The second chamber question

While recognising the fact that House of Lords reform can hardly be avoided by a government committed to the modernisation of parliament, this article offers an explanation for past delay in tackling the question of reform, and shows how the House of Lords has in the meantime undertaken its own programme of procedural reform. It is argued that these reforms have enhanced the contribution made by the House to the parliamentary process in recent years. The article then builds on this analysis to offer suggestions for further changes in the functions of the second chamber, and concludes by briefly examining Labour's proposals for reform of the composition of the House.