The disappointing news about a referendum on the AV system has been tempered significantly by the announcement that the House of Lords is to become an elected chamber using a PR voting system. Potentially this is very exciting news for supporters of electoral reform.

As always, however, the devil is in the details. Firstly, what they have actually announced is that a committee is to be established to draw up proposals, by December, for the replacement of the House of Lords with a wholly or mainly elected Upper Chamber, on the basis of proportional representation. Committees can very easily become dumping grounds for unwanted projects, and December is a very long time away.

Also concerning is the caveat that existing peers will be allowed to stay on in Parliament, as the new Government plans a “grandfathering system” for current peers under which the new requirement for election will not apply to them.

How that can work in practice remains to be seen – will unelected Lords have as much credibility and authority as elected Lords? It also suggests that it will have to use a party list system and that the Lords will not have any local or regional links.

It may be a very long time before any substantial numbers of Lords are there with an elected mandate.

However, I am cautiously optimistic about this news overall.