A Bill to remove any remaining connection between the 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.
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, sometimes referred to as the Hereditary Peers Bill,[1] is a bill in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The bill, if passed, will remove all remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords and future involvement in British parliamentary processes.
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 intended to eject hereditary peers in their entirety, however the exceptions made (Section 2 of the Act) were reached as part of a compromise agreed between the Houses of Lords and the Commons during the Bill's passage through Parliament.[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 received criticism including from former Leader of the House of Lords and hereditary peer Lord Strathclyde, who suggested that so as to reduce the size of the House of Lords, peers who infrequently attend debates ought to be removed instead of the remaining hereditary peers, who have been very active.[7]Minister of State 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".
Numerous members of the House of Lords have said that other elements of Lords reform should be prioritised, such as the removal of the automatic right of Church of Englandbishops to sit in the upper house as Lords Spiritual,[14] pointing out that the only other sovereign nation where clerics are automatically granted a legislative seat is Iran.[15]Baroness Harman subsequently introduced an amendment that would mandate the government to introduce proposals to remove the right of the 26 Church of England bishops who sit ex officio as Lords Spiritual, in line with Labour's election manifesto commitment to consult on wider reforms of the upper house;[16] she withdrew her amendment before debate.[17]Lord Birt also introduced an amendment to require proposals to remove the Lords Spiritual, but he withdrew his amendment before debate.[18]Viscount Hailsham introduced an amendment to remove the Lords Spiritual by phasing them out through retirement;[19] Lord Hailsham did not move his amendment at the committee stagedebate.[20]
Stages
The bill was formally introduced to Parliament by Pat McFadden, receiving its first reading on Thursday, 5 September 2024,[21] with its second reading on 15 October.
The bill then proceeded to Committee Stage, where, due to its constitutional significance, it became 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.[21][22]
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 then introduced by Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon, receiving its first reading in the House of Lords on 13 November, and its second reading on 11 December.[21] The bill was debated in five sittings at its Lords committee stage, on 3, 10, 12, and 25 March, and 1 April 2025,[23] before proceeding to the report stage which was held in two sittings on 2 and 9 July 2025.[24] The bill received its third reading on 21 July 2025. In addition to the three amendments accepted at the report stage, six amendments were accepted without a vote at the third reading.[25] One of those six amendments was that a resignation notice from the House of Lords may be signed and given behalf of a peer who lacks capacity.[26] 51 hours (9 days) of scrutiny were given in the House of Lords with a total of 146 amendments being tabled in committee, with 124 debated and a further 36 tabled in the report stage.[27]
Votes on report stage amendments in the House of Lords
Abolition of by-elections and allowing the current excepted hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords
280
243
Accepted
4
Duty to take forward proposals for introducing directly elected members in the House of Lords
84
263
Not accepted
5
Life peerages not to be conferred against recommendation of the House of Lords Appointments Commission
55
234
Not accepted
13A
Requirement of all ministers in the House of Lords to be paid, except those appointed before the requirement comes into effect
284
239
Accepted
17
Life peerages to be created with or without a seat in the House of Lords
265
247
Accepted
23A
Duty to implement recommendations of the select committee on reforming the House of Lords
139
158
Not accepted
27
Duty to undertake a consultation on applying gender equality to determining hereditary peerage claims
11
126
Not accepted
The House of Commons consideration of the Lords' amendments took place on 4 September 2025.[21] The House of Commons agreed without a vote the amendment that a resignation notice from the House of Lords may be signed and given on behalf of a peer who lacks capacity and four other amendments relating to the same issue, but other amendments were disagreed to.[34][35]
Votes on disagreeing Lords' amendments in the House of Commons
Abolition of by-elections and allowing the current excepted hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords
336
77
Not accepted
2
Requirement of all ministers in the House of Lords to be paid, except those appointed before the requirement comes into effect
331
73
Not accepted
3
Life peerages to be created with or without a seat in the House of Lords
338
74
Not accepted
Future reform
The 2024 Labour Party manifesto provided a commitment to introduce an age limit for members of the House of Lords: "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."[36]
↑ Russell, Meg (March 2023). House of Lords reform: navigating the obstacles(PDF). Institute for Government / Cambridge Bennett Institute for Public Policy. Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
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