Scottish Labour: Replace House of Lords with senate of regions and nations

As part of a paper on constitutional change set out by Anas Sarwar on Monday, the new chamber would have a specific mandate to ensure the smallest regions around the UK are not marginalised.

Elections for the senate would take place at a different time to general elections and votes for the devolved parliaments, with term times being longer than those for MPs.

The paper on constitutional change was released as Mr Sarwar spoke at a Fabian Society event in London.

It also set out plans for “joint governance councils” between UK and devolved ministers with a legal duty to co-operate.

The Scottish Labour leader said: “The House of Lords, in its current form, is an institution that has no place in 21st-century politics.

“It is unacceptable, and has been for far too long, to have unelected representatives wielding such power.

“The House of Lords must be abolished and replaced with an institution which better reflects the make-up and the identity of the United Kingdom.”

The paper says the exact composition of the senate would be a matter for broad consultation across the UK.

However, Scottish Labour say members should have a mandate to represent their nation or region.

They say the senate should follow international best practice and “ensure that our smallest regions, including within Scotland, have strong a voice in the senate and cannot be marginalised.”

The paper says term lengths should be longer than for MPs, ensuring “party political loyalties are not prioritised at the expense of national and regional interests.”

The proposed senate would perform many of the same functions as the House of Lords but would “give a stronger voice to the concerns of nations and regions”.

Abolishing the House of Lords was one of the 10 pledges Sir Keir Starmer made at the outset of his campaign to become Labour party leader.