Blair in retreat over elections for second chamber

The first members of a largely elected second parliamentary chamber could be chosen at the next general election after the Government sounded the death knell yesterday for 800 years of tradition in the House of Lords.

MPs and peers will have a free vote to decide the make-up of a new upper chamber. They will choose between a wholly appointed, partly elected and fully elected House.

Lord Irvine of Lairg, the Lord Chancellor, hailed the move as the final stage in "the most substantial programme of constitutional reform for over a century". He said: "It will stand as one of this Government's historic achievements."

The process is widely expected to produce a chamber in which the majority of members are chosen by the voters, dispelling accusations of places being handed to political "cronies". It is also likely to result in a much slimmed-down House of Lords. Cabinet ministers are pressing for its membership to be halved, to about 350.

But it threatens a bitter conflict between radical reformers in the Commons and former hereditary and life peers desperate to preserve the status quo.The moves were welcomed by constitutional reformers and peers, but dismissed by Eric Forth, the shadow Leader of the Commons, who accused ministers of dithering over the highly divisive issue.

The plans were more radical than expected and represent a reversal by Tony Blair, who has previously opposed a largely elected second chamber. Proposals for a second chamber with just one in five elected members, outlined in a White Paper on reform last year, were criticised by MPs and peers of all parties.

The about-turn comes after months of wrangling in the Cabinet over whether to press ahead with change and the form of a new second chamber. Yesterday's announcement represents a victory for Robin Cook, the Leader of the House of Commons, and a personal defeat for Lord Irvine, who had championed the White Paper, only to see it in effect dumped.

Under the new proposals a joint committee of MPs and peers will be established within days to produce options for debate.

After Parliament has chosen the broad outline of the new Lords, the committee will then draw up detailed proposals for the powers, composition and selection of peers. The joint committee will also have to deal with the charged issue of how to remove the remaining 92 hereditary peers, and the current 587 life peers. The future of the 26 bishops and law lords in the chamber will also have to be decided. A Bill turning the proposals into law is planned before the next general election, due by 2006.

Yesterday's announcement builds on the first stage of Lords reform, which abolished the majority of hereditary peers, and represents the final stage in the Government's programme of constitutional reform, including the creation of a Scottish parliament, a Welsh Assembly, devolution in Northern Ireland, the creation of an elected Mayor of London, and last week's plans to offer elected assemblies in English regions.

Mr Cook told MPs he was determined to press ahead with reform before the end of the parliament. He said: "I have no intention of waiting another 90 years or 90 months. I hope we can make progress within 90 days."

The Prime Minister' s official spokesman described the free vote plan as "a signal of the seriousness of the Government to get this right". He said: "There is such a divergence of views within the parties and between the parties it is right this is approached in the way the Government has set out."

Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the Lords, said: "The statement trusts Parliament and parliamentarians with the responsibility of finding the best way forward to strengthen this House and Parliament itself for the benefit of the country as a whole."