70 Tory rebels sign letter opposing Lords reform
The letter was released as Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister, prepared to appeal for unity over proposals for an 80%-elected upper chamber as he opened a two-day debate on the bill on Monday afternoon, the Guardian reports.
Amid growing tension in the coalition and the threat of a mass Tory rebellion, Clegg has sought to cast the vote on Tuesday night as a test of David Cameron's leadership.
The letter, released on Monday, sets out objections to the contents of the proposed constitutional change, warning that Lords reform threatens to "pile a constitutional crisis on top of an economic crisis".
If all the signatories oppose the vote on the timetable for the bill, it will lead to the government's first significant defeat.
David Cameron's official spokesman reiterated the prime minister's position on reform of the Lords but declined to say whether Cameron had spent the weekend trying to persuade dissenting colleagues to back the government motion. "No one should be in any doubt about his position on Lords reform. He is committed to these reforms," he said.
Asked whether parliamentary private secretaries who vote against the government's timetable can expect to be sacked from their unpaid roles, the spokesman said: "The usual rules apply, so members of the government are expected to vote with the government."
The spokesman defended the proposal for 10 days of line-by-line scrutiny in the committee stage of the bill's passage through the Commons as giving parliament "sufficient time to consider these proposals".
"They have been considered in detail previously. We have set out draft proposals and a joint committee has looked at them. There has been significant consultation. We have set aside a certain number of days for debate, but clearly parliament has other things to consider as well."
Cameron was not considering offering a referendum on Lords reform, the spokesman added.
Senior Tories, including John Whittingdale, chair of the influential culture, media and sport select committee, and loyalists such Nicholas Soames are among those who have signed the letter, which concludes with an appeal to colleagues to ensure the bill is given the "full and unrestricted" scrutiny it deserves rather than the 10 days being offered by the government. Outlining a raft of concerns, the letter concludes: "The commitments in our 2010 election manifesto and in the Programme for Government - to seek consensus and to bring forward proposals - have been fulfilled. We hope you will support us in giving this bill the full and unrestricted scrutiny it deserves."
The comment suggests Clegg has reason to fear the bill will run into trouble as rebels prepare to join Labour on Tuesday night in voting against the "programme motion" - the timetable motion limiting the amount of time MPs can spend debating the bill as it goes through its remaining stages in the Commons. A separate vote, on the Lords reform bill's second reading, is expected to go through following the instruction of the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, to his party to support the bill at this stage.
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