The Abolition of the House of Lords: Confining history to history

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The ongoing constitutional reform in the UK took an unexpected but welcome turn yesterday when the House of Commons voted to replace the House of Lords with a completely elected second chamber.

Britain was a pioneer of democratic reform in centuries past but resistance to change has left this State with an Attorney General who straddles all three branches of government, a legislative chamber that is composed of political appointees and an electoral system that guarantees perverse results to the detriment of any semblance of proportional representation.

Although it isn’t clear that yesterday’s Commons vote will bear fruit, it seems like the ball is rolling. The Lords will resist the measure but the transformation of this State looks inevitable.

Britain is far from achieving an acceptable constitutional settlement but there is an unprecedented consensus for modernisation. The coming years should be interesting from a constitutional perspective. The current level of public scrutiny may ensure that politicians continue to bring about thoughtful reform to a State that is, perhaps, too attached to its traditions.

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