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.
Baron Trevethin,of Blaengawney in the County of Monmouth,is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1921 for the prominent judge Sir Alfred Lawrence,Lord Chief Justice of England from 1921 to 1922.
Charles Peregrine Courtenay,19th Earl of Devon,styled as Lord Courtenay from 1998 until 2015,is an English hereditary peer and barrister. He is a crossbench member of the House of Lords,having been elected at a by-election in 2018.
Alastair John Lyndhurst Bruce,5th Baron Aberdare,,is a British nobleman,and since 2009 a crossbench hereditary peer elected under the House of Lords Act 1999.
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.
Godfrey John Bewicke-Copley,7th Baron Cromwell,is a British hereditary peer and member of the House of Lords,sitting as a crossbencher.
Simon Gordon Jared Russell,3rd Baron Russell of Liverpool,is a British crossbench peer.
Roualeyn Robert Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce,9th Baron Thurlow,is a British hereditary peer and chartered surveyor who sits as a crossbench member of the House of Lords.
Charles William Harley Hay,16th Earl of Kinnoull,styled Viscount Dupplin until 2013,is a Scottish hereditary peer and Crossbench member of the House of Lords,who serves as Convenor of the Crossbench Peers.
Patrick John Tristram Lawrence,5th Baron Trevethin and 3rd Baron Oaksey,is a British barrister,hereditary peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords. He was educated at Christ Church,Oxford.
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.
Richard Hubert Gordon Gilbey,12th Baron Vaux of Harrowden,is a British hereditary peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords.
Rupert Francis John Carington,7th Baron Carrington,,is a British banker,hereditary peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords.
Daniel Nicholas Mosley,4th Baron Ravensdale,8th Baronet,,is a British hereditary peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords. He is an engineer,currently working as a project director for AtkinsRéalis. His paternal great-grandfather was Oswald Mosley,leader and founder of the British Union of Fascists.
Massey John Henry Lopes,4th Baron Roborough is a British hereditary peer and a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
Elections of the excepted hereditary peers were held in October and November 1999,before the House of Lords Act 1999 excluded most hereditary peers from the membership of the House of Lords allowing Earl Marshal,Lord Great Chamberlain and 90 others to remain in the House. Before the passing of the 1999 Act,the Lords approved a Standing Order stating that those 90 would consist of:
Richard John Denison,9th Baron Londesborough,is a British hereditary peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords.
