Plaid Cymru peer, Carmen Smith (Baroness Smith of Llanfaes) has presented her ‘House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber) Bill’ to the House of Lords for its first reading.

The purpose of Ms Smith’s Private Member’s Bill is to establish a framework for the Secretary of State to consult stakeholders on the replacement of the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber, as outlined in the 2024 Labour manifesto.

The Bill imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to run a public consultation, as well as consult representatives of the devolved administrations, constitutional experts, and the EHRC on these principles.

The Plaid Cymru peer has described the House of Lords as “undemocratic, unrepresentative and outdated.”