.

Those who have lost sight of the need to uphold standards of public life only reinforce this unrepresentative view of the House of Lords and brings politics and politicians in general into disrepute.

This does a complete disservice to people in all parties and on the cross-benches who spend hours poring over legislation and campaigning to make this country a better place. Once again the toil and energy ploughed into daily life in the second chamber has failed to make even a footnote.

The Liberal Democrat Peers in the House of Lords are in a hugely privileged position. And we know this. My colleagues work incredibly hard every day to make a difference. Our 100 Peers are performing invaluable work, which ensures there is still a beating Liberal Democrat heart in Westminster.

In the last few months we have stamped our mark and made life difficult for a Tory Government elected by little over 36 per cent of the voting public.

Along with Labour and some cross benchers, the Lib Dems have defeated the Government 10 times since the election. The Tories have been sent packing on issues such as votes for 16 and 17 year olds in local council elections and protecting charitable housing associations from the Government’s right to buy scheme.

We have also made sensible changes to legislation on cities devolution and psychoactive substances. We also successfully supported a cross-bench initiative for a joint Parliamentary committee to examine the government’s I’ll thought-out proposals for English votes for English laws.

However, all of this good work is ultimately undermined because the Lords lacks democratic legitimacy. When a Peer falls below the expected standard of behaviour of a parliamentarian, there is no recourse to the general public.

This is what the public remembers about the House, and they are right – anyone who makes the laws of this country should be accountable to those they expect to obey those laws.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party that has consistently fought for democratic elections to the House of Lords. I am proud to work with colleagues like Paul Tyler who are leading the battle on reform. It is absurd for legislators in modern Britain to be chosen rather than elected.

Some small but worthwhile changes have been proposed, but they merely paper over the cracks. Real reform requires parliamentarians to vote in favour of elections to a democratic second chamber, something Liberal Democrats have long been committed to.

Tim Farron has already written to leaders of all parties in the Commons and Lords – as well as crossbench peers – urging them to back the case for reform.

We are poised for a number of new peerages to be announced, and I am confident that new colleagues will join me in campaigning for legislation to change the second chamber.

Some have argued that, in the absence of elections to the Lords we should not accept any new Peers. This would be absurd. We tried in the last Parliament to change the system and were thwarted by both Labour and the Tories. As with other aspects of the electoral system, we want them changed, but we have no option but to play by the rules – flaws and all.

After all, why would you starve the House of Lords of the very people who can make sure it is reformed once and for all?

* Jim Wallace is leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and was Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999-2005.