Midlands peers want numbers to be cut in 'bloated' House of Lords

The need for a drop in numbers was echoed across the political divide with the Lords set to hit 876 members by the end of 2013.

It comes as 30 new peers were announced following nominations by all the main political parties, including former Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby.

But Tory peers Lord Patrick Cormack, the former MP for South Staffordshire, and Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the vice-president of Wolves, said it was time to reduce the membership of the Lords and introduce a retirement age of 80.

They were joined by Labour's Lord Dennis Turner, the former Wolverhampton South East MP. Baroness Heyhoe Flint, who was ennobled in 2010, joked that she had considered taking a stool into the chamber with her because it was difficult finding a seat for key votes.

She said: "The general feeling among most of my fellow peers is that the House of Lords is becoming rather unwieldy."

Lord Cormack, who has led a campaign for reform of the Lords without making it elected, said: "We need to aim to reduce the size of the House of Lords by bringing in a more effective retirement system.

"There should also be attendance requirements and a means to deal with those who have been sent to prison for more than 12 months." Lord Turner said reform had actually been held back by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's own campaign.

Mr Clegg had wanted to create a system where peers were elected, something that was opposed by the Tories and led to the reform being scrapped.

The Electoral Reform Society has criticised the number of peers and warns that at the current rate, there will be almost 1,000 by the next general election in 2015.

Its chief executive Katie Ghose said the chamber was 'increasingly bloated'.

"Only China's set-up competes with the House of Lords in terms of size", she said. "And that's a real headache for whoever is in government after 2015."