Clegg: By refusing to reform the House of Lords, the Conservatives are breaking the coalition agreement

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said today that the government will abandon the reform of the upper house of parliament, the House of Lords, which has existed for 700 years.

The reform, which the Liberal Democrats are very committed to, was part of their coalition agreement with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives.

"The coalition works with mutual respect - it's a reciprocal agreement. I told the prime minister that when the parliament declares itself on redefining the constituencies for the 2015 elections, I will instruct my party to vote against it," Clegg said.

Clegg said today that Cameron had informed him that "not enough Conservative MPs" were prepared to vote for House of Lords reform.

This withdrawal marks a "violation of the coalition agreement", said the leader of the Liberal Democrats, who announced that his MPs will therefore not vote for the redefining of constituencies, which the Conservatives want.

Clegg said the Conservative Party was breaking promises to reform the House of Lords and that as a result "part of our coalition agreement has been broken".

"The coalition works with mutual respect - it's a reciprocal agreement.

"I told the prime minister that when the parliament declares itself on redefining the constituencies for the 2015 elections, I will instruct my party to vote against it," added Clegg.

The House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament

The reform predicted that the total number of members of the House of Lords would be reduced from 826 to 450, and that 80 percent of them would be elected.

As part of efforts to reform the House of Lords, 1999 members who inherited that position were expelled in 600, but further reforms stopped due to complaints from members of that house.

The House of Lords cannot make laws, but it can propose amendments.