Lords reform remains doomed to fail

Written by Peter Riddell and published in The Times on Fri 31st Mar 2006

DO NOT expect an early agreement on Lords reform. Lord Falconer of Thoroton's attempt to end the stalemate seems as doomed to failure as the many previous searches for a consensus since 1910.

There is an inherent conflict between defending the supremacy of the Commons and making the composition of the Lords more "legitimate", less aristocratic and more democratic. Before the removal of all but 92 hereditary peers in 1999, the power of the Lords to oppose the will of the Commons was generally used with restraint (though in a pro-Tory direction).

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