A Labour government would scrap the House of Lords and create a ?senate of the nations and regions? in its place, the Scottish Labour leader has announced.

Giving a speech in Westminster, in which he also ruled out any pact or coalition with Nicola Sturgeon?s Scottish National party (SNP), Anas Sarwar said: ?A central part of the mission of the Labour party must be to renew democracy.

?The House of Lords, in its current form, as an institution has no place in 21st-century politics. It is unacceptable, and has been for far too long, to have unelected representatives wielding such power.

?The House of Lords must be abolished and replaced with an institution which better reflects the makeup and the identity of the United Kingdom.?