Falconer leads revolt by peers against reform of voting system

Peers sought today to derail the Coalition's reforms for Westminster elections.

Lord Falconer, the former lord chancellor, was leading a revolt against the Bill setting up a referendum on whether to ditch the first-past-the-post voting system, and cutting the number of MPs from 650 to 600.

Ministers have proposed a poll on the alternative vote (AV) system should take place on May 5. Boundary changes to constituencies would be completed by 2013.

Labour MPs accuse the Tories of seeking to "rig" elections, saying the new boundaries would favour the Conservatives.

Labour peers argue that the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill is technically flawed and is "hybrid legislation" that should be referred to a House of Lords committee so interested parties can lodge appeals.

If the Lords agrees to the argument this afternoon, the referendum date could be delayed, as could the overhaul of boundaries.

Lord Falconer, who was a lord chancellor in the last Labour government, said the vote on AV could be put into another Bill to secure the timetable for a referendum, while the redrawing of boundaries is looked at separately.

He told Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm not trying to scupper the Bill at all. There's nothing to stop the Coalition, if they want a referendum, to take it out into a separate Bill."

But he argued that because the measure singled out some constituencies for special treatment, it would be hybrid legislation: a mixture of a public Bill of interest to everyone, and a private Bill that affects a particular place or group of people.

He said the move to reduce the number of MPs would weaken the Commons: "We need a strong House of Commons to hold the Government to account.

"If what you do is keep the Government the same size and at the same time take away 50 backbenchers, surely that's going to weaken the strength of the Commons."

Justice minister Lord McNally dismissed Lord Falconer's arguments: "I went to the Clerk of the House of Lords, who is the expert, and he says Charlie [Lord Falconer] doesn't have a leg to stand on. If the House of Lords falls for this elephant trap then they are not as smart as I think their lordships are."

No party has a majority in the Lords. The Tories and Liberal Democrats combined could outvote Labour, but the large number of crossbenchers could swing the vote.

The Bill would equalise the size of constituencies at about 75,000 voters, a measure which is expected to hit Labour hardest. The ballot on the voting system was a crucial part of the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems.