The government has narrowly avoided a fourth Lords defeat on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, as peers rejected a Labour amendment aiming to retain the current system of public inquiries for changes to constituency boundaries by 266 votes to 262.
The bill provides for a referendum on changing the electoral system for the House of Commons from first-past-the-post to the alternative vote, allows for parliamentary constituency boundaries to be redrawn and for the number of MPs to be cut from 650 to 600.
On 8 February 2011, day two of report stage, after Labour's amendment was defeated, the government proposed a less formal system of "public hearings", which was then accepted without a vote.
Labour opposes the proposed boundary changes and plans for a smaller size of Commons.
The Electoral Commission has said the bill must become law by 16 February or the AV referendum will be delayed.
Watch part two and three of the debate here and here.
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