Tory MPs threaten to quit over Lords recast

London Evening Standard/London

Clegg: controversial plans

Rebel Tory MPs yesterday threatened to resign over Nick Clegg’s plans to reform the House of Lords.The deputy prime minister announced plans to hold elections in 2015 as the first step to creating an 80% elected Upper House of 450 members by 2025.But the government faces a wave of protest from MPs, with as many as 100 Conservatives understood to be considering voting against the Bill.One, Stewart Jackson, yesterday branded the reforms “ephemeral nonsense”. And fellow Tory MP Conor Burns, ministerial aide to Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson, signalled his willingness to resign over the issue.He said the Lords Reform Bill needs to be debated in full in Parliament and was against a “guillotine motion” being used to ensure its passage.“If I lose my job for something that was a mainstream view within the Conservative Party in the last parliament, which serving cabinet ministers held, so be it,” he added.Clegg said: “We should just get on with it. I hope people won’t tie themselves in knots in Westminster. It’s something people want.”The LibDems’ deputy leader Simon Hughes yesterday said he believed the chances of passing Lords reform were better than 50%.At least four more parliamentary private secretaries (PPS), who act as unpaid aides to ministers, are said to be considering their positions after No 10 rejected backbench demands for a referendum.Angie Bray, PPS to Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, is expected to rebel and Mark Menzies, PPS to Energy Minister Charles Hendry, is reported to be “unhappy”.One PPS told the Standard yesterday: “A lot of PPSs are finding it quite difficult to make their minds up. They are caught in a difficult situation and some have been considering their position.”