Dirty, ugly things

Everywhere I look I see vandals:

Tony Blair will curb the powers of the House of Lords to delay and block legislation if Labour wins a third term in the general election expected next May.

A House of Lords (Reform) Bill to be introduced after the election would remove the 92 remaining hereditary peers from the second chamber. In a new development, it would also clip the wings of the Lords by limiting its traditional power to delay proposed laws supported by the House of Commons.

In a controversial move, the Labour blueprint would extend the use of the Parliament Act, which allows the Commons to override the Lords. It would apply for the first time to legislation introduced in the Lords as well as the Commons, allowing it to be used for all government bills.