| Cameron faces fierce opposition over controversial reforms law |
LONDON British Prime Minister David Cameron faced fierce opposition from within his own party as lawmakers on Monday debated a controversial draft law to reform the upper house of Parliament.
MPs will vote on Tuesday on the House of Lords Reform Bill, which would create a smaller and mainly elected upper house and complete the process of abolishing the right of hereditary peers to sit in the assembly.
The draft legislation to overhaul the Lords - an institution dating back to the 14th century - has caused deep divisions within the Conservative-led coalition, in which the Liberal Democrats are junior partners.
Around 70 rebel lawmakers from Cameron’s centre-right Conservative party signed a letter ahead of the two-day debate on the plans, warning that the bill would “pile a constitutional crisis on top of an economic crisis”.
They also want the reforms, which are heavily backed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems, to be given unlimited parliamentary time for scrutiny, rather than the 10 days offered by the government.
A spokesman for Cameron would not confirm reports that the prime minister had spent the weekend trying to persuade backbenchers to get behind the changes, but said he would discuss the issue with his lawmakers.
“No one should be in any doubt about his position on Lords reform. He is committed to these reforms,” the spokesman said.
“He and cabinet colleagues have been making the case over the past couple of weeks. I am sure that he is speaking to colleagues and he will reiterate his position when he does so.”
Under the proposed reforms 80 per cent of the upper chamber would be elected, while its more than 800-strong membership would be reduced to 450.
Critics fear that elected membership of the House of Lords, which scrutinises legislation before it passes, could undermine the supremacy of the lower house, the House of Commons.
All three main parties in Britain promised changes to the Lords at the last general election in May 2010, but it is Clegg and his centrist Lib Dems who are its strongest proponents.
The Lib Dems have signalled that they would block key Conservative-driven plans to redraw Britain’s constituency boundaries if Cameron’s party halts Lords reform.
The main opposition Labour party has said it will back the Lords Bill but accused the government of failing to provide enough time to debate it.
Labour lawmakers are expected to join Conservative rebels in opposing a second motion to limit the debate to 10 days - which could result in the government’s first major defeat in the Commons.
Under the new plans members elected under a form of proportional representation would serve a single 15-year term.
Another 90 members will be appointed by a statutory commission on a non-party basis while there would also be 12 Church of England bishops, down from the current 26 representatives.
Ministers aim to see the bill passed into law by May next year, with the first Lords elections in 2015, but the opposition could significantly delay its passage through parliament.
Agence France-Presse
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