A Bill to Remove the remaining connection between hereditary peerage and membership of the House of Lords; to abolish the jurisdiction of the House of Lords in relation to claims to hereditary peerages; and for connected purposes.
Reform of the House of Lords has been a part of successive government policies since the early 19th century.[2] The last major change was made in the House of Lords Act 1999 under the first Blair ministry, which provided that:[2]
No-one shall be a member of the House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage.
—House of Lords Act 1999, Section 1, Exclusion of hereditary peers.
The Act then provided several exceptions, allowing 90 hereditary peers, as well as the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal, to remain in the House of Lords pending further reform. The Act originally eliminated hereditary peers entirely, however the exceptions made (section 2 of the Act) were as part of a compromise reached between the House of Lords and the House of Commons during the passage of the Bill.[3]
Provisions
The Bill, if passed, will eliminate all 92 of the hereditary peers from the House of Lords; the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain will continue to carry out their ceremonial functions in the House of Lords, but will cease to be members of it.[3] The 26 Lords Spiritual and a variable number of life peers would remain in the House. The sections of the Bill as introduced are listed below:[4]
Section 1: Exclusion of remaining hereditary peers. This section repeals section 2 of the House of Lords Act 1999, removing the exceptions for hereditary peers remaining in the House of Lords.
Section 2: Claims to hereditary peerages. This section removes the House of Lords' jurisdiction over claims to hereditary peerages.
Section 3: Consequential amendments
Section 4: Extent and commencement
Section 5: Short title
Criticism
The Bill has been criticised by hereditary peer Lord Strathclyde, who said that to reduce the size of the House of Lords, peers who do not often attend debates should be removed instead of hereditary peers, some of whom were very active.[5]Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said that "The second chamber plays a vital role in our constitution and people should not be voting on our laws in parliament by an accident of birth".
Others have said that other elements of House of Lords reform should be prioritised, such as the removal of the automatic right of bishops of the Church of England to sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual,[12] pointing out that the only other sovereign nation in which clerics are automatically granted a seat in the legislature is Iran.[13]Baroness Harman subsequently introduced an amendment that would mandate the government to introduce proposals to remove the right of 26 Church of England bishops to sit in the Lords ex officio as Lords Spiritual, in line with Labour's manifesto commitment to consult on wider reforms of the upper chamber.[14] She withdrew her amendment before debate.[15]Lord Birt also introduced an amendment to require proposals to remove the Lords Spiritual, but he withdrew the amendment before debate.[16]Viscount Hailsham introduced an amendment to remove the Lords Spiritual by phasing them out through retirement.[17] He did not move his amendment at the committee stage debate.[18]
Stages
The Bill was introduced formally by Pat McFadden, receiving its first reading on Thursday, 5 September 2024,[19] with its second reading on 15 October.
The Bill then proceeded into committee stage, where, due to its constitutional significance, it was subject to a Committee of the Whole House. The Committee, and then the Bill's third reading, took place on 12 November 2024 with the Bill passing the House of Commons by a vote of 435–73.[19][20]
Votes on committee amendments in the House of Commons
Amendment
Ayes
Noes
Result
A25: Would delay commencement until a report by a joint committee of the Commons and the Lords
98
376
Not accepted
NC1: Exclusion of bishops
41
378
Not accepted
NC7: Duty to take forward proposals for democratic mandate for House of Lords
93
355
Not accepted
NC20: Purpose of the Bill
98
375
Not accepted
The Bill was introduced into the House of Lords by Baroness Smith of Basildon. It received its first reading in the House of Lords on 13 November, and its second reading in the House of Lords on 11 December. The Bill has been debated in three sittings at its committee stage in the House of Lords, on 3, 10 and 12 March 2025, with the fourth sitting due on 25 March 2025.[19]
Future reform
The Labour Party manifesto of 2024 included a commitment to introduce an age limit: "At the end of the Parliament in which a member reaches 80 years of age, they will be required to retire from the House of Lords." A Labour government would ensure all peers met high standards, would introduce a new participation requirement, and would strengthen the circumstances in which disgraced members could be removed. It would also reform the appointments process, to ensure quality, and would seek to improve the national and regional balance of the chamber.[21]
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