It would seem that David Cameron has already given up on Lords reform ("Cameron to launch new bid to secure Lords reform", The Herald, July 12).

While he will make a "final try" for a watered-down version involving less elected members, it looks as though he will not try very hard for that either.

The time has surely come for the Liberal Democrats to leave the Coalition and force a new election. The Conservative Party surely has more to lose from this than the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats will suffer badly whenever the next election is held whereas the Conservatives are doing very badly now but could easily recover by 2015. The Coalition has been a disaster in terms of the policies it has adopted and if the Liberal Democrats have any dignity they will acknowledge this.

Until now they may well have had a case that they were holding out for reform of the House of Lords, but now that is unlikely to happen, they have no more excuse to continue to aid and abet the Conservative Party in the damage it is doing. A new election is necessary.

Iain Paterson,

2F Killermont View,

Glasgow.

Iain Macwhirter certainly speaks for me when he raises again the need for a creative and radical approach to House of Lords reform ("There's a role for the Lords in a new federal Britain", July 12).

I first came across this idea of a Senate, representing the four nations in the UK, in a speech a while ago from the First Minister of Wales.

I sincerely hope there can be a wider debate on this idea, as my sense is that all of us in the UK need to be encouraged to think imaginatively about how we can live together more sensibly in these changing and challenging times.

Rev Dr John Harvey,

501 Shields Road,

Glasgow.

I welcome Iain Macwhirter's support for a federal future for the United Kingdom which has been supported by Scottish Liberals for more than 100 years.

As Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman wrote in 1889: "It should be pointed out that Scottish Home Rule involves English Home Rule; and that not one in a thousand Englishmen has ever grasped the idea of having a local [English] Parliament, as apart from the common Imperial Parliament."

In 1968 a policy of home-rule-all-round, including an English Parliament, was very nearly adopted at a Joint Assembly in Edinburgh of the Scottish Liberal Party and the Liberal Party Organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and was only defeated by the chicanery of an English "Liberal" who shortly afterwards joined the Labour Party.

Further, in 1970, the Scottish Liberal Party's evidence to the Royal Commission on the constitution included an outline federal constitution with a directly elected federal assembly of perhaps about 300 members and a much smaller federal senate with members appointed by the four national parliaments and governments. It was also suggested that there could be provision for the representation of associated territories such as the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.

This is surely the way forward rather than any further asymmetrical devolution which would leave the West Lothian Question unanswered or any further reform of the House of Lords which, with the House of Commons, would cease to exist. How the English organise their Parliament – unicameral or bicameral – would be up to them.

Dr. Alexander S Waugh,

1 Pantoch Gardens,

Banchory.

Iain Macwhirter is too conservative in his proposal for Lords reform based on a senate model.

A more radical proposal based on devolved administrations could be developed by devolving powers from the Scottish Parliament (and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies) to local authorities, and themselves becoming the revising institutions.

The Lords would be replaced by an elected English Chamber of Parliament to do the same job. This would leave the primary responsibility for UK matters in the House of Commons, and local services in the hands of locally elected and accountable representatives.

In the case of the Scottish Parliament, it would be relieved of its tiresome self-appointed role of meddling in local affairs.

It could also possibly be reduced to a part-time chamber with fewer members and officials – which would be considerably less expensive, and would make the move popular with the electorate.

Peter A Russell,

87 Munro Road,

Jordanhill, Glasgow.