British MPs voted on Wednesday to radically reform the House of Lords, demanding that all members be elected, instead of appointed.

MPs voted 337-224 in favour of the change. It calls for the end of the centuries-old practice of having unelected dukes, earls and other elites in the House of Lords, an upper chamber that has the power to revise and delay laws proposed by MPs in the House of Commons.

House of Commons leader Jack Straw said Wednesday's vote was significant.

"The House of Commons has broken the deadlock," said Straw. "It is a dramatic result in the history of the British Parliament."

The proposed reform will act as a guideline for future legislation.

Lawmakers will now draft a bill — possibly incorporating aspects of other options considered by the House of Commons — that will be tabled sometime after October.

The bill must clear several hurdles, including another vote in the House of Commons and scrutiny by the Lords themselves, before becoming law. It potentially could make Britain's House of Lords similar to the U.S. Senate, and upper chambers in Brazil, Japan and Australia.

"[The House of Commons] has taken the momentous step to reform the upper house and make it fit for a modern democracy," said Menzies Campbell, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats.

In Canada, senators are chosen by the prime minister, who does not need to seek public input when making a decision.

Assessed options

MPs in Wednesday's vote were presented with nine options for House of Lords reform.

One other option also received considerable support — to have a House of Lords with 80 per cent of members elected, and 20 per cent appointed.

This option was approved by a slim majority of MPs, but did not get as much support as the motion to have 100 per cent of members elected.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, leader of the ruling Labour party, was pushing for a third option, a 50-50 split between elected and appointed members, but it was strongly rejected.   

The British House of Lords, which was created about 700 years ago and has 746 members, currently includes men and women with inherited titles who are citizens of Britain, the Commonwealth or Ireland. Retired politicians and other prominent figures can also be appointed for life.

The government, under Blair, last reformed the House of Lords in 1999, when the number of hereditary members was reduced from 600 to 92.

Canada has been considering its own Senate reform.

In December, Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced a bill that, if made law, would allow Canadians to choose preferred candidates to represent their provinces and territories in the Senate.

With files from the Associated Press