TONY BLAIR is under intense pressure from Cabinet colleague advisers to back proposals for directly elected peers after this week’s extraordinary confrontation with the House of Lords.

Senior ministers clamouring for reform believe that the clash over terror laws has shown why the Government must fulfil previous promises on creating a democratic House of Lords. One Cabinet figure said last night: “I don’t think peers would be putting voters’ lives at risk if they were accountable to those people through the ballot box.”

Mr Blair has been steadfast in his opposition to direct elections for the Upper House, arguing that giving peers a mandate would strengthen their power to block Government legislation.

But this week he has repeatedly vented his anger at how the “unelected House of Lords” has frustrated the will of the “democratically elected House of Commons” on the anti-terror Bill.

Downing Street aides highlighted yesterday a remark from the Earl of Onslow, one of the 92 remaining hereditary peers, which appeared to question the primacy of the Commons over the Lords. He vowed not to buckle to the views of “temporarily elected” MPs. One senior source said: “These guys think they are legitimate right now. We have been defeated in more than 200 votes and I don’t see how it could be any worse if they were elected.”

Cabinet ministers backing directly elected peers are now thought to include Gordon Brown, Alan Milburn, Charles Clarke, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, Peter Hain, Patricia Hewitt and Hilary Benn. The proposal is still opposed by John Prescott, John Reid, Jack Straw and Margaret Beckett.

But both sides agree on abolishing the remaining hereditary peers and, as a way of reducing the power of the Lords to delay legislation, imposing strict time limits on debates in the Upper House. Lord Grocott, the Government’s chief whip in the Upper House, is among those said to be reconsidering his opposition to direct elections if such a measure is the price of curbing the power of Tory peers.

Labour’s election manifesto will promise a Bill on the Lords which, even if it excludes direct elections for peers, would inevitably be subject to amendments from pro-reform MPs. One proposal being mooted yesterday would be to offer MPs a free vote on Lords reform without committing the Government to any position.

But Mr Milburn, Labour’s election co-ordinator, is said to be pushing for a more radical pledge on creating a democratic second chamber. He believes that this would help to repair the Government’s tattered reputation among left-wing voters who have deserted Labour on issues including both Iraq and anti-terror laws.

Mr Hain, the Leader of the Commons, said recently: “We seem to have arrived at a situation when the progressive middle class are really p***** off with us. It is very important we keep faith with a progressive programme for democratic reform in the House of Lords. I think it is inconceivable that we could go into the next election with a less progressive policy on (this) than the Tories or the Liberal Democrats.”

Mr Blair’s official spokesman said this week that the Prime Minister was still opposed to elected peers.

A member of his inner circle said yesterday: “He is not going to be bounced into this by Peter Hain, Alan Milburn or anyone. He is not there yet. That is not to say he will not get there between now and the election, but I think it’s unlikely.”

The Prime Minister’s opposition helped to scupper a previous Bill three years ago when pro-reform MPs could not agree on the proportion of elected peers. Since then, a proposal for indirectly-elected peers, in which each political party would be allocated in the Lords according to their support in general elections, has been dropped because of concerns that it would discourage people to vote tactically against the Conservatives.

The promise of a free vote on reform would represent another chance for MPs to, in the words of a Downing Street source yesterday, “get their act together”.

But other Government sources suggested that Mr Blair would be reluctant because a similar deal with MPs resulted in them ignoring his pleas for compromise and forcing through a hunt ban last year.

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