[EM] Brits OK End to Hereditary Rights (FWD)

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

Brits OK End to Hereditary Rights

.c The Associated Press 

LONDON (AP) -- The House of Lords on Wednesday reluctantly passed a bill 
stripping aristocrats with inherited seats from voting in the upper chamber 
of Parliament. But that didn't stop some peers from considering a legal 
challenge to the plan. 

The Lords passed the bill in the early hours after a marathon debate, but 
attached an amendment expressing reservations with the Labor government's 
plan to modernize the 800-year-old unelected chamber. 

Some peers fighting the measure have assembled a legal team to mount a 
challenge, said Lord Pearson of the opposition Conservative Party. 

Fulfilling an election promise to modernize the upper chamber, Tony Blair's 
Labor government announced in January that it would strip so-called 
hereditary peers -- dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts and barons -- of their 
right to vote. 

Under the new legislation, nobles will be allowed to vote in national 
elections and to stand as candidates for the House of Commons without having 
to renounce their titles, as has been the case until now. 

An independent, seven-member committee will oversee the appointment of life 
peers -- those honored with lifetime titles for their contributions to 
national life. 

A government commission has until Dec. 31 to report back with suggestions for 
a new type of upper chamber for Parliament, possibly partly appointed and 
partly elected. 

During an emotional debate over two days, some hereditary peers accused the 
government of trying to railroad the bill through the House of Lords and of 
not providing enough information about its plans. 

Signaling their reservations, peers voted 192-126 for an amendment saying the 
bill ``radically alters the historic composition of the House of Lords for 
party political advantage,'' without agreement on its future form ``and 
without making it more democratic.'' 

``Although we will not try to wreck the bill ... there are a number of issues 
on which we will want to discuss and explore possible amendments,'' said Lord 
Mackay, deputy leader of the Conservatives in the Lords. 

The vote on the amendment Wednesday will not block the bill's passage through 
Parliament. It cleared the House of Commons earlier this month. 

There are 759 hereditary peers, compared with 507 life peers. The hereditary 
peers overwhelmingly support the Conservative Party, giving the main 
opposition party a built-in majority in the Lords, although many never 
attend. 

AP-NY-03-31-99 1823EST