The big beast Boris savages Lords reform

The coalition’s plan for House of Lords reform will go to Cabinet on Tuesday. It could have a trickier time there than expected: some Tory Cabinet ministers who favour an elected Lords are deeply unhappy about the idea of using regional lists.

But, even before Cabinet, one active Tory big beast has come out against the proposals. Boris Johnson savages the idea in his Telegraph column, declaring it to be ‘a bunch of tidy-minded Lib Dem nonsense.’ He makes the standard Tory arguments against it: the Lords works as it is, two elected chambers would inevitably clash and reform will just expand the numbers — and cost — of the political class.  

The column is a reminder of the price that Cameron will pay with his own side for pressing on with Lords reform. Boris, with his usual awareness of where Tory sentiment is, has hit upon another issue where Cameron risks being out of touch with mainstream opinion in the party.

I understand that the number of the Tory rebels is holding firm despite Cameron’s determination to have the vote on the programme motion before the reshuffle. I’m also told that, as with the rebellion of the 81 over Europe, Tory MPs who fear they might be in tight selection contests following the boundary review have taken the view that this is a vote in which it would be wise to side with activist opinion and not the leadership.