Tories fight abolition of hereditary peers as Labour’s Lords reforms stall

Keir Starmer's plan to replace upper house was scaled back to scrapping hereditaries - but even that is proving difficult

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Abolishing hereditary peers was supposed to be the easy part of House of Lords reform for Labour, which grandly set out plans three years ago to replace the second chamber altogether. But on Monday Conservative peers will make an effort to clog up the legislation as it goes through parliament, suggesting delays to allow abolished hereditaries more time to find a job, allowing some of them to stay, or even converting them to become life peers.

As a detailed scrutiny of the bill gets under way, 116 amendments have been put forward, which are likely to be debated individually. Some propose progressive changes such as cutting numbers of peers, introducing attendance requirements and getting rid of bishops from the house, but many are aimed at watering down the abolition of hereditaries.