The House of Lords Reform White Paper and draft Bill 2011 and a simpler alternative

The 100th anniversary of the Parliament Act 1911 has coincided with the publication of the latest attempt at reforming the composition of the House of Lords. The Coalition Government's White Paper and draft Bill on House of Lords Reform (Cm 8077) is the latest in a long line of reform attempts since the 1911 Act, which curtailed the power of the House and which in its preamble stated the intention "to substitute for the House of Lords as it at present exists a Second Chamber constituted on a popular instead of hereditary basis [although] such substitution cannot be immediately brought into operation". Over the years, committees, reports and Bills h