In contrast to Lord Ashdown, the Bishop of Leicester said that the House would continue to need people with "an independent view" and argued that "it is clear that an elected House will become a creature of the party system".

BBC: Ashdown: Peers are 'creatures of patronage'

Speaking during a debate on a report into Lords reform, Lord Ashdown said that "at a time when people are dying for democracy", the House of Lords "infringes the fundamental principle of a democratic state, which is that the people's laws are made by the people's representatives".

BBC: Ashdown: Peers are 'creatures of patronage'