Lords reform backers 'must unite'

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Supporters of House of Lords reform have to "get their act together" if proposals for change are to be saved, Commons leader Jack Straw has said.

Mr Straw, who wants some peers to be elected, has given up plans for a special series of "preferential" votes after opposition from Labour MPs.

He told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that merely abandoning proposals would not be "satisfactory".

Most MPs backed a "hybrid" Lords with elected and appointed members, he said.

'Train wreck'

Earlier this month, Mr Straw proposed a system where, instead of a traditional vote, MPs could rank options, from all peers being voted in by the public to all being appointed.

This was necessary to avoid the "train wreck" of 2003 when each of the various options was rejected, he added.

REFORM PROPOSALS A 'hybrid' of elected and appointed peersReduce size of House from 746 to 540 membersEnd hereditary and life peerages over timeElected peers to be voted in at same time as Euro electionsMaximum time in office of 15 years for elected and appointed peersAppointees a mixture of party politicians and non-party figuresLords may be renamed - possibly 'The Reformed Chamber'Anglican bishops and archbishops to keep seats <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/6339401.stm">Plans at-a-glance</a> <a class="" href="http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm70/7027/7027.pdf">Full text of White Paper</a> <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/6376567.stm">Will entire reform falter?</a>

But, after complaints that this would force a decision in an unparliamentary way, he has now accepted that MPs will vote in the normal way on each of the choices.

These are: all elected; 80% elected and 20% appointed; 60% elected and 40% appointed; half and half; 40% elected and 60% appointed; 20% elected and 80% appointed; all appointed

Mr Straw said that it could end up again with no single option getting a majority of MPs backing it "which isn't satisfactory for the House's reputation".

"It's now incumbent for those who want to see reform to get their act together."

But he added: "It's the nature of these major constitutional changes that it's reliant on free votes."

Liberal Democrat David Heath said Mr Straw's initial proposal for preferential voting was "absolutely right...as it was a way of discerning the clear will of the house".

But shadow Commons leader Theresa May said: "A preferential ballot would have taken us into murky constitutional waters."

Mr Straw has said he personally favours 50% of members being elected, 30% being appointed from party political choices and 20% being appointed from among non-party candidates.