Plans for House of Lords reform propose cut in number of peers
Peers will only serve 15 years and appointments will be based on elections - but critics say the plans are a "cheap compromise".
Tuesday 31 October 2017 20:52, UK
The make-up of the House of Lords could be linked to election results with the number of peers slashed by a quarter.
New proposals from a group of peers reveal plans for the biggest reform of the upper chamber since Tony Blair's government cut the number of hereditary peers in 1999.
The shake-up is aimed at slimming the House of Lords down from its current size of more than 800 members to 600 peers over the next decade.
China's People Congress is the only legislative body in the world presently bigger than the House of Lords.
The House of Commons currently has 650 MPs but there are also plans to shrink its size to 600 members.
Backed by the Lord Speaker, the committee of peers is recommending:
:: Permanently capping the size of the House of Lords at 600 members
:: New members are to be appointed on 15-year terms
:: No political party is to be allowed an absolute political majority
:: A minimum of 20% of seats will be reserved for independent crossbench peers as appointed by a House of Lords committee
:: Political appointments are to be shared between parties based on the result of the previous General Election
The committee, chaired by Lord Burns, have designed the planned reforms so they can be achieved without the need for fresh legislation, which has proved a stumbling block to previous attempts at reform.
It means the plans do not alter the number of bishops in the upper chamber or move to end by-elections for hereditary peers, a frequent target of criticism.
Welcoming the proposals, Lord Fowler, the Lord Speaker, said: "The House of Lords carries out vitally important work in holding the government of the day to account.
"However with over 800 members - about 150 more than the Commons - we are too large.
"The time has now come to take action to correct this and put a cap on numbers for the future.
"This report presents the Lords with an important opportunity."
Lord Burns hailed "a radical yet achievable solution to the excessive size" of the Lords, as he urged the Prime Minister and party leaders to "seize this realistic opportunity to tackle a problem which has defied resolution for so long".
But campaigners branded the plans a "cheap compromise" as new polling by BMG Research revealed nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) want a partly or fully elected House of Lords.
Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: "After years of scandals, voters want real reform of our second chamber - not tinkering around the edges.
"Slightly reducing the size of the Lords over a decade will do little to placate the public's rightful anger."
The House of Lords recently faced anger after it emerged 115 peers claimed £1.2m of taxpayers' cash in expenses without saying a word during debates over the course of a year.
Parliamentary officials insisted speaking in the chamber is only one way in which peers can contribute.