No place for a Lord

London - Opening a two-day second reading debate on the House of Lords Bill, the Commons Leader, Ms Margaret Beckett opened the final rounds in months of parliamentary skirmishing on the issue by saying: "750 people [are] there by accident of birth - almost all men, almost all white, most with little, if any, experience of school or health care or housing issues, in common with most of their fellow countrymen and women. Like everyone else, they have a place in our national life. It is not in our Parliament."