A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opposition benches, where crossbenchers sit in the chamber.
The House of Lords Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats ; the Act removed such a right. However, as part of a compromise, the Act allowed ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House. Another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House.
Earl of Kinnoull is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for George Hay, 1st Viscount of Dupplin. Other associated titles are: Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns (1627) and Baron Hay of Pedwardine (1711). The former two are in the Peerage of Scotland, while the third is in the Peerage of Great Britain. The title of Viscount Dupplin is the courtesy title for the Earl's eldest son and heir.
Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll, is a crossbench member of the House of Lords, chief of the Scottish clan Hay, and hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland.
Margaret Alison of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, is a Scottish hereditary peer and politician. She was a crossbench member of the House of Lords from 1975 to 2020 and was one of 92 hereditary peers elected to remain in the Lords in 1999. She is the holder of the original earldom of Mar, the oldest peerage title in the United Kingdom. She is the only suo jure countess and was the only female hereditary peer in the House of Lords from 2014 to 2020. She is also a farmer and former specialist goats cheesemaker in Great Witley, Worcestershire.
Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, 7th Earl Howe,, is a British peer who has been the Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords since 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served previously as the Deputy Leader of the House of Lords from 2015 to 2024 and as Minister of State for Defence from 2015 to 2019. Howe is the longest continuously serving Conservative frontbencher, having held a front bench role in some capacity since 1991.
Thomas Robert Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull, styled Viscount Dupplin between 1787 and 1804, was a Scottish peer. His titles were Earl of Kinnoull, Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns in the Peerage of Scotland; and Baron Hay of Pedwardine in the Peerage of Great Britain.
William James Robert Peel, 3rd Earl Peel,, styled Viscount Clanfield until 1969, is a British hereditary peer who was a Conservative peer from 15 May 1973 until October 2006 when, on his appointment as Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, he became a crossbench (non-partisan) member of the House of Lords.
Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of KinnoullPC, styled Viscount Dupplin from 1719 to 1758, was a Scottish peer, British politician, and scholar.
William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth, styled Viscount Lewisham from 1962 to 1997, is a British politician and hereditary peer, usually known as William Dartmouth.
George Henry Hay, 8th Earl of KinnoullFRS, styled as Viscount Dupplin from 1709 to 1719, was a British peer, Tory politician, and diplomat.
John David James Dalrymple, 14th Earl of Stair is a British politician who, since 2008, has been a crossbench member of the House of Lords.
George Hay-Drummond, 12th Earl of KinnoullJP DL, styled as Viscount Dupplin until 1866, was a Scottish peer and cricketer. His titles were Earl of Kinnoull, Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns in the Peerage of Scotland; and Baron Hay of Pedwardine in the Peerage of Great Britain.
Nicholas Power Richard Le Poer Trench, 9th Earl of Clancarty, 8th Marquess of Heusden, is an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer, as well as a nobleman in the Dutch nobility. Lord Clancarty serves as an elected Crossbench hereditary peer in the British House of Lords. His earldom is in the Peerage of Ireland.
By-elections to the House of Lords occur when vacancies arise among seats assigned to hereditary peers due to death, resignation, or disqualification. Candidates for these by-elections are limited to holders of hereditary peerages, and their electorates are made up of sitting Lords; in most cases the electorate are those sitting hereditary peers of the same party affiliation as the departed peer.
Arthur William George Patrick Hay, 15th Earl of KinnoullFRICS, styled Viscount Dupplin until 1938, was a Scottish hereditary peer, surveyor, farmer, and member of the House of Lords. His titles were Earl of Kinnoull, Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns in the Peerage of Scotland; and Baron Hay of Pedwardine in the Peerage of Great Britain.
George Harley Hay, 14th Earl of Kinnoull, styled as Viscount Dupplin from 1903 to 1916, was a Scottish peer. His titles were Earl of Kinnoull, Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns in the Peerage of Scotland; and Baron Hay of Pedwardine in the Peerage of Great Britain.
Thomas Hay, 7th Earl of Kinnoull, styled as Viscount Dupplin from 1697–1709, was a Scottish peer and Conservative politician.
John Richard Boyle, 15th Earl of Cork and 15th Earl of Orrery is a British hereditary peer and a member of the House of Lords, where he sits as a Crossbencher. Boyle was an officer in the Royal Navy and then had a career in the sugar industry before inheriting his titles in 2003.
