If the Labour and Conservative parties will not allow their monopoly of power to be threatened by proportional representation for the House of Commons, perhaps the House of Lords, or its successor, could do more to hold government to account. It would have to be more assertive than at present. There are already signs of impatience with the Salisbury Convention, which was agreed after the Second World War because the large Conservative majority in the Lords at the time, was incompatible with the will of the people as expressed in the 1945 general election at which Labour came to power. Now that no party has an absolute majority in the Lords, some feel it should no longer apply. Likewise other conventions such as that the House does not oppose secondary legislation, might also be abandoned.

The House would need to do more of its excellent committee work. It would also need to try to enforce the findings of committee reports where appropriate, and to that end it would need to threaten to disrupt the government's legislative programme. It is doubtful if the House with its current composition would has the bottle for this. Indeed such behaviour would give the government an excuse to further reduce the powers of the House, or even work towards abolition.

Amazingly the House of Commons in March 2007 voted decisively in a free vote for an elected chamber. This puts some pressure on the government to act. This pressure will no doubt be resisted by those like Geoff Hoon and Hazel Blears who are terrified of the idea that the government's freedom of action be restrained in any way, and insistent that the powers of an elected House be less than the Lords now enjoys.

Unfortunately in the week after the Commons voted for an elected chamber, the Lords voted just as decisively for an appointed chamber. The majority of the current House of Lords evidentally share the view of W.S.Gilbert's character Lord Mountararat:

"It so happens that if there is an institution in Great Britain which is not susceptible of any improvement at all, it is the House of Peers!"

SONG verse 2:

When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,
  As every child can tell,
The House of Peers, throughout the war,
Did nothing in particular,
  And did it very well:
Yet Britain set the world ablaze
In good King George’s glorious days!

Iolanthe, Act 2, first performed 25 Nov 1882

Lord (Geoffrey) Howe would have us believe this is principled opposition based on a genuine belief that no improvement is possible. Given the number of placemen recently appointed, and Lord Howe's record of hanging onto the trappings of power, we may doubt this.

We must not let them or the government get away with this.