Miliband calls for public vote on Lords

Ed Miliband yesterday urged David Cameron to hold a referendum on the Government’s plans to reform the House of Lords as the Prime Minister faced a growing backbench revolt on the issue.

The Labour leader stepped into the dispute which is threatening to stretch the coalition’s unity to breaking point to insist that such a major constitutional change should be put to a popular vote.

His intervention followed a stormy meeting of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee on Thursday night, at which Tory MPs lined up to the condemn Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s plans for a largely or wholly elected upper chamber.

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One Ministerial aide indicated he would be prepared to resign unless Conservative MPs were given a free vote on the issue.

Conor Burns, who is the unpaid Parliamentary Private Secretary to Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson, said: “I very much hope it wouldn’t come to that.

“Every time this has been dealt with before, it has been treated by previous governments as a free vote because it is a constitutional issue, and I think this time it should be exactly the same.”

Another Tory MP, Peter Bone, said the Government may face defeat on the programme motion setting out the timetable for the Bill’s passage through the Commons, which could “gum up” the legislative agenda for the year. “It is a huge problem for the Prime Minister and he knows it’s a huge problem. It certainly could bring the coalition down, though whether it will I don’t know.”

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Many Tory MPs vehemently oppose the idea of an elected House of Lords as they believe it would threaten its primacy. However, the Liberal Democrats insist it is an essential plank of the coalition’s agreement.

Any attempt by Tories to wreck the legislation – expected to be the centrepiece of next month’s Queen’s Speech – could cause a crisis in the coalition. Downing Street said Mr Cameron remained committed to the plan.