Lords reform: Lib Dems threaten to derail boundary changes The Bill passed its latest stage in the Commons last night only with the support of Labour, but a second vote, to set what the Prime Minister described as a "sensible timetable" for its parliamentary passage, had to be withdrawn, leaving the legislation as a "dead duck." Now Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem deputy leader, has said there would be "consequences" unless Mr Cameron can deliver on his promise to deliver Lords reform, which the MP described as a key part of the Coalition agreement between the two parties. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hughes said: "We are clear you can't have a deal broken by one side without consequences, There would be consequences if they broke it. We honoured the deal, it is up to them how they do it. Douglas Carswell, a Conservative backbencher who voted for the Lords Reform Bill last night, said that voters would be "appalled" to hear Mr Hughes' characterisation of the way constitutional policy was decided between the two parties, describing it as a "squalid deal." He went on: "Is this all coalition is? A usual back scratching, where we give something to the Liberal Democrats while they do something to help us? The Government of the United Kingdom should be about something slightly more than different factions in Westminster making constitutional changes for their own advantage. It certainly should not be done as part of a squalid deal to keep the Coalition on the road.