Jack Straw's planned reform of the House of Lords has received a mixed reception after being leaked yesterday.

The leader of the Commons proposed that the Lords could be reduced by a third and life peerages abolished, while floating the idea of a 50-50 split between elected and appointed members.

But the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats sounded notes of caution.

Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the Lords, warned that the reform process "has a long way to go".

And Lib Dem spokesman Simon Hughes said Straw had so far "failed to grasp the fundamental point: the replacement of the House of Lords must be predominantly elected".