House of Lords overhaul on Britain's agenda

LONDON -- Wearing a crown studded with glittering jewels, Queen Elizabeth II set out Britain's new legislative agenda in opulent style yesterday, but announced a frugal program aimed at boosting economic growth and, after decades of delays, overhauling the unelected House of Lords.

Though the queen read the government's plans aloud in the traditional pageant of power, pomp and politics, she has no role in drafting the content. Each proposed law must be debated and approved by lawmakers, with votes in Parliament, if necessary, before it can hit the statute book.

Economic woes continue to dominate, two years after Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg formed a coalition government with a vow to clear the country's debts.

A four-year austerity program of $130 billion in government spending cuts has angered the public, and seen economic growth stall. Last month, Britain slumped back into recession for the first time since 2009. New bills will seek to cut regulation for businesses and offer shareholders new powers to curb directors' pay.

Cameron and Clegg vowed to "stretch every sinew to return growth to the economy," but critics said they offered few practical steps. Mark Littlewood, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the "meager measures simply tweak round the edges."

Cameron will take on a task that has frustrated his predecessors for decades, overhauling the 700-year-old upper chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords.

The government wants to gradually kick out unelected peers and replace them with fewer, mainly elected members who would serve a maximum term of 15 years. Currently, Lords are appointed for life and cannot be expelled.

People who receive peerages in annual honors lists would no longer be entitled to a seat in the chamber. Peers have long opposed any changes.