British MPs voted today for a historic shake-up of the House of Lords, saying all or most of its members should be elected instead of appointed as most are now.
If put into practice, the vote could transform the Lords' influence and image.
In a surprise, the House of Commons broke years of deadlock over how to reform the unelected House of Lords by giving strong backing for a wholly elected chamber.
A proposal for 80 per cent of Lords to be elected also passed while proposals for smaller numbers to be elected were defeated.
Legislators voted to remove remaining hereditary peers - members of the House of Lords who gain their seats because of their aristocratic birth. The vote is not binding and Prime Minister Tony Blair's government will now have to decide what to do.
The 500-year-old House of Lords is due to discuss its future next week and is expected to oppose far-reaching reform. Cabinet minister Jack Straw, who spearheaded reform efforts, called it "a very positive vote for fundamental change".