Reports suggest Labour considering replacing the Lords with an “indirectly elected” Senate

Labour’s position on Lords reform has long been that peers should be replaced by democratically elected representatives, and despite refusing to play ball with Clegg earlier in the Parliament, that’s still the case.

Yet the Scottish Herald today suggests that a different kind of Lord reform could be on the cards:

“It is understood they are looking at proposals for a radically reformed second chamber made up of representatives from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions.

The body would be “indirectly elected”, possibly by elected politicians from the different nations and regions of the UK.

If agreed, the plan would be included in Labour’s manifesto alongside proposals to devolve further powers to Holyrood and hand greater control over housing, transport and economic development to the UK’s biggest cities.

A source said: “The idea is part of the policy process. If we do this, an incoming Labour government would be a reforming, democratically renewing Labour government as surely as it was in 1997.”

As part of Labour’s manifesto process, a report by the party’s national policy forum will be published next month and form the basis of further discussions during Labour’s national conference in late September. The report and conference debates will form the basis of the manifesto.”

It’s all just speculation at the moment – and we won’t know for sure what’s on the table until we get nearer to the crucial NPF meeting next month – but with the Scottish Independence referendum looking, this could be a proposal that gains some traction.