The House of Lords and the Hereditary Peers

As is well-known, the United Kingdom Parliament is "bicameral" (comprising two Houses) - the (unelected) House of Lords and the (elected) House of Commons. The House of Lords is made up of a number of hereditary peers (i.e. those entitled to attend by birth), the two Church of England Archbishops and a number of Bishops, and Life Peers. The latter are appointed, technically by the Crown, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. In practice, this amounts to a Prime Ministerial power of appointment and its use has been controversial particularly in some recent cases. 

 

A major criticism of the House of Lords is the size of its membership - currently 851 - see the Dashboard.

The Labour Party's 2024 manifesto made it clear that 

the remaining 92 hereditary peers would be removed from the House of Lords. Obviously, that would initially achieve a reduction in size but, in the longer term, numbers might increase because the Prime Minister of the day will continue to have the right to nominate new peers. 

 The Labour Party's 2024 manifesto stated -

'Although Labour recognises the good work of many peers who scrutinise the government and improve the quality of legislation passed in Parliament ,reform is long over-due and essential.

Too many peers do not play a proper role in our democracy. Hereditary peers remain indefensible. And because appointments are for life, the second chamber of Parliament has become too big. The next Labour government will therefore bring about an immediate modernisation, by introducing legislation to remove the right of  hereditary peers to sit and vote in theHouse of Lords.'

A Bill duly appeared - The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill 2025 - (pdf - Bill as introduced on 5 September 2024). For up-to-date materials see Parliament Bills.

The manifesto continued - 'Labour will also introduce a mandatory retirement age. 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.'

'Labour will ensure all peers meet the high standards the public expect of them, and we will introduce a new participation requirement as well as strengthening the circumstances in which disgraced members can be removed.'

'We will reform the appointments process to ensure the quality of new appointments and will seek to improve the national and regional balance of the second chamber.'

'Whilst this action to modernise the House of Lords will be an improvement, Labour is committed
to replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber that is more representative of the
regions and nations. Labour will consult on proposals, seeking the input of the British public on how politics can best serve them.'

The Bill as introduced

An earlier post looked at the Bill as introduced - House of Lords Reform ~ Hereditary Peers to be completely excluded. 

The Bill in Parliament

The Bill swiftly passed the House of Commons with a Third Reading on 12 November 2024. It then went to the Lords with First Reading on 13 November 2024 and Third Reading on 21 July 2025. 

Various Lords amendments were made to the Bill and they are discussed in this House of Lords Library publication.

On 4 September, the House of Commons voted on the amendments - see House of Commons - (HERE).

An amendment to retain some hereditary peers but to not fill vacancies was rejected. 

An amendment to prevent unsalaried Ministers sitting in the Lords was also rejected.

A new form of Life Peerage - without entitlement to sit in the lords - was proposed but was also rejected.

Finally, the Government supported a Lords amendment that would allow a power of attorney to sign a resignation on behalf of a peer who lacks capacity.

The amendments are well-explained in this Independent article. 

Discussion

It will now be up to the House of Lords to decide whether or not to accept the fact that the Commons has disagreed. Given that this reform is clearly a manifesto commitment, it seems likely that the Bill will now proceed to Royal Assent.

Other questions 

What of the other matters in the manifesto? A Select Committee is to be set up to consider issues such as retirement age and participation.The Select Committee will be established within three months of Royal Assent and will issue its findings by summer 2026.

Will further life peers be created? This remains to be seen but it is very likely given the desire of the government to push its legislation through Parliament.  The removal of the hereditary peers seems to be ideological and it is doubtful whether it will actually result in an improvement to the Lords as a second "revising" Chamber.

There is no barrier to an existing hereditary peer being also created a Life Peer. Whether that will happen remains to be seen but it would enable some to continue to participate in Parliament. 

The Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal will continue to be members of the House of Lords because of their ceremonial roles.