Gosport demands the House of Lords is scrapped, petition findings suggest

A total of 501 people in the town backed a petition calling for a referendum on the archaic institution - the third-highest result in all the country.

More than 168,000 people signed the online campaign, with only the Isle of Wight and Dover ranking higher than Gosport, with 510 and 516 supporters, respectively.

MPs from the petition committee are set to debate the referendum plea in parliament at 4.30pm today. If agreed, this can spark a wider debate in Westminster Hall.

The petition describes the House of Lords as a ‘place of patronage’. It goes on to say that the Lords that can ‘frustrate the elected representatives of the people’.

In response to the petition, the Government said it was ‘committed to ensuring that the House of Lords continues to fulfil its constitutional role as a revising and scrutinising chamber which respects the primacy of the House of Commons’.

To watch the debate, click here.