Straw seeks to defer Lords reform

Jack Straw, the justice secretary, on Monday mapped out plans for a wholly or largely elected House of Lords – which could be rebranded the Senate – but no reforms will take place this side of a general election.

Mr Straw hopes that all three main parties will commit themselves to radical reform of the upper house in their next election manifestos, clearing the way for cross-party agreement in the next parliament.

But progress on Lords reform is notoriously slow and the reforms begun by Tony Blair’s government after 1997 are only half complete; some would say the arguments have been raging since the 1911 Parliament Act.

Mr Straw’s white paper marks the latest staging post in the reform process and is the third such discussion paper in seven years. It maps out areas where Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats can agree.

The main areas of agreement are:
●A 100 per cent elected chamber; or 80 per cent elected and 20 per cent of members appointed for their expertise
●Members (or senators) to serve a single non-renewable term of 12 to 15 years, and would be elected in thirds on the same day as a general election
●The reformed second chamber to be smaller. Ministers want the 746-strong Lords reduced to 400-450 members, or even fewer. The Tories have proposed no more than 300 members of the upper house.

But significant areas of disagreement remain, including the means by which the members of the reformed Lords would be elected. Labour favours members being appointed from European-style open party lists, based on large euro-constituencies, while the Conservatives favour the traditional first-past-the-post system and smaller constituencies.

Mr Straw says cross-party talks on Lords reform have been constructive and that the way is open for progress after the next election. “The established primacy of the House of Commons in parliament should remain, and forms the core of the proposals,” he said.

Mr Straw favours the retention of a small number of appointed peers to underscore the principle that the wholly-elected Commons remains pre-eminent. Under that system Church of England bishops could continue to hold seats.

“In our view the proposals are a unique opportunity to create a more legitimate, effective and representative chamber,” he said. In 1999 Mr Blair’s government removed all but 92 hereditary peers.

Peter Hain, a former cabinet minister, said the Commons had already expressed a preference for a wholly-elected second chamber and the government should simply press ahead. “There’s no justification for not putting the bill in the next session,” he said