Cross-bencher Baroness Butler-Sloss, a former family barrister and judge, said there were fathers "who would simply not pay".

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And Conservative front-bencher Baroness Blatch said the government's proposed "position of trust" safeguards were "very feeble and deeply flawed".

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He supported a successful amendment from Lord Cobbold, a cross-bencher, which accused the government of altering the upper house for party-political advantage.

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On its eve, Mr Martin pulled off a tactical masterstroke by enticing Belinda Stronach, a glamorous Tory front-bencher, to join the Liberal government.

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She easily survived a leadership challenge from an unknown back-bencher in 1989 but the challenge was just a symptom of increasing dissatisfaction among Conservative MPs over her policies.

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But there are prominent naysayers too, notably David Blanchflower, a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee, and Lord Skidelsky - a former Conservative peer, now a cross bencher.

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He was responding to cross-bencher Lord Chalfont, who urged him to reconvene the Board of Inquiry which examined the cause of the crash and found in 1997 that pilot negligence was to blame.

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An amendment by cross bencher Lord Pannick calling for constituencies to be allowed to deviate from the standard size by 7.5% - as opposed to the 5% margin sought by ministers - was defeated by one vote.

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