House of Lords Reform (Draft Bill)

Baroness Laing of Elderslie Excerpts

Tuesday 17th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. A great many hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye. Brevity is therefore of the essence.

[Mrs Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest) (Con)]

Does the Deputy Prime Minister appreciate that there will be a warm welcome for the fact that he is introducing a draft Bill? We look forward to its being thoroughly scrutinised by the Joint Committee. Will he please explain how the balance of power between the two Houses of Parliament will change when an elected second Chamber competes with this House and its Members for democratic legitimacy?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

We discussed this in the cross-party Committee. It is precisely to avoid competition between the two Houses that the Bill and the White Paper propose different systems of election, different geographical constituencies—the Lords would not represent constituencies in the way that we understand in this House—and non-renewable 15-year terms. Bicameral systems in other countries show that, as long as the mandate and the term in one House are very different from those in the other, an asymmetrical relationship can be preserved.