Blair 'has packed Lords with cronies'

Lord Wakeham, who chaired the Royal Commission on reform of the House of Lords, is planning to accuse the Prime Minister today of packing the reconstituted upper chamber with "cronies."

In a damning critique of Tony Blair's plans to reshape the Lords, the Tory peer is expected to say that he cannot support the Government's proposals to elect only 120 members or 20 per cent of a 600-strong House, with the majority of peers being nominated by the political parties.

His remarks, which he intends to make in a parliamentary debate on the future of the Lords, come as an opinion poll showed that 83 per cent of people believe that the power of patronage should be removed from Mr Blair.

An ICM poll found that an overwhelming majority of people want a second chamber that is wholly elected or has a majority of elected members. The poll, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, will be presented in the House of Lords this week.

"A continuation of direct political patronage (whoever's cronies they are) is unlikely to give the reformed second chamber the necessary political authority," Lord Wakeham is expected to say.