§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, as reported in The Times on 28 October they have abandoned the Labour Party manifesto commitment "to ensure that, over time, party appointees more accurately reflect the proportion of votes cast at the previous general election." [HL4481]
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonWe made clear in our White PaperModernising Parliament—Reforming the House of Lords, and in debate on the House of Lords Bill, that the Government at present intend to seek broad parity in the numbers of Labour and Conservative parties and proportionate creations from the Liberal Democrat and other parties. This means that in the transitional House of Lords we are presently committed to a smaller share of the overall strength of the House than we proposed in our manifesto.
In the longer term the Government remain committed to honouring their manifesto promise to ensure that, over time, party appointees more accurately reflect the proportion of votes cast at the previous general election.