Reform of the Lords is now decades overdue

BELIEVE it or not we are still slap bang in the middle of The Twelve Days of Christmas, which officially end on the evening of January 5.

- Joan Walley - Former Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North

As the words of that Christmas carol are ringing out as we look forward to a new year, now is the time to give some thought to its 'Day 10' gift of 'Ten Lords a Leaping.'At the last general election Labour promised real change to turn the tide round from the dire legacy of 14 years of austerity where just about every public service had been left for broken. With so much needed and so quickly it's ever likely that delivery of that change can seem either too slow or to fall short of expectations. As I've said many times, the Government and MPs are in an unenviable situation of having to pick up the pieces of the perfect storm they inherited. They have to address both short-term problems alongside legislating for long-term change.

What to do about the House of Lords is a prime example of this. If we are to bring trust back to our precious democracy now could be the time to tackle this head on. With well over 800 members, the House of Lords is the largest second chamber in the world - and not one of them elected.

A good example of where the Government has been thrust onto the back foot instead of onto the front foot is over Labour's clear manifesto commitments to 'Make Work Pay' for working people. A key part of the Employment Rights Bill for improved rights at work was a specific right to protect workers from unfair dismissal from day one of an employment contract.