House of Lords

This article is about the British House of Lords. Forother uses, see House of Lords (disambiguation).

TheHouse of Lords is the upper house of the Parliamentof the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, itmeets in the Palace of Westminster.[3]

Unlike the elected House of Commons, most membersof the House of Lords are appointed.[4] The member-ship of the House of Lords is made up of Lords Spir-itual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26bishops in the established Church of England.[5] Of theLords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are ap-pointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Min-ister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appoint-ments Commission. However, they also include somehereditary peers.[6] Membership was once an entitlementof all hereditary peers, other than those in the peerage ofIreland, but under the House of Lords Act 1999, the rightto membership was restricted to 92 hereditary peers.[7]Very few of these are female since most hereditary peer-ages can only be inherited by men.[8]

The number of members is not xed; as of 12 June 2015the House of Lords has 787 members (not including 39who are on leave of absence or who are otherwise dis-qualied from sitting),[2] unlike the House of Commons,which has a 650-seat xed membership.[2][9]

The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have been ap-proved by the House of Commons.[10] It regularly reviewsand amends Bills from the Commons.[11] While it is un-able to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certainlimited circumstances,[12] it can delay Bills and force theCommons to reconsider their decisions.[13] In this capac-ity, the Lords acts as a check on the House of Commonsthat is independent from the electoral process.[14][15][16]Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lordsor the House of Commons. Members of the Lords mayalso take on roles as government ministers. The Houseof Lords has its own support services, separate from theCommons, including the House of Lords Library.The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lordsduring the State Opening of Parliament. In addition toits role as the upper house, until the establishment of theSupreme Court in 2009, the House of Lords, through theLaw Lords, acted as the nal court of appeal in the Britishjudicial system.[17] The House also has a Church of Eng-land role, in that Church Measures must be tabled withinthe House by the Lords Spiritual.

1 History

Todays Parliament of the United Kingdom largely de-scends, in practice, from the Parliament of England,though the Treaty of Union of 1706 and the Acts of Unionthat ratied the Treaty in 1707 created a new Parliamentof Great Britain to replace the Parliament of England andthe Parliament of Scotland. This new parliament was, ineect, the continuation of the Parliament of England withthe addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scot-land.The Parliament of England developed from the MagnumConcilium, the Great Council that advised the Kingduring medieval times.[18] This royal council came to becomposed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, and representativesof the counties of England (afterwards, representativesof the boroughs as well). The rst English Parliamentis often considered to be the "Model Parliament" (heldin 1295), which included archbishops, bishops, abbots,earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and bor-oughs of it.The power of Parliament grew slowly, uctuating as thestrength of the monarchy grew or declined. For example,during much of the reign of Edward II (13071327), thenobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire andborough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, theauthority of Parliament was for the rst time recognisednot simply by custom or royal charter, but by an authori-tative statute, passed by Parliament itself.Further developments occurred during the reign of Ed-ward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kingsreign that Parliament clearly separated into two distinctchambers: the House of Commons (consisting of theshire and borough representatives) and the House ofLords (consisting of the bishops and abbots and thepeers). The authority of Parliament continued to grow,and, during the early fteenth century, both Houses ex-ercised powers to an extent not seen before. The Lordswere far more powerful than the Commons because of thegreat inuence of the great landowners and the prelates ofthe realm.The power of the nobility suered a decline during thecivil wars of the late fteenth century, known as theWarsof the Roses. Much of the nobility was killed on thebattleeld or executed for participation in the war, andmany aristocratic estates were lost to the Crown. More-over, feudalism was dying, and the feudal armies con-trolled by the barons became obsolete. Henry VII (1485

1

2 1 HISTORY

1509) clearly established the supremacy of the monarch,symbolised by the Crown Imperial. The domination ofthe Sovereign continued to grow during the reigns of theTudor monarchs in the 16th century. The Crown was atthe height of its power during the reign of Henry VIII(15091547).The House of Lords remained more powerful than theHouse of Commons, but the Lower House continued togrow in inuence, reaching a zenith in relation to theHouse of Lords during themiddle 17th century. Conictsbetween the King and the Parliament (for the most part,the House of Commons) ultimately led to the EnglishCivil War during the 1640s. In 1649, after the defeat andexecution of King Charles I, the Commonwealth of Eng-land was declared, but the nation was eectively underthe overall control of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector ofEngland.[19]

The House of Lords was reduced to a largely powerlessbody, with Cromwell and his supporters in the Commonsdominating the Government. On 19 March 1649, theHouse of Lords was abolished by an Act of Parliament,which declared that The Commons of England [nd] bytoo long experience that the House of Lords is uselessand dangerous to the people of England.[19] The Houseof Lords did not assemble again until the Convention Par-liamentmet in 1660 and themonarchy was restored. It re-turned to its former position as the more powerful cham-ber of Parliamenta position it would occupy until the19th century.

Queen Anne addressing the House of Lords, c. 170814, by PeterTillemans

The rejection of the Peoples Budget, proposed by David LloydGeorge (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.

An important vote: the House of Lords voting for the ParliamentAct 1911

1.1 19th centuryThe 19th century was marked by several changes to theHouse of Lords. The House, once a body of only about50 members, had been greatly enlarged by the liberalityof George III and his successors in creating peerages. Theindividual inuence of a Lord of Parliament was thus di-minished.Moreover, the power of the House as a whole experi-enced a decrease, whilst that of the House of Commonsgrew. Particularly notable in the development of theLower Houses superiority was the Reform Bill of 1832.The electoral system of the House of Commons was not,at the time, democratic: property qualications greatlyrestricted the size of the electorate, and the boundaries of

1.3 Lords Reform 3

many constituencies had not been changed for centuries.Entire cities such as Manchester were not represented bya single individual in the House of Commons, but the 11voters of Old Sarum retained their ancient right to electtwo members of parliament. A small borough was sus-ceptible to bribery, and was often under the control of apatron, whose nominee was guaranteed to win an elec-tion. Some aristocrats were patrons of numerous "pocketboroughs", and therefore controlled a considerable partof the membership of the House of Commons.When the House of Commons passed a Reform Bill tocorrect some of these anomalies in 1831, the House ofLords rejected the proposal. The popular cause of re-form, however, was not abandoned by the ministry, de-spite a second rejection of the bill in 1832. Prime Minis-ter Earl Grey advised the King to overwhelm oppositionto the bill in the House of Lords by creating about 80new pro-Reform peers. William IV originally balked atthe proposal, which eectively threatened the oppositionof the House of Lords, but at length relented.Before the new peers were created, however, the Lordswho opposed the bill admitted defeat, and abstained fromthe vote, allowing the passage of the bill. The crisis dam-aged the political inuence of the House of Lords, but didnot altogether end it. Over the course of the century, how-ever, the power of the Upper House experienced furthererosion, and the Commons gradually became the strongerHouse of Parliament.

1.2 20th century

The status of the House of Lords returned to the forefrontof debate after the election of a Liberal Government in1906. In 1909, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, DavidLloyd George, introduced into the House of Commonsthe "Peoples Budget", which proposed a land tax target-ing wealthy landowners. The popular measure, however,was defeated in the heavily Conservative House of Lords.Having made the powers of the House of Lords a primarycampaign issue, the Liberals were narrowly re-elected inJanuary 1910. Prime Minister H. H. Asquith then pro-posed that the powers of the House of Lords be severelycurtailed. After a further general election in December1910, and with an undertaking by King George V to cre-ate sucient new Liberal peers to overcome Lords op-position to the measure if necessary, the Asquith Govern-ment secured the passage of a bill to curtail the powersof the House of Lords.The Parliament Act 1911 eectively abolished the powerof the House of Lords to reject legislation, or to amendin a way unacceptable to the House of Commons: mostbills could be delayed for no more than three parliamen-tary sessions or two calendar years. It was not meant to bea permanent solution; more comprehensive reforms wereplanned. Neither party, however, pursued the matter with

much enthusiasm, and the House of Lords remained pri-marily hereditary. In 1949, the Parliament Act reducedthe delaying power of the House of Lords further to twosessions or one year.In 1958, the predominantly hereditary nature of theHouse of Lords was changed by the Life Peerages Act1958, which authorised the creation of life baronies, withno numerical limits. The number of Life Peers then grad-ually increased, though not at a constant rate.The Labour Party had for most of the twentieth century acommitment, based on the partys historic opposition toclass privilege, to abolish the House of Lords, or at leastexpel the hereditary element. In 1968, the Labour Gov-ernment of HaroldWilson attempted to reform the Houseof Lords by introducing a system under which hereditarypeers would be allowed to remain in the House and takepart in debate, but would be unable to vote. This plan,however, was defeated in the House of Commons by acoalition of traditionalist Conservatives (such as EnochPowell), and Labour members who continued to advo-cate the outright abolition of the Upper House (such asMichael Foot).WhenMichael Foot attained the leadership of the LabourParty in 1980, abolition of the House of Lords became apart of the partys agenda; under his successor, Neil Kin-nock, however, a reformed Upper House was proposedinstead. In the meantime, the creation of hereditary peer-ages (except for members of the Royal Family) has beenarrested, with the exception of three creations during theadministration of the Conservative Margaret Thatcher inthe 1980s.Whilst some hereditary peers were at best apatheticthe Labour Partys clear commitments were not lost onBaron Sudeley, who for decades was considered an ex-pert on the House of Lords. In December 1979 theConservative Monday Club published his extensive paperentitled Lords Reform Why tamper with the House ofLords? and in July 1980 The Monarchist carried anotherarticle by Lord Sudeley entitled Why Reform or Abolishthe House of Lords?.[20] In 1990 he authored a furtherbooklet for the Monday Club entitled The Preservationof the House of Lords.

1.3 Lords Reform

Main article: Reform of the House of Lords

1.3.1 19972010

The Labour Party included in its 1997 general electionManifesto a commitment to remove the hereditary peer-age from the House of Lords.[21] Their subsequent elec-tion victory in 1997 under Tony Blair nally heralded thedemise of the traditional House of Lords. The Labour

4 1 HISTORY

Government introduced legislation to expel all hereditarypeers from the Upper House as a rst step in Lords re-form. As a part of a compromise, however, it agreed topermit 92 hereditary peers to remain until the reformswere complete. Thus all but 92 hereditary peers were ex-pelled under the House of Lords Act 1999 (see below forits provisions), making the House of Lords predominantlyan appointed house.Since 1999 however, no further reform has taken place.The Wakeham Commission proposed introducing a 20%elected element to the Lords, but this plan was widelycriticised.[22] A Joint Committee was established in 2001to resolve the issue, but it reached no conclusion and in-stead gave Parliament seven options to choose from (fullyappointed, 20% elected, 40% elected, 50% elected, 60%elected, 80%, and fully elected). In a confusing series ofvotes in February 2003, all of these options were defeatedalthough the 80% elected option fell by just three votes inthe Commons. Socialist MPs favouring outright abolitionvoted against all the options.In 2005 a cross-party group of senior MPs (KennethClarke, Paul Tyler, Tony Wright, Sir George Young andRobin Cook) published a report proposing that 70% ofmembers of the House of Lords should be elected eachmember for a single long term by the single transfer-able vote system. Most of the remainder were to beappointed by a Commission to ensure a mix of skills,knowledge and experience. This proposal was also notimplemented. A cross-party campaign initiative called"Elect the Lords" was set up to make the case for a pre-dominantly elected Second Chamber in the run up to the2005 general election.At the 2005 election, the Labour Party proposed furtherreform of the Lords, but without specic details.[23] TheConservative Party, which had, prior to 1997, opposedany tampering with the House of Lords, favoured an 80%elected Second Chamber, while the Liberal Democratscalled for a fully elected Senate. During 2006, a cross-party committee discussed Lords reform, with the aim ofreaching a consensus: its ndings were published in early2007.[24]

On 7 March 2007, members of the House of Commonsvoted ten times on a variety of alternative compositionsfor the upper chamber.[25] Outright abolition, a whollyappointed house, a 20% elected house, a 40% electedhouse, a 50% elected house and a 60% elected house wereall defeated in turn. Finally the vote for an 80% electedchamber was won by 305 votes to 267, and the vote for awholly elected chamber was won by an even greater mar-gin: 337 to 224. Signicantly this last vote representedan overall majority of MPs.[26]

Furthermore, examination of the names of MPs votingat each division shows that, of the 305 who voted for the80% elected option, 211 went on to vote for the 100%elected option. Given that this vote took place after thevote on 80% whose result was already known when the

vote on 100% took place this showed a clear preferencefor a fully elected upper house among those who votedfor the only other option that passed. But this was nev-ertheless only an indicative vote and many political andlegislative hurdles remained to be overcome for support-ers of an elected second chamber. The House of Lords,soon after, rejected this proposal and voted for an entirelyappointed House of Lords.[27]

In July 2008 Jack Straw, the Secretary of State for Jus-tice and Lord Chancellor, introduced a white paper tothe House of Commons proposing to replace the Houseof Lords with an 80100% elected chamber, with onethird being elected at each general election, for a termof approximately 1215 years.[28] The white paper statesthat as the peerage would be totally separated from mem-bership of the upper house, the name House of Lordswould no longer be appropriate: It goes on to explain thatthere is cross-party consensus for the new chamber to betitled the Senate of the United Kingdom, however toensure the debate remains on the role of the upper houserather than its title, the white paper is neutral on the titleof the new house.In Meg Russells article; Is the House of Lords alreadyreformed?" she states three essential features of a legiti-mate House of Lords.[29] The rst is that it must have ad-equate powers over legislation to make the governmentthink twice before making a decision. The House ofLords, she argues, currently has enough power to makeit relevant. During Tony Blairs rst year he was defeatedthirty-eight times in the Lords.[30] Secondly, as to thecomposition of the Lords, Meg Russell suggests that thecomposition must be distinct from the Commons, other-wise it would render the Lords useless. The third featureis the perceived legitimacy of the Lords. She writes; Ingeneral legitimacy comes with election.[29][30]

What will concern ministers in the coalition governmentis how these features are interlinked. If the Lords havea distinct and elected composition, this would probablycome about through xed term proportional representa-tion. If this happens then the perceived legitimacy ofthe Lords could arguably outweigh the legitimacy of theCommons. This would especially be the case if the Houseof Lords had been elected more recently than the Houseof Commons as it could be said to reect the will of thepeople better than the Commons.[30]

In this scenario there may well come a time when theLords twice reject a Bill from the Commons and it isforced through. This would in turn trigger questions aboutthe amount of power the Lords should have and therewould be pressure for it to increase. This hypotheti-cal process is known as the circumnavigation of powertheory.[30] It implies that it would never be in any gov-ernments interest to legitimise the Lords as they wouldbe forfeiting their own power.

1.3 Lords Reform 5

1.3.2 2010present

The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition agreed,following the 2010 general election, to clearly outline aprovision for a wholly or mainly elected second chamber,elected by a proportional representation system. Theseproposals sparked a debate on 29 June 2010. As aninterim measure, appointment of new peers will reectshares of the vote secured by the political parties in thelast general election.Detailed proposals for Lords reform including a draftHouse of Lords Reform Bill were published on 17 May2011. These include a 300-member hybrid house, ofwhich 80% are elected. A further 20% would be ap-pointed, and reserve space would be included for someChurch of England bishops. Under the proposals, mem-bers would also serve single non-renewable terms of 15years. FormerMPs would be allowed to stand for electionto the Upper House, but members of the Upper Housewould not be immediately allowed to become MPs.The details of the proposal were:

The upper chamber shall continue to be known asthe House of Lords for legislative purposes.

The reformed House of Lords should have 300members of which 240 are Elected Members and60 appointed Independent Members. Up to 12Church of England bishops may sit in the house asex-ocio Lords Spiritual.

Elected Members will serve a single, non renewableterm of 15 years.

Elections to the reformed Lords should take placeat the same time as elections to the House of Com-mons.

Elected Members should be elected using the SingleTransferable Vote system of proportional represen-tation.

Twenty Independent Members (a third) shall taketheir seats within the reformed house at the sametime as elected members do so and for the same 15-year term.

Independent Members will be appointed by theQueen after being suggested by the Prime Ministeracting on advice of an Appointments Commission.

There will no longer be a link between the peeragesystem and membership of the upper house.

The current powers of the House of Lords would notchange and the House of Commons shall retain itsstatus as the primary House of Parliament.

The proposals were considered by a Joint Committee onHouse of Lords Reform made up of both MPs and Peers,

which issued its nal report on 23 April 2012, making thefollowing suggestions:

The reformed House of Lords should have 450members.

Party groupings, including the Crossbenchers,should choose which of their members are retainedin the transition period, with the percentage ofmem-bers allotted to each group based on their share ofthe peers with high attendance during a given period.

Up to 12 Lords Spiritual should be retained in a re-formed House of Lords.

1.3.3 House of Lords Reform Act 2014

A private members bill to introduce some reforms wasintroduced by Dan Byles in 2013.[31] The House of LordsReform Act 2014 received the Royal Assent in 2014.[32]Under the new law:

All peers can retire or resign from the chamber(prior to this only hereditary peers could disclaimtheir peerages).

Peers can be disqualied for non-attendance. Peers can be removed for receiving prison sentencesof a year or more.[32]

1.3.4 Overcrowding

The size of theHouse of Lords has varied greatly through-out its history. From about 50 members in the early1700s,[33] it increased to a record size of 1,330 in October1999, before Lords reform reduced it to 669 by March2000.[34]

In April 2011, a cross-party group of former leadingpoliticians, including many senior members of the Houseof Lords, called on the PrimeMinister David Cameron tostop creating new peers. He had created 117 new peerssince becoming prime minister in May 2010, a faster rateof elevation than any PM in British history. The expan-sion occurred while his government had tried (in vain) toreduce the size of the House of Commons by 50 mem-bers, from 650 to 600.[35]

In August 2014, despite there being a seating capacity ofonly around 230[36] or 400[37] seats in the Lords cham-ber, the House had 774 active members (plus 54 whowere not entitled to attend or vote, having been suspendedor granted leave of absence). This made the House ofLords the largest parliamentary chamber in any democ-racy, surpassed in size only by Chinas National PeoplesCongress (which had 2,987 members in 2013).[37] In Au-gust 2014, former Speaker of the House of CommonsBaroness Boothroyd requested that older peers should

6 1 HISTORY

retire gracefully to ease the overcrowding in the Houseof Lords. She also criticised successive prime ministersfor lling the second chamber with lobby fodder in anattempt to help their policies become law. She made herremarks days before a new batch of peers were due to beappointed.[38]

1.4 Relationship with the Government

The House of Lords does not control the term of thePrimeMinister or of the Government.[39] Only the LowerHouse may force the Prime Minister to resign or callelections by passing a motion of no-condence or bywithdrawing supply. Thus, the House of Lords oversightof the government is limited.Most Cabinet ministers are from the House of Com-mons rather than the House of Lords. In particular,all Prime Ministers since 1902 have been members ofthe Lower House.[40] (Alec Douglas-Home, who becamePrime Minister in 1963 whilst still an Earl, disclaimedhis peerage and was elected to the Commons soon af-ter his term began.) In recent history, it has been veryrare for major cabinet positions (except Lord Chancellorand Leader of the House of Lords) to have been lled bypeers.Exceptions include Lord Carrington, whowas the ForeignSecretary between 1979 and 1982, Lord Young ofGraham (Minister without Portfolio, then Secretary ofState for Employment and then Secretary of State forTrade and Industry from 1984 to 1989), and Lord Man-delson, who served as First Secretary of State, Secretaryof State for Business, Innovation and Skills and Presidentof the Board of Trade. George Robertson was briey apeer whilst serving as Secretary of State for Defence be-fore resigning to take up the post of Secretary Generalof NATO. From 1999 to 2010 the Attorney General forEngland andWales was aMember of the House of Lords;the most recent was Baroness Scotland of Asthal.The House of Lords remains a source for junior ministersand members of government. Like the House of Com-mons, the Lords also has a Government Chief Whip aswell as several Junior Whips. Where a government de-partment is not represented by a minister in the Lords orone is not available, government whips will act as spokes-men for them.[41]

1.5 Legislative functions

Further information: Act of ParliamentLegislation, with the exception of money bills, may beintroduced in either House.The House of Lords debates legislation, and has power toamend or reject bills. However, the power of the Lords toreject a bill passed by the House of Commons is severelyrestricted by the Parliament Acts. Under those Acts, cer-

The House of Lords meets in a chamber in the Palace of West-minster.

tain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assentwithout the consent of the House of Lords (i.e. the Com-mons can override the Lords veto). The House of Lordscannot delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of theSpeaker of the House of Commons, solely concerns na-tional taxation or public funds) for more than one month.Other public bills cannot be delayed by the House ofLords for more than two parliamentary sessions, or onecalendar year. These provisions, however, only apply topublic bills that originate in the House of Commons, andcannot have the eect of extending a parliamentary termbeyond ve years. A further restriction is a constitutionalconvention known as the Salisbury Convention, whichmeans that the House of Lords does not oppose legisla-tion promised in the Governments election manifesto.By a custom that prevailed even before the ParliamentActs, theHouse of Lords is further restrained insofar as -nancial bills are concerned. The House of Lords may nei-ther originate a bill concerning taxation or Supply (sup-ply of treasury or exchequer funds), nor amend a bill soas to insert a taxation or Supply-related provision. (TheHouse of Commons, however, often waives its privilegesand allows the Upper House to make amendments withnancial implications.) Moreover, the Upper House maynot amend any Supply Bill. The House of Lords formerlymaintained the absolute power to reject a bill relating torevenue or Supply, but this power was curtailed by theParliament Acts, as aforementioned.

1.6 Former judicial role

Main article: Judicial functions of the House of Lords

Historically, the House of Lords held several judicialfunctions. Most notably, until 2009 the House of Lordsserved as the court of last resort for most instances ofUK law. Since 1 October 2009 this role is now held bythe Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.The Lords judicial functions originated from the ancientrole of the Curia Regis as a body that addressed the peti-tions of the Kings subjects. The functions were exercisednot by the whole House, but by a committee of LawLords. The bulk of the Houses judicial business wasconducted by the twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary,

7who were specically appointed for this purpose underthe Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876.The judicial functions could also be exercised by Lordsof Appeal (other members of the House who happenedto have held high judicial oce). No Lord of Appeal inOrdinary or Lord of Appeal could sit judicially beyondthe age of seventy-ve. The judicial business of the Lordswas supervised by the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinaryand his or her deputy, the Second Senior Lord of Appealin Ordinary.The jurisdiction of the House of Lords extended, in civiland in criminal cases, to appeals from the courts of Eng-land andWales, and of Northern Ireland. From Scotland,appeals were possible only in civil cases; Scotlands HighCourt of Justiciary is the highest court in criminal mat-ters. The House of Lords was not the United Kingdomsonly court of last resort; in some cases, the Judicial Com-mittee of the Privy Council performs such a function.The jurisdiction of the Privy Council in the United King-dom, however, is relatively restricted; it encompasses ap-peals from ecclesiastical courts, disputes under the Houseof Commons Disqualication Act 1975, and a few otherminor matters. Issues related to devolution were trans-ferred from the Privy Council to the Supreme Court in2009.The twelve Law Lords did not all hear every case; rather,after World War II cases were heard by panels knownas Appellate Committees, each of which normally con-sisted of ve members (selected by the Senior Lord). AnAppellate Committee hearing an important case couldconsist of more than ve members. Though AppellateCommittees met in separate committee rooms, judge-ment was given in the Lords Chamber itself. No fur-ther appeal lay from the House of Lords, although theHouse of Lords could refer a preliminary question tothe European Court of Justice in cases involving an ele-ment of European Union law, and a case could be broughtat the European Court of Human Rights if the Houseof Lords did not provide a satisfactory remedy in caseswhere the European Convention on Human Rights wasrelevant.A distinct judicial functionone in which thewhole House used to participateis that of tryingimpeachments. Impeachments were brought by theHouse of Commons, and tried in the House of Lords;a conviction required only a majority of the Lordsvoting. Impeachments, however, are to all intents andpurposes obsolete; the last impeachment was that ofHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806.Similarly, the House of Lords was once the court thattried peers charged with high treason or felony. TheHouse would be presided over not by the Lord Chancel-lor, but by the Lord High Steward, an ocial especiallyappointed for the occasion of the trial. If Parliament wasnot in session, then peers could be tried in a separatecourt, known as the Lord High Stewards Court. Only

peers, their wives, and their widows (unless remarried)were entitled to trials in the House of Lords or the LordHigh Stewards Court; the Lords Spiritual were tried inEcclesiastical Courts. In 1948, the right of peers to betried in such special courts was abolished; now, they aretried in the regular courts. The last such trial in the Housewas of Edward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron de Cliordin 1935. An illustrative dramatisation circa 1928 of a trialof a peer (the ctional Duke of Denver) on a charge ofmurder (a felony) is portrayed in the 1972 BBC Televi-sion adaption of Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimseymystery Clouds of Witness.The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 resulted in the cre-ation of a separate Supreme Court of the United King-dom, to which the judicial function of the House ofLords, and some of the judicial functions of the JudicialCommittee of the Privy Council, were transferred. In ad-dition, the oce of Lord Chancellor was reformed by theact, removing his ability to act as both a government min-ister and a judge. This was motivated in part by concernsabout the historical admixture of legislative, judicial, andexecutive power. The new Supreme Court is located atMiddlesex Guildhall.

2 Membership

2.1 Lords Spiritual

Main article: Lords Spiritual

Members of the House of Lords who sit by virtue of theirecclesiastical oces are known as Lords Spiritual.[42]Formerly, the Lords Spiritual were the majority in theEnglish House of Lords,[43] comprising the churchsarchbishops, (diocesan) bishops, abbots, and those priorswho were entitled to wear a mitre. After the EnglishReformation's highpoint in 1539, only the archbishopsand bishops continued to attend, as the Dissolution of theMonasteries had just disproved of and suppressed the po-sitions of abbot and prior. In 1642 during the few Lordsgatherings convened during English Interregnum whichsaw periodic war, the Lords Spiritual were excluded al-together, but they returned under the Clergy Act 1661.The number of Lords Spiritual was further restricted bythe Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847, and by later acts.The Lords Spiritual can now number no more than 26;these are the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishopof York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham,the Bishop of Winchester (who sit by right regardless ofseniority) and the 21 longest-serving bishops from otherdioceses in the Church of England[44] (excluding the dio-ceses of Sodor andMan and Gibraltar in Europe, as theselie entirely outside the United Kingdom).[45] Following achange to the law in 2014 to allowwomen to become bish-ops, the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 was passed,

8 2 MEMBERSHIP

which provides that whenever a vacancy arises among theLords Spiritual during the ten years following the Actcoming into force, the vacancy has to be lled by a womanbishop, if one is eligible. This does not apply to the vebishops who sit by right.The current Lords Spiritual represent only the Church ofEngland. Bishops of the Church of Scotland tradition-ally sat in the Parliament of Scotland but were nally ex-cluded in 1689 (after a number of previous exclusions)when the Church of Scotland became permanently pres-byterian. There are no longer bishops in the Church ofScotland in the traditional sense of the word, and thatChurch has never sent members to sit in the Westmin-ster House of Lords. The Church of Ireland did obtainrepresentation in the House of Lords after the union ofIreland and Great Britain in 1801.Of the Church of Irelands ecclesiastics, four (one arch-bishop and three bishops) were to sit at any one time, withthe members rotating at the end of every parliamentarysession (which normally lasted approximately one year).The Church of Ireland, however, was disestablished in1871, and thereafter ceased to be represented by LordsSpiritual. Bishops of Welsh sees in the Church of Eng-land originally sat in the House of Lords (after 1847, onlyif their seniority within the Church entitled them to), butthe Church in Wales ceased to be a part of the Church ofEngland in 1920 and was simultaneously disestablished inWales.[46] Accordingly, bishops of the Church in Waleswere no longer eligible to be appointed to the House asbishops of the Church of England.Other ecclesiastics have sat in the House of Lords asLords Temporal in recent times: Chief Rabbi ImmanuelJakobovits was appointed to the House of Lords (withthe consent of the Queen, who acted on the advice ofPrime Minister Margaret Thatcher), as was his succes-sor Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.[47] In recognition of hiswork at reconciliation and in the peace process in North-ern Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh (the senior An-glican bishop in Northern Ireland), Lord Eames was ap-pointed to the Lords by John Major. Other clergymenappointed include the Reverend Donald Soper, the Rev-erend Timothy Beaumont, and some Scottish clerics.There have been no Roman Catholic clergymen ap-pointed, though it was rumoured that Cardinal BasilHume and his successor Cormac Murphy O'Connorwere oered peerages, by James Callaghan, MargaretThatcher and Tony Blair respectively, but refused, andHume accepted instead the Order of Merit, a personalappointment of the Queen, shortly before his death.O'Connor said he had his maiden speech ready, but Ro-man Catholics who have received Holy Orders are forbid-den by Canon Law from holding oces connected withthe government of any state other than the Holy See, soit is unlikely that any Catholic cleric will ever sit in theHouse of Lords. Former Archbishops of Canterbury,having reverted to the status of bishop but who are no

longer diocesans, are invariably given life peerages andsit as Lords Temporal.By custom at least one of the Bishops reads prayersin each legislative day (a role taken by the chaplainin the Commons).[43] They often speak in debates; in2004 Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury,opened a debate into sentencing legislation.[43] Measures(proposed laws of the Church of England) must be putbefore the Lords, and the Lords Spiritual have a role inensuring that this takes place.[43]

2.2 Lords Temporal

Since the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Lords Tem-poral have been the most numerous group in the House ofLords. Unlike the Lords Spiritual, they may be publiclypartisan, aligning themselves with one or another of thepolitical parties that dominate the House of Commons.Publicly non-partisan Lords are called crossbenchers.Originally, the Lords Temporal included several hundredhereditary peers (that is, those whose peerages may beinherited), who ranked variously as dukes, marquesses,earls, viscounts, and barons (as well as Scottish Lords ofParliament). Such hereditary dignities can be created bythe Crown; in modern times this is done on the adviceof the Prime Minister of the day (except in the case ofmembers of the Royal Family).In 1999, the Labour government brought forward theHouse of Lords Act removing the right of several hun-dred hereditary peers to sit in the House. The Act pro-vided a temporary measure that only 92 individuals maycontinue to sit in the Upper House by virtue of hereditarypeerages.Of these, two remain in the House of Lords because theyhold royal oces connected with Parliament: the EarlMarshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain. Of the re-maining 90 members of the House of Lords sitting byvirtue of a hereditary peerage in the House of Lords, 14are elected by the whole House and 74 are chosen by fel-low hereditary peers in the House of Lords, grouped byparty. This Act, included the Principality of Wales andthe Earldom of Chester and removed all Royal Peers in-cluding the Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of York, Earl ofWessex, Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.The number of peers to be chosen by a party reectsthe proportion of hereditary peers that belonged to thatparty (see current composition below) in 1999. When anelected hereditary peer dies, a by-election is held, witha variant of the Alternative Vote system being used. Ifthe recently deceased hereditary peer was elected by thewhole House, then so is his or her replacement; a hered-itary peer elected by a specic party is replaced by avote of elected hereditary peers belonging to that party(whether elected as part of that party group or by thewhole house).

2.3 Qualications 9

The Lords Temporal also included the Lords of Appeal inOrdinary, a group of individuals appointed to the Houseof Lords so that they could exercise its judicial functions.Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, more commonly known asLaw Lords, were rst appointed under the Appellate Ju-risdiction Act 1876. They were selected by the PrimeMinister, but were formally appointed by the Sovereign.A Lord of Appeal in Ordinary had to retire at the age of70, or, if his or her term was extended by the government,at the age of 75; after reaching such an age, the Law Lordcould not hear any further legal cases.The number of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (exclud-ing those who were no longer able to hear cases becauseof age restrictions) was limited to twelve, but could bechanged by statutory instrument. Lords of Appeal inOrdinary traditionally did not participate in political de-bates, so as to maintain judicial independence. Lords ofAppeal in Ordinary held seats in the House of Lords forlife, remaining members even after reaching the judicialretirement age of 70 or 75. Former Lord Chancellors andholders of other high judicial oce could also sit as LawLords under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, although inpractice this right was infrequently exercised.Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the existingLords of Appeal in Ordinary became judges of the newSupreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 and arebarred from sitting or voting in the House of Lords un-til they retire as judges. One of the main justicationsfor the new Supreme Court was to establish a separationof powers between the judiciary and the legislature. It istherefore unlikely that future appointees to the SupremeCourt of the United Kingdom will be made Lords of Ap-peal in Ordinary.The largest group of Lords Temporal, and indeed of thewhole House, are life peers. Life peerages rank only asbarons or baronesses, and are created under the Life Peer-ages Act 1958. Like all other peers, life peers are createdby the Sovereign, who acts on the advice of the PrimeMinister or the House of Lords Appointments Commis-sion. By convention, however, the Prime Minister allowsleaders of other parties to select some life peers so as tomaintain a political balance in the House of Lords. More-over, some non-party life peers (the number being deter-mined by the Prime Minister) are nominated by an inde-pendent House of Lords Appointments Commission.If a hereditary peerage holder is given a life peerage,he or she becomes a member of the House of Lordswithout a need for a by-election. In 2000, the govern-ment announced it would set up an Independent Appoint-ments Commission, under Lord Stevenson of Codden-ham, to select fteen so-called Peoples Peers for lifepeerages. However, when the choices were announced inApril 2001, from a list of 3,000 applicants, the choiceswere treated with criticism in the media , as all were dis-tinguished in their eld, and none were ordinary peopleas some had originally hoped.

In many historical instances, some peers were not per-mitted to sit in the Upper House. When Scotland unitedwith England to form Great Britain in 1707, it was pro-vided that the Scottish hereditary peers would only beable to elect 16 representative peers to sit in the Houseof Lords; the term of a representative was to extend untilthe next general election. A similar provision was en-acted in respect of Ireland when that kingdom mergedwith Great Britain in 1801; the Irish peers were allowedto elect 28 representatives, who were to retain oce forlife. Elections for Irish representatives ended in 1922,when most of Ireland became an independent state; elec-tions for Scottish representatives ended with the passageof the Peerage Act 1963, under which all Scottish peersobtained seats in the Upper House.

2.2.1 Cash for Peerages

The Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925[48] madeit illegal for a peerage, or other honour, to be bought orsold. Nonetheless, there have been repeated allegationsthat life peerages (and thus membership of the House ofLords) have beenmade available to major political donorsin exchange for donations. The most prominent case, the2006 Cash for Honours scandal, saw a police investiga-tion, with no charges being brought. A 2015 study foundthat of 303 people nominated for peerages in the period2005-14, a total of 211 were former senior gures withinpolitics (including formerMPs), or were non-political ap-pointments. Of the remaining 92 political appointmentsfrom outside public life, 27 had made signicant dona-tions to political parties. The authors concluded rstlythat nominees from outside public life were much morelikely to have made large gifts than peers nominated af-ter prior political or public service. They also found thatsignicant donors to parties were far more likely to benominated for peerages than other party members.[49]

2.3 Qualications

Several dierent qualications apply for membership ofthe House of Lords. No person may sit in the House ofLords if under the age of 21.[50] Furthermore, only cit-izens of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth citizens,and citizens of Ireland may sit in the House of Lords.The nationality restrictions were previously more strin-gent: under the Act of Settlement 1701, and prior to theBritish Nationality Act 1948, only natural-born subjectswere qualied.Additionally, some bankruptcy-related restrictions applyto members of the Upper House. A person may notsit in the House of Lords if he or she is the subject ofa Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in Englandand Wales only), or if he or she is adjudged bankrupt (inNorthern Ireland), or if his or her estate is sequestered (inScotland). A nal restriction bars an individual convicted

10 3 OFFICERS

of high treason from sitting in the House of Lords untilcompleting his or her full term of imprisonment. An ex-ception applies, however, if the individual convicted ofhigh treason receives a full pardon. Note that an individ-ual serving a prison sentence for an oence other thanhigh treason is not automatically disqualied.Women were excluded from the House of Lords until theLife Peerages Act 1958,[51] passed to address the declin-ing number of active members, made possible the cre-ation of peerages for life. Women were immediately eli-gible and four were among the rst life peers appointed.However, hereditary peeresses continued to be excludeduntil the passage of the Peerage Act 1963.[52] Since thepassage of the House of Lords Act 1999,[53] hereditarypeeresses remain eligible for election to the Upper House;there are two among the 90 hereditary peers who continueto sit.

2.4 Removal from House membershipIn 2014, the House of Lords Reform Act 2014[54] madeprovision for members resignation from the House, re-moval for non-attendance, and automatic expulsion uponconviction for a serious criminal oence. In June 2015,under the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension)Act 2015,[55] the Houses Standing Orders may providefor the expulsion or suspension of a member upon a res-olution of the House.

3 OcersTraditionally the House of Lords did not elect its ownspeaker, unlike the House of Commons; rather, the ex of-cio presiding ocer was the Lord Chancellor. With thepassage of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the postof Lord Speaker was created, a position to which a peer iselected by the House and subsequently appointed by theCrown. The rst Lord Speaker, elected on 4 May 2006,was Baroness Hayman, a former Labour peer. As theSpeaker is expected to be an impartial presiding ocer,Baroness Hayman resigned from the Labour Party.[56]In 2011, Baroness D'Souza was elected as the secondLord Speaker, replacing Baroness Hayman in September2011.[57]

This reform of the post of Lord Chancellor was made dueto the perceived constitutional anomalies inherent in therole. The LordChancellor was not only the Speaker of theHouse of Lords, but also a member of the Cabinet; his orher department, formerly the Lord Chancellors Depart-ment, is now called the Ministry of Justice. The LordChancellor is no longer the head of the judiciary of Eng-land and Wales. Hitherto, the Lord Chancellor was partof all three branches of government: the legislative, theexecutive, and the judicial.The overlap of the legislative and executive roles is a char-

acteristic of the Westminster system, as the entire cabi-net consists of members of the House of Commons orthe House of Lords; however, in June 2003, the BlairGovernment announced its intention to abolish the postof Lord Chancellor because of the oces mixed exec-utive and judicial responsibilities. The abolition of theoce was rejected by the House of Lords, and the Con-stitutional Reform Act 2005 was thus amended to pre-serve the oce of Lord Chancellor. The Act no longerguarantees that the oce holder of Lord Chancellor isthe presiding ocer of the House of Lords, and there-fore allows the House of Lords to elect a speaker of theirown.

Charles Pepys as Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor woreblack and gold robes whilst presiding over the House of Lords.

The Lord Speaker may be replaced as presiding ocer byone of his or her deputies. The Chairman of Committees,the Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees, and sev-eral Chairmen are all deputies to the Lord Speaker, andare all appointed by the House of Lords itself at the be-ginning of each session. By custom, the Crown appointseach Chairman, Principal Deputy Chairman and DeputyChairman to the additional oce of Deputy Speaker ofthe House of Lords.[58] There was previously no legal re-quirement that the Lord Chancellor or a Deputy Speakerbe a member of the House of Lords (though the same haslong been customary).Whilst presiding over the House of Lords, the Lord Chan-cellor traditionally wore ceremonial black and gold robes.Robes of black and gold are now worn by the Lord Chan-cellor and Secretary of State for Justice in the House ofCommons, on ceremonial occasions. This is no longer

11

a requirement for the Lord Speaker except for State oc-casions outside of the chamber. The Speaker or DeputySpeaker sits on theWoolsack, a large red seat stued withwool, at the front of the Lords Chamber.When the House of Lords resolves itself into committee(see below), the Chairman of Committees or a DeputyChairman of Committees presides, not from the Wool-sack, but from a chair at the Table of the House. Thepresiding ocer has little power compared to the Speakerof the House of Commons. He or she only acts as themouthpiece of the House, performing duties such as an-nouncing the results of votes. This is because, unlike inthe House of Commons where all statements are directedto Mr/Madam Speaker, in the House of Lords they aredirected to My Lords, i.e. the entire body of the House.The Lord Speaker or Deputy Speaker cannot determinewhich members may speak, or discipline members for vi-olating the rules of the House; these measures may betaken only by the House itself. Unlike the politically neu-tral Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chan-cellor and Deputy Speakers originally remained membersof their respective parties, and were permitted to partici-pate in debate; however, this is no longer true of the newrole of Lord Speaker.Another ocer of the body is the Leader of the House ofLords, a peer selected by the PrimeMinister. The Leaderof the House is responsible for steering Government billsthrough the House of Lords, and is a member of the Cab-inet. The Leader also advises the House on proper proce-dure when necessary, but such advice is merely informal,rather than ocial and binding. A Deputy Leader is alsoappointed by the Prime Minister, and takes the place ofan absent or unavailable Leader.The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk and of-cer of the House of Lords (but is not a member of theHouse itself). The Clerk, who is appointed by the Crown,advises the presiding ocer on the rules of the House,signs orders and ocial communications, endorses bills,and is the keeper of the ocial records of both Housesof Parliament. Moreover, the Clerk of the Parliaments isresponsible for arranging by-elections of hereditary peerswhen necessary. The deputies of the Clerk of the Parlia-ments (the Clerk Assistant and the Reading Clerk) areappointed by the Lord Speaker, subject to the Housesapproval.The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod is also an ocerof the House; he takes his title from the symbol of his of-ce, a black rod. Black Rod (as the Gentleman Usher isnormally known) is responsible for ceremonial arrange-ments, is in charge of the Houses doorkeepers, and may(upon the order of the House) take action to end disorderor disturbance in the Chamber. Black Rod also holds theoce of Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords, and inthis capacity attends upon the Lord Speaker. The Gentle-man Usher of the Black Rods duties may be delegated tothe Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod or to the Assistant

Serjeant-at-Arms.

4 Procedure

Benches in the House of Lords Chamber are coloured red. Incontrast, the House of Commons is decorated in green.

See also the stages of a bill section in Acts ofParliament in the United Kingdom

The House of Lords and the House of Commons assem-ble in the Palace of Westminster. The Lords Chamberis lavishly decorated, in contrast with the more modestlyfurnished Commons Chamber. Benches in the LordsChamber are coloured red. The Woolsack is at the frontof the Chamber; the Government sit on benches on theright of the Woolsack, while members of the Oppositionsit on the left. Crossbenchers, sit on the benches imme-diately opposite the Woolsack.[59]

The Lords Chamber is the site of many formal cere-monies, the most famous of which is the State Opening ofParliament, held at the beginning of each new parliamen-tary session. During the State Opening, the Sovereign,seated on the Throne in the Lords Chamber and in thepresence of both Houses of Parliament, delivers a speechoutlining the Governments agenda for the upcoming par-liamentary session.In the House of Lords, members need not seek the recog-nition of the presiding ocer before speaking, as is donein the House of Commons. If two or more Lords simul-taneously rise to speak, the House decides which one isto be heard by acclamation, or, if necessary, by votingon a motion. Often, however, the Leader of the Housewill suggest an order, which is thereafter generally fol-lowed. Speeches in the House of Lords are addressed tothe House as a whole (My Lords) rather than to the pre-siding ocer alone (as is the custom in the Lower House).Members may not refer to each other in the second per-son (as you), but rather use third person forms such asthe noble Duke, the noble Earl, the noble Lord, mynoble friend, The most Reverend Primate etc.

12 5 COMMITTEES

Each member may make no more than one speech on amotion, except that the mover of the motion may makeone speech at the beginning of the debate and anotherat the end. Speeches are not subject to any time limitsin the House; however, the House may put an end to aspeech by approving a motion that the noble Lord be nolonger heard. It is also possible for the House to end thedebate entirely, by approving a motion that the Questionbe now put. This procedure is known as Closure, and isextremely rare.Once all speeches on amotion have concluded, or Closureinvoked, the motion may be put to a vote. The House rstvotes by voice vote; the Lord Speaker or Deputy Speakerputs the question, and the Lords respond either Content(in favour of the motion) or Not Content (against themotion). The presiding ocer then announces the resultof the voice vote, but if his assessment is challenged byany Lord, a recorded vote known as a division follows.Members of the House enter one of two lobbies (theContent lobby or the Not-Content lobby) on eitherside of the Chamber, where their names are recorded byclerks. At each lobby are two Tellers (themselves mem-bers of the House) who count the votes of the Lords. TheLord Speaker may not take part in the vote. Once the di-vision concludes, the Tellers provide the results thereofto the presiding ocer, who then announces them to theHouse.If there is an equality of votes, the motion is decided ac-cording to the following principles: legislation may pro-ceed in its present form, unless there is a majority infavour of amending or rejecting it; any other motions arerejected, unless there is a majority in favour of approvingit. The quorum of the House of Lords is just three mem-bers for a general or procedural vote, and 30 members fora vote on legislation. If fewer than three or 30 members(as appropriate) are present, the division is invalid.

4.1 Disciplinary powersBy contrast with the House of Commons, the House ofLords has not had an established procedure for puttingsanctions on its members. When a cash for inuencescandal was referred to the Committee of Privileges inJanuary 2009, the Leader of the House of Lords alsoasked the Privileges Committee to report on what sanc-tions theHouse had against its members.[60] After seekingadvice from the Attorney General for England and Walesand the former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clash-fern, the committee decided that the House possessedan inherent power to suspend errant members, althoughnot to withhold a Writ of summons nor to expel a mem-ber permanently.[61] When the House subsequently sus-pended Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor of Blackburn fortheir role in the scandal, they were the rst to meet thisfate since 1642.[62]

There are two other motions which have grown up

through custom and practice and which govern question-able conduct within the House. They are brought intoplay by a member standing up, possibly intervening onanother member, and moving the motion without notice.When the debate is getting excessively heated, it is opento a member to move that the Standing Order on As-perity of Speech be read by the Clerk. The motion canbe debated,[63] but if agreed by the House, the Clerk ofthe Parliaments will read out Standing Order 33 whichprovides That all personal, sharp, or taxing speeches beforborn.[64] The Journals of the House of Lords recordonly four instances on which the House has ordered theStanding Order to be read since the procedure was in-vented in 1871.[65]

For more serious problems with an individual Lord, theoption is available to move That the noble Lord be nolonger heard. This motion also is debatable, and the de-bate which ensues has sometimes oered a chance for themember whose conduct has brought it about to come toorder so that the motion can be withdrawn. If the motionis passed, its eect is to prevent the member from contin-uing their speech on themotion then under debate.[66] TheJournals identify eleven occasions on which this motionhas been moved since 1884; four were eventually with-drawn, one was voted down, and six were passed.[67]

4.2 Leave of absence

In 1958, to counter criticism that some peers only ap-peared at major decisions in the House and thereby par-ticular votes were swayed, the Standing Orders of theHouse of Lords were enhanced.[68] Peers who did notwish to attend meetings regularly or were prevented byill health, age or further reasons, were now able to re-quest Leave of Absence.[69] During the granted time apeer is expected not to visit the Houses meetings untileither its expiration or termination, announced at least amonth prior to their return.[70]

5 CommitteesUnlike in the House of Commons, when the term com-mittee is used to describe a stage of a bill, this commit-tee does not take the form of a public bill committee, butwhat is described as Committee of theWhole House. It ismade up of all Members of the House of Lords allowingany Member to contribute to debates if he or she choosesto do so and allows for more exible rules of procedure.It is presided over by the Chairman of Committees.[71]

The term committee is also used to describe Grand Com-mittee, where the same rules of procedure apply as in themain chamber, except that no divisions may take place.For this reason, business that is discussed in Grand Com-mittee is usually uncontroversial and likely to be agreedunanimously.[72]

13

Public bills may also be committed to pre-legislative com-mittees. A pre-legislative Committee is specically con-stituted for a particular bill. These committees are es-tablished in advance of the bill be laid before either theHouse of Lords or the House of Commons and can takeevidence from the public. Such committees are rare anddo not replace any of the usual stages of a bill, includingcommittee stage.[73]

The House of Lords also has 15 Select Committees. Typ-ically, these are 'sessional committees, meaning that theirmembers are appointed by the House at the beginningof each session, and continue to serve until the next par-liamentary session begins. In practice, these are oftenpermanent committees, which are re-established duringevery session. These committees are typically empow-ered to make reports to the House 'from time to time',that is whenever they wish. Other committees are 'ad-hoc' committees, which are set up to investigate a specicissue. When they are set up by a motion in the House,the motion will set a deadline by which the Committeemust report. After this date, the Committee will ceaseto exist unless it is granted an extension. An example ofthis in the current parliamentary session is the Commit-tee on Public Service and Demographic Change.[74] TheHouse of Lords may appoint a chairman for a commit-tee; if it does not do so, the Chairman of Committees ora Deputy Chairman of Committees may preside instead.Most of the Select Committees are also granted the powerto co-opt members, such as the European Union Commit-tee.[75] The primary function of Select Committees is toscrutinise and investigate Government activities; to ful-l these aims, they are permitted to hold hearings andcollect evidence. Bills may be referred to Select Com-mittees, but are more often sent to the Committee of theWhole House and Grand Committees.The committee system of the House of Lords also in-cludes several Domestic Committees, which supervise orconsider the Houses procedures and administration. Oneof the Domestic Committees is the Committee of Selec-tion, which is responsible for assigning members to manyof the Houses other committees.

6 Current compositionMain article: Members of the House of Lords

As of 12 June 2015, the composition of the House ofLords is:[2]

GovernmentOppositionOther

Note: These gures exclude Members who are on leave ofabsence, disqualied as senior members of the judiciaryor disqualied as MEPs.[2]

The House of Lords Act 1999 allocated 75 of the 92hereditary peers to the parties based on the proportion ofhereditary peers that belonged to that party in 1999:[50]

Conservative Party: 42 peers Labour Party: 2 peers Liberal Democrats: 3 peers Crossbenchers: 28 peers

Of the initial 42 hereditary peers elected as Conser-vatives, one (Lord Willoughby de Broke) now sits asUKIP.[2][76]

15 hereditary peers are elected by the whole House, andthe remaining hereditary peers are the two royal oce-holders, the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamber-lain, both being currently on leave of absence.[2]

A report in 2007 stated that many members of the Lords(particularly the life peers) do not attend regularly; theaverage daily attendance was around 408.[77]

While the number of hereditary peers is limited to 92,and that of Lords spiritual to 26, there is no maximumlimit to the number of life peers who may be members ofthe House of Lords at any time.

7 Government Leaders and Minis-ters in the Lords

7.1 Leaders and Chief whips Baroness Stowell of Beeston Leader of the Houseof Lords and Lord Privy Seal (Conservative) (Cabi-net member)

Earl Howe Minister of State for the Defenceand Deputy Leader of the House of Lords(Conservative) (unpaid)

Lord Taylor of Holbeach Lords Chief Whip andCaptain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen atArms

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Government DeputyChief Whip and Captain of the Queens Bodyguardof the Yeomen of the Guard

7.2 Other Ministers Baroness Anelay of St Johns Minister of State forForeign and Commonwealth Aairs (attends Cabi-net)

Baroness Altmann Minister of State for Pensions

14 9 REFERENCES

Lord Faulks Minister of State for Civil Justice (un-paid)

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for Transport and Home Oce

Lord Freud Parliamentary Under Secretary ofState for Work and Pensions (unpaid)

Lord Bates Minister of State for Home Oce (un-paid)

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for Energy, Climate Change andWales Oce (unpaid) and Government whip

Lord Nash Parliamentary Under Secretary of Statefor Education (unpaid)

Baroness Neville-Rolfe Parliamentary Under Sec-retary of State for Intellectual Property

Baroness Shields Parliamentary Under Secretaryof State for Internet Safety and Security (unpaid)

Baroness Williams of Traord Parliamentary Un-der Secretary of State for Communities and LocalGovernment

Baroness Verma Parliamentary Under Secretaryof State for International Development

8 See also Gunpowder Plot Constitution Committee House of Lords Library Introduction (House of Lords) Introduction cere-mony

Lord-in-Waiting Parliament in the Making Parliament Week Parliamentary Archives Reform of the House of Lords

8.1 Overseas counterpartsExtant

House of Ariki of the Cook Islands House of Nobility (Sweden) Canadian Senate

Dewan Negara (Malaysia)

Defunct

Irish House of Lords (sat 12971800) Chamber of Peers (France) Chamber of Peers (Portugal) Chamber of Peers (Spain) House of Peers (Japan) Prussian House of Lords House of Lords (Austria)

9 References[1] Baroness D'Souza Biography and Factle. 8 January

2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.

[2] Lords by party, type of peerage and gender. Parliamentof the United Kingdom. 12 June 2015.

[3] Quick Guide to the House of Lords (PDF). Parliamentof the United Kingdom. Retrieved 8 November 2011.

[4] Conventions: Joint Committee. Parliamentary Debates(Hansard). House of Lords. 25 April 2006.

[5] Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Pro-ceedings of the House of Lords. May 2010. Retrieved 1July 2011.

[6] House of Lords Appointments Commission website. 8February 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.

[7] House of Lords brieng paper on Membership:Typesof Member, Routes to membership, Parties & groups(PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 1July 2011.

[8] Adonis, Andrew (1993). Parliament Today (2nd ed.). p.194.

[9] Current state of the parties. Parliament of the UnitedKingdom. 8 November 2010. Archived from the originalon 26 November 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.

[10] What individual Lords do. Parliament of the UnitedKingdom. Retrieved 29 January 2012.

[11] Guide to the House of Lords. BBC Democracy Live.31 May 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2012.

[12] UK Parliament. Parliament Act 1911 as amended (seealso enacted form), from legislation.gov.uk. s.2 exemptsbills extending the life of a Parliament from the restric-tions on the Lords powers to delay bills, while s.6 excludesProvisional Order bills.

[13] Carmichael, Paul; Dickson, Brice (1999). The House ofLords: Its Parliamentary and Judicial Roles. Hart Publish-ing. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-84113-020-0.

15

[14] Feldman, David (31 March 2011), The Constitutional Re-formProcess (WRITTENEVIDENCESUBMITTEDTOTHE HOUSE OF LORDS SELECT COMMITTEE ONTHE CONSTITUTION), Cambridge, United Kingdom:Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, p. 21, retrieved29 January 2012

[15] Reidy, Aisling; Russell, Meg (June 1999), Second Cham-bers as Constitutional Guardians and Protectors of HumanRights, London: The Constitution Unit, School of PublicPolicy, University College London, p. 2

[16] Carmichael, Paul; Dickson, Brice (1999). The House ofLords: Its Parliamentary and Judicial Roles. Hart Publish-ing. pp. 4041. ISBN 978-1-84113-020-0.

[17] Parliamentary sovereignty. Parliament of the UnitedKingdom. Retrieved 29 January 2012.

[18] Loveland (2009) p. 158

[19] An Act abolishing the House of Lords. 19 March 1649.Retrieved 24 May 2008.

[20] The Monarchist, no. 57, p. 27 34

[21] Labours 1997 pledges: The constitution. BBC. 6 May2002. Retrieved 23 March 2013.

[22] Lords report fails to satisfy. BBC. 20 January 2000. Re-trieved 23 March 2013.

[23] Election issues: Constitutional Reform. BBC. 5 April2005. Retrieved 23 March 2013.

[24] The House of Lords: Reform Cm 7027 (PDF). Re-trieved 9 April 2010.

[25] MPs back all-elected Lords plan. BBC. 7 March 2007.Retrieved 23 March 2013.

[26] Assinder, Nick (14 March 2007). Where now for Lordsreform?". BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2013.

[27] Peers reject Lords reform plans. BBC. 14 March 2007.Retrieved 23 March 2013.

[28] Straw unveils elected Lords plan. BBC. 14 July 2008.Retrieved 23 March 2013.

[29] Russell, Meg (July 2003). Is the House of Lords AlreadyReformed?". The Political Quarterly 74 (3): 311318.doi:10.1111/1467-923X.00540. ISSN 0032-3179. Re-trieved 5 June 2012.

[30] Treadwell (2010) p.2

[31] Dan Byles: House of Lords Reform Private MembersBill. PoliticsHome (Press release). 4 June 2013. Re-trieved 23 November 2014.

[32] House of Lords Reform Act 2014. Parliament of theUK. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.

[33] Hughes, Darren (16 June 2013). The Supersized Houseof Lords. Electoral Reform Society.

[34] House of Lords - Annual Report and Accounts 1999-2000. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19May 2008. This major change had the eect of reducingthe total membership of the House from 1,330 in October1999 - the highest gure ever recorded - to 669 in March2000

[35] Crick, Michael (19 April 2011). Stop making new lords,political big-wigs urge Cameron. BBC News. Retrieved4 August 2014.

[36] Lansdale, James; Bishop, Emma (5 August 2014). Peersght for space in crowded House. BBC News. Retrieved23 November 2014.

[37] Ghose, Katie (1 August 2013). Crowded house why wehave too many lords. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August2014.

[38] Savage, Michael (4 August 2014). Betty Boothroyd urgesolder peers to retire. The Times. Retrieved 4 August2014.

[39] Parliament and government. Parliament of the UnitedKingdom. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2013.

[40] Wasson, Ellis (31 August 2009). A History of ModernBritain: 1714 to the Present. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN9781405139359.

[41] House of Lords (2013). Companion to the standing ordersand guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords (PDF)(23 ed.). London: The Stationery Oce. Retrieved 25March 2013.

[42] Lords Spiritual and Temporal. Parliament of the UnitedKingdom.

[43] Shell (2007) p.54

[44] Shell (2007) p.53

[45] Explanatory Notes to The House of Commons (Removalof Clergy Disqualication) Act 2001. London, UnitedKingdom: Oce of Public Sector Information. 21 May2001. Retrieved 5 September 2009.

[46] Shell (2007) p.55

[47] Biography of the Chief Rabbi. London, United King-dom: Oce of the Chief Rabbi. Retrieved 16 November2009.

[48] UK Parliament. Honours (Prevention of Abuses)Act 1925 as amended (see also enacted form), fromlegislation.gov.uk.

[49] Mell, Radford and Thevoz, pp 8, 13,17, 22

[50] The Standing Orders of the House of Lords relating toPublic Business. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 8April 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2010.

[51] UK Parliament. Life Peerages Act 1958 as amended (seealso enacted form), from legislation.gov.uk.

[52] UK Parliament. Peerage Act 1963 as amended (see alsoenacted form), from legislation.gov.uk.

16 11 FURTHER READING

[53] UK Parliament. House of Lords Act 1999 as amended (seealso enacted form), from legislation.gov.uk.

[54] UK Parliament. House of Lords Reform Act 2014 asamended (see also enacted form), from legislation.gov.uk.

[55] UK Parliament. House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspen-sion) Act 2015 as amended (see also enacted form), fromlegislation.gov.uk.

[56] Interview with the Lord Speaker. Parliament of theUnited Kingdom. Retrieved 25 July 2009.

[57] Baroness D'Souza elected Lord Speaker. BBC News.Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[58] Deputy Speakers. Parliament of the United Kingdom.Retrieved 2 July 2011.

[59] House of Lords brieng paper, AGuide to Business, page3. Retrieved 5 June 2011.

[60] The Powers of the House of Lords in respect of its Mem-bers. House of Lords, Committee for Privileges. para-graph 2.

[61] The Powers of the House of Lords in respect of its Mem-bers. House of Lords, Committee for Privileges. para-graph 8.

[62] Sparrow,, Andrew (21 May 2009). "'Sullied' memberssuspend two peers in rst case since 1642. The Guardian.p. 6.

[63] Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the pro-ceedings of theHouse of Lords. Parliament of theUnitedKingdom. October 2006. paragraph 4.58.

[64] The Standing Orders of the House of Lords (PDF). Par-liament of the United Kingdom. 23 April 2015.

[65] See Lords Journal vol. CIII p. 629, vol. CIV p. 381, vol.182 p. 90, and vol. 231 p. 644 and 6489.

[66] Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the pro-ceedings of the House of Lords. October 2006. para-graphs 4.59 and 4.60.

[67] See Lords Journal vol. CXVI p. 162, vol. CXXIII p. 354,vol. 192 p. 231, vol. 215 p. 2001, vol. 218 p. 119, vol.221 p. 539, vol. 225 p. 194, vol. 226 p. 339, vol. 228 p.308, vol. 229 p. 89, and vol. 233 p. 791.

[68] House of Lords Reform and Proposals for Reform since1900. Retrieved 7 October 2010.

[69] The House of Lords: Reform. The Stationery Oce.2007. p. 12. ISBN 0-10-170272-8.

[70] Parliament of the United Kingdom, Ocial Website FAQ. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 7October 2010.

[71] Companion to the Standing orders of the House ofLords. Parliament of the United Kingdom. p. 138. Re-trieved 1 July 2011.

[72] Companion to the Standing orders of the House ofLords. Parliament of the United Kingdom. p. 40. Re-trieved 1 July 2011.

[73] Companion to the Standing orders of the House ofLords. Parliament of the United Kingdom. p. 128. Re-trieved 1 July 2011.

[74] Ad-Hoc Committee on Public Service and DemographicChange. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved16 June 2012.

[75] Companion to the Standing orders of the House ofLords. Parliament of the United Kingdom. p. 214. Re-trieved 1 July 2011.

[76] Lists of Members of the House of Lords. Parlia-ment of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 21 June 2012.Willoughby de Broke, Lord UK Independence Party

[77] The House of Lords: Reform (PDF). London: The Sta-tionery Oce. February 2007. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-10-170272-0. OCLC 83593847. Retrieved 25 May 2008.taking the 20052006 session, the average attendance wasaround 408, or 56% of members.

10 Bibliography Carroll, Alex (2007). Constitutional and Adminis-trative Law (4th ed.). Pearson Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-1231-3.

Hayter, Paul (2007). Companion to the Standing Or-ders and guide to the Proceedings of the House ofLords (21st ed.). Her Majestys Stationery Oce.

Jones, Bill; Dennis Kavanagh; Michael Moran;Philip Norton (2007). Politics UK (6th ed.). Pear-son Education. ISBN 978-1-4058-2411-8.

Loveland, Ian (2009). Constitutional Law, Admin-istrative Law and Human Rights (5th ed.). OxfordUniversity Press. ISBN 978-0-19-921974-2.

Mell, Andrew; Radford, Simon; Thevoz, SethAlexander (2015). Is there a market for peerages?Oxford University Department of Economics dis-cussion paper, No.744.

Shell, Donald (2007). The House of Lords (3rd ed.).Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-5443-5.

11 Further reading Harry Jones (1912). Liberalism and the House ofLords: The Story of the Veto Battle, 18321911.London: Methuen.

Smith, Philip Vernon (1884). The House of Lordsand the nation. London.

17

12 External links Ocial House of Lords website Ocial House of Lords publications website Archives of the House of Lords

Coordinates: 512955.7N 00729.5W /51.498806N 0.124861W

18 13 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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History19th century20th centuryLords Reform199720102010presentHouse of Lords Reform Act 2014Overcrowding

Relationship with the GovernmentLegislative functionsFormer judicial role

MembershipLords SpiritualLords TemporalCash for Peerages

QualificationsRemoval from House membership

OfficersProcedureDisciplinary powersLeave of absence

CommitteesCurrent compositionGovernment Leaders and Ministers in the LordsLeaders and Chief whipsOther Ministers

See alsoOverseas counterparts

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