Labour MPs snub leader over Lords

A bid to rally support for one of Tony Blair's most controversial policies flopped today when only 11 MPs backed the plan.

At least 200 Labour backbenchers refused to support plans to replace the House of Lords with a largely appointed second chamber.

Blairite loyalists drafted a Commons motion supporting his stance and e-mailed it to all Labour MPs, asking them to sign up. Only 11 agreed. A rival motion calling for the second chamber to be "wholly or substantially elected" was signed by 139 Labour MPs.

The Government has now signalled that it is rethinking its policy.

Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith's shift towards supporting an elected second chamber, called a senate, appeared to outflank Labour.