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13 December 2007 / Mark Ryan
Issue: 7301 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law
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Bringing the house down

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Mark Ryan explores the progress made thus far in the fiercely contested process of House of Lords reform

The House of Lords gave a first reading to the House of Lords Bill 2007 (HL Bill 3) on 7 November 2007. This private member’s Bill was introduced by Lord Steel and is similar to the House of Lords Bill he put before the house earlier this year. Although this first Bill was also in Lord Steel’s name (hence the sobriquet “the Steel Bill”), it was the result of an all-party group of both houses—the Campaign for an Effective Second Chamber—concerned to secure immediate and effective reform of the upper house.

The first Bill enjoyed a general welcome from their lordships as it received a second reading in July 2007. The second incarnation of the Bill (in an amended form) was introduced when the 2007–08 Parliamentary session opened.

The House of Lords Bill arguably represents the most significant development in terms of House of Lords reform since March 2007, when both Parliamentary houses voted on

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