South Dorset MP Richard Drax  voted against the proposed Lords’ Reform Bill.

Speaking during a fiery, two-day Commons debate, after which 91 Tory MPs voted against the Bill, Mr Drax, right, said it would tear apart a successful institution.

He said: “Why are we considering destroying a system that has worked well for hundreds of years? Regrettably, I feel that the reason is to appease our coalition partners.

“The Liberal Democrats have discovered the power of being the piggy in the middle, so it is no accident that they support a form of PR for the upper House: the balance of power could lie in their hands.

“How can we justify that when we are elected under the first-past-the-post system? The alt-ernative was resoundingly rejected by voters last year.”

Drax said that while he supported Lords’ reform, it had to be done carefully.

He added: “Yes, there are issues—too many—such as when Members of the House of Lords retire, and concerns about who is appointed and how, but we do not need another elected House.” he said. 

“Surely it is not the job of Members of the House of the Lords to be accountable to the electorate.”