Coalition differences have been exposed in the House of Lords when the Government was defeated over constituency boundaries.
The vote was set to be the first time since the coalition was formed that Liberal Democrat ministers as well as backbenchers voted against the Government in either House.
Peers voted by 300 to 231, majority 69, to back a plan to delay a boundary review and a cut in MP numbers from 650 to 600 until 2018 at the earliest.
Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg's decision to order his party to oppose the changes follows the failure of his Lords reform legislation and severely hampers the chances of the Tories winning a majority at the next General Election.
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