By Tony Grew - 5th July 2011
The deputy prime minister has defended his plans for an elected House of Lords.
At DPMQs today Nick Clegg told the Commons that his plans "do not strike most people" as unreasonable, and argued that many democracies have managed to create a workable system with two elected chambers.
He said there is public support for his plans to "gently, incrementally" reform the upper House and said all the three main parties went into the last general election with a manifesto committment to reform the Lords.
Clegg said the Lords is not "immune to reform or improvement".
Steve Rotherham (Lab, Liverpool Walton) wondered whether the deputy prime minister is displaying "masochistic tendencies" in trying to push forward his reforms while the prime minister stands on the sidelines.
Alan Beith (Lib Dem, Berwick upon Tweed) said claims that the Lords should be left alone "because is does its job" could have come from an 1911 or 1832 manifesto.
Penny Mourdant (Con, Portsmouth North) asked which is more presssing, Lords reform or the West Lothian question.
Clegg said it is not an "either or choice" and while the coalition is committed to creating a commission to examine the idea of English votes on English-only matters, that does not preclude working towards Lords reform.
The issue of party funding was also raised with the deputy prime minister.
Greg Mulholland (Lib Dem, Leeds NW) said there had been an "unseemly spectacle" last week of union leaders criticising the Labour leadership for not backing strikes.
He called for new rules to get "big money" out of politics.
Clegg said it is not healthy that a party is overly-reliant on one source of revenue and the current arrangements "do damage to all parties".
John Cryer (Lab, Leyton and Wanstead) asked Clegg if he recognises the difference between one million people donating £1 and an individual writing a cheque for £1m.
Clegg said the committee for standards in public life is examining party funding and after they report he hopes to work on a cross-party basis.
Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman called on Clegg to back a full public inquiry into allegations that newspapers have hacked phones, including that of teenage murder victim Milly Dowler.
Clegg said allegations that Dowler's phone was hacked after she had been murdered were "grotesque". and if true are "beneath contempt".
However, he told MPs that at this stage the police should be allowed to continue their inquiries and "pursue the evidence wherever it leads".
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