ohwilleke

Labor has already dramatically shrunk the House of Lords to about 75 from 700 some. Labor has also proposed replacing the law lords with a Supreme Court. I wouldn't be surprised if eliminating the Bishops was possible with the Bishops' consent. They do not have the same history of active participation that the hereditary lords did, and do not have a specialized purpose as the law lords did. Also, keeping the Bishops implicates European human rights issues. I suspect that they will go.

I also don't see the Commons agreeing to a House of Lords with any teeth anytime soon. I suspect that the House of Lords will start to look like the Canadian Senate, a home for retired and useless parlimentarians with no real power, before long.

DMB

It hasn't. I think you may be talking about the hereditary element, which is now down to the 90s. But there are still many hundreds of life peers.

They are still arguing about the eventual composition of the Lords, with some wanting a fully elected house, some a fully appointed house, and everything in between. There has also been energetic lobbying to have not only the bishops of the established church but also representatives of other major faith groups. No doubt this latter proposal would find favour with the Prince of Wales and also with Blair, who is alleged to want a wholely appointed house.