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THE serious allegations made in this newspaper last weekend have brought the issue of reform of the House of Lords back into sharp focus. Whatever the outcome of the investigations under way, the allegations have certainly damaged the standing of parliament in general and the Lords in particular. The strength of our democracy is fundamental to our strength as a nation. It needs effective, credible and legitimate institutions which can command the support of its citizens.

The backdrop to this in terms of Lords reform is that for the first time in the long history of attempts to overhaul the second chamber, there is broad agreement across the parties about the direction of travel. An elected second chamber, perhaps wholly elected but certainly substantially so, is our aim.

To have reached this stage is no small achievement. I do not pretend the proposals command unanimous support in parliament or beyond. There are people on all sides who disagree with parts of it. Others reject it all. But we have come further than ever before.

Our proposals take as their starting point the outcome of free votes on Lords reform that took place in 2007. The House of Commons voted in favour of reforms leading to a wholly or 80% elected second chamber, and against all

other options. The Lords took a different view — rejecting election; but given the fundamental principle that the Commons is the primary chamber in parliament, we are working to implement its will.

An unelected second chamber in the 21st century, with no direct link to the people it serves, raises serious questions of legitimacy.

So we propose elections, with members of the second chamber serving long terms of office, but unable to stand for more than one term. Each member would represent large constituencies, with elections taking place at the same time as general elections, but only a third of seats would be contested each time — underlining the subordinate status of the second chamber. How they would be elected — first-past-the-post, single transferable vote or regional lists — is a key outstanding issue.

Crucially, perhaps, in the context of recent events, our proposals would strengthen the accountability of members of the reformed second chamber. They would be able to resign, unlike at present. The link between a peerage and membership of parliament would be broken. Members of the reformed second chamber would have to be resident in the UK for tax purposes.

In our white paper last year we proposed that the Lords make changes to strengthen its code of conduct, and introduce an independent commissioner for standards. A reformed second chamber should have a provision for sanctions including suspension and the withdrawal of salaries; anyone convicted of a serious criminal offence would be barred from membership.

We would go further to ensure the highest standards for members of the new chamber. Anyone who failed to attend without good reason for six months could be thrown out. And we raise the idea of “recall ballots”, whereby voters in a particular constituency would be able to trigger a vote to decide

whether their Lords member should be removed from office. This might arise through allegations of incompetence, neglect of duty, corruption or misconduct. Such ballots take place in some US states and the idea commanded support from across the parties when discussed in the group I chaired on the issue.

Much of the work of the Lords as a revising chamber is of a high quality: it is effective at holding the executive to account. It contains within it some exceptional individuals. But the public rightly demands a greater degree of accountability.

An unelected second chamber is an anomaly that in years to come will seem as perverse in the 21st century as the absence of universal suffrage did in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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