Lords reform proposals published

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Tom Griffin (London, The Green Ribbon): Jack Straw has today published the Government's white paper on reform of the House of Lords.

The proposals call for a chamber which is 80-100 per cent elected, with members serving a single non-renewable 12-15 year term and a third of the chamber retiring at each election

One key point that emerged from Anthony Barnett's discussion with David Marquand below is that the choice of electoral system is likely to be crucial, not just to the future of the second chamber, but to the case for reform of the Commons.The White Paper leaves that issue very much open:

The Government proposes that members of the second chamber should be elected directly. There was not consensus about the system that should be used for such elections. The Conservative Party favours a First Past The Post system. The Liberal Democrats favour the use of an open list or Single Transferable Vote system. The Government believes that further consideration should be given to the options of using either a First Past The Post, Alternative Vote, Single Transferable Vote (STV), open or semi-open list system. The Government would welcome views on what system should be used for elections to a wholly or mainly elected second chamber.

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