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Business of the House

As the Government set out in the manifesto on which we fought the last election, certain fundamentals of the nature of reform must be put in place, and the relationship between the two Houses is not the least of them. The right hon. and learned Gentleman is probably one of the few hon. Members eligible to stand for election in the other place. I am not encouraging him to do so, but I recognise that there is an important debate to be had. We made it clear in the manifesto that we wanted the Joint Committee to sort out the relationship between the two Houses and determine the power of the second Chamber, and then bring forward options about that Chamber’s composition for this House to debate. I am sure that there will be a vigorous national debate when that happens.