The number of ministers should be cut by up to a third and MPs by 150 in reforms to restore the reputation of Parliament, says Sir John Major.

In evidence to the Commons Public Administration Committee, the former Tory Prime Minister said that he was dismayed by the malfunctioning of our democracy and the low regard in which politics was viewed by voters.

Sir John said that ministers should be able to speak in both the Lords and the Commons rather than the Government having separate ministers for each.

This would end the “insulting situation” where the Commons heard announcements from a Secretary of State but the Lords was addressed on the same issue only by a junior minister.

He also urged a cut in the number of MPs from 650 to 500. He said: “Parliament has too many members, government has too many ministers and the payroll vote is too dominant.”

Sir John backed Gordon Brown’s appointment of outsiders to ministerial posts in the Lords. He admitted he was particularly impressed with Lord Darsi, the former health minister, Lord Adonis, now transport secretary and Lord Mervyn Davis, the business minister. Any Prime Minister who had been in power for a long time faced a shrinking “gene pool” of MPs from whom he could choose a ministerial team, he admitted.

But he said that the outsiders should not be given life peerages and should only be able to attend the Lords and vote on legislation while they were ministers.

“The automaticity of becoming a peer and serving for five minutes and then having eternal membership for the House of Lords is something I would change,” he told the MPs.

He argued that in exceptional cases ministers from outside politics could even be appointed to unelected posts in the Commons where a particular skill was needed.

Sir John also suggested that the chairman of Commons select committees, now unpaid, should get the same salary as a minister of state and committees should have extra powers to scrutinise legislation in advance.

He urged the committee to back substantial reforms to the House of Commons to help restore its reputation following the MPs expenses scandal.

“There is a general recognition among senior politicians and every member of parliament that the reputation of the House of Commons has fallen and needs to be restored,” said Sir John.

“If the reputation of the House of Commons continues to fall - for whatever reason - then I think that will be immensely damaging to almost every aspect of our way of life and needs to be reversed. Politicians know that and if it means uncomfortable decisions for incoming governments or continuing governments well so be it,” he added.

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