59% of voters back Lords reform bid

Almost three in five voters (59 per cent) support reform of the House of Lords to ensure a majority of its members are elected by the public, according to a poll released today.

But less than a quarter (24 per cent) of those questioned by pollsters ComRes for ITV News at Ten said reform should be a priority for the Government at the present time, compared to 50 per cent who said it should not.

Just 18 per cent of those questioned for the poll opposed a majority-elected House of Lords, while 23 per cent said they were not sure.

But many more thought that the changes should go further than proposed.

Asked whether the Government should insist on democratic election for all members of the Upper House, rather than saving 20 per cent of seats for appointees as ministers plan, some 53 per cent agreed, against 20 per cent who disagreed and 26 per cent who did not know.

The poll suggested that public opinion is divided over whether coalition proposals to reduce from 650 to 600 the number of MPs in the House of Commons is more important than reforming the House of Lords - 39 per cent agreed that it is, while 28 per cent disagreed.

Some 30% of those questioned said they have more respect for the current members of the House of Lords than they do for MPs, while 29 per cent said they do not.

:: ComRes interviewed 2,054 adults online between June 6 and July 8.