A leaked paper by Commons leader Jack Straw suggests the government is considering plans which would see some hereditary peers remain in the House of Lords until as late as 2050.

The Guardian reports the paper by Straw, charged with leading reform of the upper chamber, says that leaving the 92 remaining hereditary peers in the Lords would "help reduce the political difficulties of getting through a package of reforms".

It envisages an end to the hereditary principle through "natural wastage", although it acknowledges this could take until at least 2050.