Birmingham is also thought to be in the running to host the Lords

Boris Johnson is considering “radical” plans for the House of Lords that could mean moving it permanently to York, the Conservative Party chairman confirmed yesterday.

James Cleverly said that shifting the upper chamber and its 800 members north would demonstrate determination to connect with voters who felt left behind.

Business leaders in the north, however, questioned the wisdom of sending peers to one of the “best connected cities in the country” only for them to return to London at weekends.

Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, said that the move was a PR gesture, adding: “An outdated institution 200 miles or so north of its current location is still an outdated institution.”

Mr Cleverly told Sky News: “When the PM stood up the day