Lords have been debating through the night this week Another marathon sitting has taken place in the Lords over plans for a referendum on the Westminster voting system and a cut in the number of MPs.
Peers finished discussing the proposed legislation just after 0300 GMT. On Monday peers sat through the night.
The legislation must become law by 16 February if the Alternative Vote referendum is to take place in May.
The government has accused Labour of deliberate delaying tactics but Labour says the bill needs proper scrutiny.
Ministers suffered a defeat during the overnight debate when peers supported proposals put forward by former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Fowler to keep the Isle of Wight as a distinct parliamentary constituency.
Lord Fowler said plans for constituency sizes to be determined by strict electoral quotas would mean the Isle of Wight would lose its historic identity and the proposal was defeated after a rebellion by 28 Tory and 14 Lib Dem peers.
The BBC’s Political Correspondent Norman Smith said the legislative battle had seemingly become a trial of strength between the government and the opposition and cast doubt on the government’s ability to get other legislation – including proposed changes to the Upper Chamber itself – through the Lords.
Former Cabinet Secretary Lord Butler said peers should debate legislation “robustly” and amend it where necessary but should not obstruct the will of the elected government.
“The House of Lords is beginning to behave like an elected chamber”
Lord Butler Former Cabinet Secretary
“I think there is a war of attrition. I don’t think it is a proper way for the House of Lords to proceed,” the crossbench peer told Radio 4’s Today programme.
The battle raised fundamental questions about the Lords’ constitutional role, he added.
“The House of Lords is beginning to behave like an elected chamber. When it comes to obstructing the government from passing its legislation, particularly legislation which relates exclusively to elections to the House of Commons, I think the House is departing from its very valuable role.”
Labour wants plans for a reduction in the number of MPs from 650 to 600 and a redrawing of constituency boundaries, which it argues will disproportionately damage its electoral prospects, to be taken out of the bill and debated separately.
Shadow justice minister Lord Falconer said he was “keen to engage in serious negotiations” to ensure the proposed referendum on 5 May, which Labour supports taking place, can go ahead.
But he said that, as it stands, there was “absolutely no prospect” of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill becoming law by 16 February.
The committee stage of the bill is in now in its 11th day in the Lords, with proceedings set to resume on Monday.
Camp beds were set up and entertainment laid on for government peers earlier in the week as Lords sat through the night to debate the bill.
Peers still have to deal with 49 groups of proposed amendments and it is likely that rules about intervals between the committee stage – when bills are looked at in detail – and its third reading in the Lords will be relaxed to allow the 16 February deadline to be reached.
Any amendments passed by the Lords must return to the Commons for approval before the bill can become law.
David Cameron has accused Labour leader Ed Miliband of “losing control” of his party over the issue and allowing groups of former MPs – who are now sitting in the Lords – to hold up the bill.
But Labour says the bill was rushed through the Commons and now needs “proper parliamentary scrutiny.”
The Electoral Commission has warned that unless the legislation is passed by 16 February, a referendum on changing to the Alternative Vote (AV) system for Westminster elections cannot take place as planned on 5 May.
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