Wakeham Report
A House for the Future, known as the Wakeham Report, published in 2000, was the report of a Royal Commission headed by Lord Wakeham, concerning reform of the House of Lords. Recommendations of the report. In its 217-page report, "A House for the Future", issued in January 2000, the commission made 132 recommendations that it described as a blueprint for "radical evolutionary change" of the House of Lords for better government. Of these, major recommendations included the following: The Commission explicitly recommended against a wholly or predominantly elected chamber or selection of members by random selection, co -option, or indirect election from devolved institutions, local governments, or British members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Criticisms of the report. The report has been criticised for not addressing some crucial issues. For instance, at present, the House of Lords only has a power of suspensive veto; they may only delay legislation for one year, after which the House of Commons may pass it without the Lords' assent. The report did not address whether this situation would change, or remain the same. The report was criticised that it proposed that the Lords' ability to veto subordinated and delegated legislation should  be replaced by a three-month delaying power to make clear that the Lords is the Second Chamber. Another important criticism of the report's recommendations is that adding some elected members to the House might create two 'classes' of members; the elected members might be seen as having greater democratic legitimacy and authority than the appointed members. This could also threaten the traditional primacy of the House of Commons within the Westminster parliamentary system. One commentator, the Liberal Democrat peer Lord McNally, wrote in January 2000: "Those who fear that a House of Lords with increased authority will challenge  the status of the Commons and cause constitutional conflict - or "gridlock" as the Americans call it when the Senate and the House of Representatives disagree - will worry that the Wakeham proposals set us on just that course. On the other hand, those who believe that the second chamber must have the full democratic mandate which only the ballot box can bestow will be disappointed." Others were dissatisfied with the Wakeham Commission's refusal to remove appointed members; according to BBC political correspondent Nick Assinder, "opponents accused the commission of failing to come up with a single, simple recommendation and allowing  the creation of chamber of "Tony's Cronies"". Some critics argued that the report would result in the Lords becoming in effect a weak advisory council for the House of Commons, which would lead to excessive conflict between the few elected members and the mainly appointed members. Impact. Only a few of the Wakeham Report's 132 recommendations was ever adopted; the House of Lords remains an unelected and mostly unrepresentative chamber.