Labour to scrap 'indefensible' House of Lords in first term under new plans to shake up constitution
5 December 2022, 09:50 | Updated: 5 December 2022, 10:13
Sir Keir Starmer would abolish the House of Lords in Labour's first term should he win the next general election.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The party's leader has criticised the upper house of Parliament as "indefensible".
He said he wants to replace it with an elected chamber, after former prime minister Gordon Brown published a report calling for the change, among a raft of other proposals including more devolution.
"I think the House of Lords is indefensible. Anybody who looks at the House of Lords would struggle to say that it should be kept," Sir Keir said.
"So we want to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected chamber that has really strong mission."
Sir Keir said the ideas in Mr Brown's report will be consulted on while Labour works out how they could be put in place.
He told Sky News: "What we're going to do after today is now consult on those recommendations, test them, and in particular, look at how can they be implemented.
"Because what I want to do, to answer your question, is to make sure that the talking bit - which is how do we now implement this - carries on now, but by the time we get to the election, we can get to the delivery bit.
"And everything within the report is intended to be deliverable."
Asked if he hoped to abolish the Lords in his first term, he said: "Yes, I do. Because when I asked Gordon Brown to set up the commission and do this, I said what I want is recommendations that are capable of being implemented in the first term."
The Lords is a frequent target of attempted reforms, viewed by some as an anachronistic part of the constitution.
The bulk of the chamber is made up of appointments, with other seats held through inheritance or by bishops.
Appointment to the Lords is sometimes seen as a way of prime ministers rewarding politicians who have been loyal to them, or for donors that have handed their party money.
It is a weaker chamber than the House of Commons, and its main role has largely evolved to be a scrutinising or revising body. Its powers to block new laws have been significantly curtailed.
Labour has long been in favour of replacing the Lords. Its past manifestos have featured a proposal to replace it with a senate representing the nations and regions of the UK.
