FORMER MP Baroness Hayman has warned the House of Lords is becoming too large.

The peer, who is Lord Speaker, made the comments in a letter to members of Parliament’s upper chamber last month.

Baroness Hayman, who served as the Labour MP for what was then called Welwyn and Hatfield between 1974 and 1979, said: “While there seems to be universal agreement that the House needs to be smaller, it is actually getting larger by the day, creating very real practical issues both within and outside the chamber.”

The 61-year-old, pictured, also said she believed the Lords needed to become a “more effective” second chamber.

“I welcome the Leader of the House’s decision to set up a group to look at the working practices of the House and possible changes and improvements,” she said.

The baroness, who has been Lord Speaker since 2006, also touched on the future of the chamber and, in particular, the coalition Government’s plans to create a wholly or mainly elected House.

She said: “No-one studying the House’s recent debate on this subject could underestimate the scale of the constitutional issues involved, nor the range of views about the way forward.

“For my part, the gold standard against which any proposed reform, radical or incremental, should be assessed, is whether it will enhance the quality of our performance as a legislative chamber and the contribution we make to the work of Parliament.”