Labour will scrap the House of Lords, Scottish party leader Anas Sarwar says

Scottish Labour has vowed to scrap the House of Lords and replace it with an elected senate of nations.

Anas Sarwar today said the new chamber would have a specific mandate to ensure the smallest regions around the UK will not be marginalise, as he ruled out a pact with the Scottish National party.

Speaking in Westminster, Mr Sarwar slammed the Lords for having “no place in 21st century politics”.

Labour vowed to abolish the Lords in its 2019 manifesto. Party chief Keir Starmer mentioned it in his 2020 leadership bid.

As part of his ’10 pledges’, Mr Starmer said: “Push power, wealth and opportunity away from Whitehall.

The House of Lords chamber during the State Opening of Parliament (Getty Images)

“A federal system to devolve powers – including through regional investment banks and control over regional industrial strategy. Abolish the House of Lords – replace it with an elected chamber of regions and nations.”

Mr Sarwar told a Westminster audience: “The House of Lords, in its current form, is an institution that has no place in 21st-century politics.

“It is unacceptable, and has been for far too long, to have unelected representatives wielding such power.

“The House of Lords must be abolished and replaced with an institution which better reflects the make-up and the identity of the United Kingdom.”

Keir Starmer vowed to abolish the Lords during his campaign to become leader of the Labour Party (Getty Images)

But last November Mr Starmer did not commit to his pledge.

Asked on the BBC ’s Andrew Marr show if he stood by his leadership promise, Mr Starmer said: “We certainly need change in the House of Lords.

“What I’ve done, Andrew, is I’ve set up a commission to look at the future of the UK, including the institutions such as the House of Lords.

"Gordon Brown is leading that and I’ll look at it.”