Telegraph: Cameron to abandon House of Lords reforms

[muriel_volestrangler]

The Prime Minister will announce in coming days that the reforms have been shelved in a decision likely to cause a major Coalition rift.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader, had viewed the introduction of elected peers as a key policy and senior Conservatives now fear he will scupper planned reforms to electoral boundaries.
...
Downing Street was forced to delay a key vote on the reforms last month to allow further discussion with the rebels. It is thought that Mr Cameron was prepared to water down the reforms to help win over more than 90 Tory MPs.

However, The Daily Telegraph has learnt that this has now failed and the reforms will be scrapped. Downing Street feared that debate over the reforms could drag on for months and alienate the public at a time when ministers should be focused on pulling Britain out of recession.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9447897/David-Cameron-retreats-on-House-of-Lords-reform.html

I can't really see the "ministers should be focused on the recession" excuse as valid - the government departments for HoL reform are not ones that deal with the economy. I think it's more the backbenches saying "you can't give the Lib Dems anything at all", and Cameron replying "oh, alright, you've twisted my arm".

[non sociopath skin]

1. ... and meanwhile, Cleggy hangs grimly on to his ministerial limo.

The Lib Dems are the only people with the power to rid us of this ghastly, incompetent government and its failed economic strategy - but will they?

Course not, no matter how great the humiliations dealt out to them by the Bullingdon Boys.

Contempt is too mild a word.

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

2. 'Ministers should be focused on pulling Britain out of recession'.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The government is doing everything it can to make the recession even worse.

Cameron lets the RW Tories walk all over him, and Clegg lets Cameron walk all over him. Sometimes I think the LDs have a galloping case of Stockholm Syndrome.