PRESS RELEASE
March 8, 2007

Malcolm Moss MP votes for 100% elected Upper Chamber in House of Lords Reform vote

MP’s last night blew apart Labour’s proposals for a House of Lords reform when they voted for a 100% elected Upper Chamber. Proposals put forward by Commons leader Jack Straw for a hybrid chamber that would have half its members appointed and half elected were rejected by the House.

Malcolm Moss says:

“I feel that the role of the House of Lords needs to be clearly defined by all parties as there could be nothing worse then having a substantially elected Upper House which retains the current powers of the House of Lords. If we want to attract able people to stand for election to a new Upper House, then in my opinion these people will only come forward if they are given real power and a fundamental say in the legislative process. Unless the current powers of the House of Lords are redefined they will find themselves frustrated when elected to office. Thus In the absence of any proposals for fundamental constitutional change I voted initially for the status quo and after that was defeated I voted for my least negative option i.e. 100% elected. I have no enthusiasm for a two tier system which any combination of hybridity would produce.”

Any attempts to push through a fully-elected second chamber will now be fraught with difficulty. Opponents believe an elected chamber will undermine the legitimacy of a democratic House of Commons.

The next major hurdle will come next week when peers will be asked to vote on plans for a wholly elected chamber. But they are widely expected to reject the move which will effectively end their existence. It has been likened to 'turkeys voting for Christmas'.

Following next week's vote in the Lords, the issue will be hammered out by a cross-party group - made up of representatives of the Government, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and crossbench peers. They will have to decide on issues including how peers will be elected, the role of a second elected chamber and how the Lords will be funded.

Once agreement is reached, the Government will lay a bill before Parliament and the issue will then be subjected to a lengthy parliamentary battle between the Commons and the Lords. This is likely to drag on for months.

Malcolm Moss says:

“Quite what happens next is anyone’s guess and judging from the Government’s record the Conservatives will probably have to sort it out when we return to power.”