An effective Second Chamber? The House of Lords inquiry

Though a far-reaching attempt by the coalition Government at House of Lords reform (in the form of the House of Lords Reform Bill) failed during the last Parliament, and the current Government's election manifesto expressly stated that a reform to introduce an elected component was "not a priority", the manifesto did commit the Government to ensuring "the House of Lords continues to work well by addressing issues such as the size of the chamber". This inquiry will focus on how best the Government can fulfil this pledge, while acknowledging that a more extensive reform is unlikely in the short to medium term. In doing so this inquiry builds on the work undertaken by the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee during the last Parliament into possible incremental reforms. The Committee will seek to identify the "unarguable next steps" for reform of the House of Lords.