House of Lords reform proposed

Summary

This White Paper, 'The Governance of Britain - An Elected Chamber: Further Reform of the House of Lords' (Cm. 7438), sets out the Government's proposals for a reformed second chamber.

It stems from the constructive discussions of a Cross-Party Group on House of Lords Reform, which followed the March 2007 Parliamentary votes on the proposals contained in the February 2007 White Paper 'The House of Lords: Reform' (Cm. 7027). The Group reached consensus on a number of key issues and this paper states where agreement was not reached.

This White Paper:

Sets the context for decisions on House of Lords reforms and goes on to consider issues around, and options for, electoral systems.
Examines the effect of different electoral systems against two scenarios: that the House is either 100% or 80% elected.
Looks at the powers of the second chamber, suggesting possible arrangements for any appointed elements (there are no concrete proposals as yet).
Addresses other issues around the operation of a reformed second chamber and explores transitional arrangements.

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