Clegg: Lords reform abandoned
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he hoped plans for House of Lords reform would be revived in the next parliament as he formally confirmed the Government had abandoned its proposals for a mainly-elected second chamber.
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Clegg announces death of Lords reform dream
Nick Clegg's formal announcement on the withdrawal of the Lords reform Bill marks the end of a longtime Lib Dem dream for this parliament.
Read the full storyClegg and Harman square up in the Commons
Things got heated in the Commons today as Nick Clegg took issue with Harriet Harman's response to his statement on House of Lords reform
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Nick Clegg on Lords reform Bill withdrawal
Nick Clegg hopes parliament has 'inched' towards Lords reform
As Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg formally announced the government's withdrawal of the Lords reform Bill, he said he hoped the process had "inched us forward" towards such a measure in the future.
He told MPs with a smile, "I would like to make a statement on House of Lords reform ... or what's left of it."
– Deputy Prime Minister Nick CleggI can confirm that the government has today withdrawn that Bill, about which I am not as happy as members behind me are.
Regrettably the coalition will not be able to deliver Lords reform during this parliament.
My hope is that we will return to this in the next parliament, emboldened by the historic second reading vote.
For now, the immediate decision for the Government is how we fill the gap in the legislative timetable and we will bring forward measures to promote growth."
Nick Clegg confirms Lords reform abandoned
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed today that the government has abandoned its proposal for House of Lords reform.
Speaking in parliament, Mr Clegg said he still hopes that plans for a mainly-elected second chamber would be revived in the next parliament as he formally confirmed to MPs that the Bill had been withdrawn.