Clegg's Lords proposals are made of fail

[YL]

I think that's actually far worse than what we have at the moment.

Why, out of interest?

I do wonder why we need a second chamber at all, and unless someone comes up with a convincing argument abolition is the option I'd actually support, but if we are going to have one I think it should be elected (100%, and no bishops either).  Appointment gives too much control to the PM; see afleitch's comment, basically.

I like STV (reasonably proportional but retaining voting for the person rather than the party).  That leaves the election by thirds 15-year thing; I think I can see where they're coming from on this (and it isn't new, is it?) as an attempt to make it a different sort of chamber from the Commons while still being elected, but I'm not convinced.

[YL]

Bump, given that the bill has been published today.

STV has been replaced by semi-open lists.  But the main discussion seems to be whether Tory backbenchers will sabotage the bill entirely and whether the Lib Dems will blame Labour for this.

[YL]

Looks like this is dead.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/aug/03/lib-dems-abandon-lords-reform

[YL]

Do they have any red lines at all?

Well, supposedly they're threatening to sabotage the boundary review as revenge.

[YL]

It seems a bit petty, but I think Clegg would have looked even worse if he'd continued waving through every Tory idea, and this was probably easier than anything else to link to Lords reform.

Anyway, the initial map drawn by the English Commission was so awful that I can't see the boundary review as any great loss.  And a small point: Clegg's constituency was made noticeably less safe by the provisional map.

[YL]

Yes, but I'm taking it for granted that he's not going to bring the coalition down.

[YL]

Are the Liberals supposed to be centrist or centre-left?

Both.  And centre-right too, e.g. David Laws.

[YL]

Is he perhaps trying to set a point of differentiation from the Conservatives, to try to pacify the half of the Lib Dem supporters he upset by backing the Coalition?

Those voters were supporters, past tense. Something as trivial to the man on the street as the boundary changes isn't going to win back the 60% of their 2010 voters that they've lost.

But I thought their voters basically were more middle class liberal types who cared about such issues a Lords Reform.

They probably broadly support it, but it's not likely to be a make or break issue.  And note that the Lib Dems haven't achieved Lords reform (or electoral reform) but they have signed up to Osbornomics, high tuition fees, NHS "reform" and various bright ideas that have come into Michael Gove's head; I doubt their more left-wing (ex-)voters see much to be impressed about.