§ Lord AlportMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration is being given by Ministers to the possibility of introducing legislation in the next Session of Parliament to ensure that any attempt by a future Government to abolish the Second Chamber is submitted to a constitutional referendum.
§ The Lord President of the Council (Lord Soames)My Lords, I informed the House during the debate on the Second Reading of my noble friend's Constitutional Referendum Bill in December last that the Government would consider whether measures should be taken to protect the existence of the Second Chamber. This they are doing, but no conclusion has yet been reached.
§ Lord AlportMy Lords, in view of the Answer of my noble friend, may I ask leave of the House to take time to consider the impact of that on the progress of the Constitutional Referendum Bill which had its Second Reading before Christmas, and then consider what action to take?
§ Lord SoamesMy Lords, yes, of course; that is up to my noble friend.
Lord Paget of NorthamptonMy Lords, could the noble Lord tell us how you prevent a subsequent sovereign Government from repealing a referendum Bill in just the same way as it could repeal any other Bill, if necessary, by creating an adequate number of Peers?
§ Lord SoamesMy Lords, if I remember rightly, this was a point made by the noble Lord during the course of the debate. It is one of the many knotty problems associated with this question, and that is why the matter is still under consideration.