Lord Williams of Mostyn

The leader of the Lords has suggested that a consensus on how to choose the new speaker of the Upper House could emerge by next week.

In a statement to peers on Monday, Lord Williams of Mostyn said the government aimed to hold consultations over the coming week.

Details of any emerging consensus could be outlined in a further statement next Wednesday.

The news came in the wake of the Cabinet reshuffle that saw confusion over the future role of the lord chancellor, who traditionally acts as speaker of the Lords.

The government intends to allow the Upper House to choose its own presiding officer to replace Lord Falconer, who is now fulfilling the role.

Despite anger at the lack of consultation, Lord Williams said that peers should seize the opportunity to take control of their own chamber.

He said that while previous speakers of the Lords had acted impartially, there were questions over independence from the executive.

Lord Williams said the House of Lords would be free to chose its own speaker, rather than having one "imposed" by the government.

He said that while the government wanted to reform the office of lord chancellor, the prime minister also believed that "it is right that this house should chose its own presiding officer".

Warning of the risk of apparent conflicts of interests, Lord Williams added that even Britain's newest parliament's and assemblies choose their own presiding officers.

"We should think very carefully about whether we should also have that privilege," he told peers.

The process of consultation will see Lord Williams keeping his door open to peers, inviting comments in writing and holding talks through "the usual channels".

He added that "by the end of this week I hope a consensus will be clear".

Responding for the Conservatives, Lord Strathclyde said the call for consultations "blithely ignores the vast bulk" of the planned constitutional changes.

But Liberal Democrat peer Lord McNally gave his support to the proposed reform.

"It is clear that there is much fine tuning to be done...However, we believe this is an offer we should not refuse," he said.

"We should act decisively to put in place a new office which would help modernise the workings of this house and strengthen its role both in relation to the [Commons] and to the government."