New House of Lords likely to be a more partisan body but with no party in control

By John Curtice 830AM GMT fourteen March 2010

Photo PA

Welcome to the House of Straw, the new 300 chair deputy for the House of Lords due by the Justice Secretary.

It has customarily taken the supervision thirteen years to have up the mind about the country"s second chamber, but finally, on choosing eve, it is to exhibit the decision.

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Mr Straw"s new inaugurated House will be really opposite from the House of Commons. Although elections to the new physique will take place at the same time as a ubiquitous election, they will make use of a complement of proportionate representation.

Meanwhile, customarily one-third of the seats will be inaugurated at any one time.

As a result, whilst we competence not be certain either the subsequent House of Commons will be "hung" though the ultimate ICM check now suggests it could well be we can safely creed that Labour"s due new inaugurated second cover would be eternally but one celebration in control.

Even though Labour have won the last 3 ubiquitous elections in a row, together with the initial dual by a landslide, the guess of what Mr Straw"s new residence would now see identical to suggests that with 134 seats, the celebration would still be seventeen seats short of a majority.

A newly inaugurated supervision would customarily be in an even weaker position. It competence not even be the largest celebration in the new second chamber.

That would roughly positively be the on all sides confronting any Tory supervision inaugurated in May.

Yet in a little ways the new physique would not be that opposite from the stream Lords, that today consists roughly wholly of people allocated for hold up and couple of who have hereditary their title.

The days when Conservatives browbeat the Lords are prolonged given over. Rather the change in between the parties broadly reflects their choosing by casting votes strength at new Commons elections Labour with 211 members outnumber the Conservatives with 188, but if the Liberal Democrats, with 72 members, opinion with the Conservatives, the supervision can be defeated.

Indeed that is a predestine that befell Labour on no less than twenty-five occasions last year.

What however would vanish roughly wholly is the organisation of 182 cross-bench peers who do not go to any party.

Few, if any independents are approaching to secure election, and generally so if the electoral complement is one where electorate opinion for parties rather than particular candidates.

Under hazard as well will be the twenty-five majority comparison Bishops of the Church of England, who not long ago clashed with Harriet Harman over her ultimate equivalence legislation.

So, nonetheless the members will be incompetent to mount for re-election, Mr Straw"s due residence would approaching be a some-more narrow-minded physique than the stream chamber.

Critics will disagree the autonomy of mind with that the Lords now sets about the pursuit of examining the close item of supervision legislation a pursuit the Commons fails to so will be weakened.

Certainly the supervision would have the declaration that any understanding it done with one of the alternative parties would be approaching to stick.

However, this is to pretence the new complement does not open the doorway to Green, Ukip and even BNP members.

Contrary to expectations, all 3 parties have profited from the key of proportionate illustration in European elections and Mr Straw is approaching to foster a identical version of "PR" for the new body.

If, as the guess of what the new physique would see identical to assumes, people opinion the same approach as they do in ubiquitous elections the small parties will be left bereft. But of that there is no guarantee.

John Curtice is Professor of Politics, Strathclyde University