The century-long process of reforming the House of Lords, Westminster's unelected second chamber, took an incremental step forward yesterday with the publication of another consultation paper.

The century-long process of reforming the House of Lords, Westminster's unelected second chamber, took an incremental step forward yesterday with the publication of another consultation paper.

Under the latest plans outlined by Justice Secretary Jack Straw, most, if not all, peers would be elected to a second chamber to serve one term only, possibly up to 15 years or the equivalent to three electoral cycles of the House of Commons.

One-third of the Lords would be replaced at each General Election, reflecting the vote of MPs last year in favour of an elected upper House while retaining the primacy to the Commons.

Peers would be salaried and the size of the Lords would be reduced from more than 700 to no more than 450, Mr Straw told the Commons. The remaining 92 hereditary peers would be abolished and life peers would go either immediately or in phased stages.

However, none of these changes will take place before the next General Election. Mr Straw said there were no plans for legislation without consensus and the approval of the electorate.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert said the Conservatives welcomed the white paper but there were still "areas of disagreement".

To cheers from Tories and some Labour MPs, he said: "We believe the electoral system should mirror this House - a first-past-the-post system based on recognisable constituencies."