House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill has passed through Parliament

NOTE: The Bill received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026

All that remains for the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is the formality of Royal Assent and the bill then becomes an Act of Parliament. 

This is a Bill to - 'remove the remaining connection between hereditary peerage and membership of the House of Lords; to make provision about resignation from the House of Lords; to abolish the jurisdiction of the House of Lords in relation to claims to hereditary peerages; and for connected purposes.'

Hence, hereditary peerages are NOT being abolished. 

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed most hereditary peers from the House of Lords but 90 (plus the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain) were permitted to remain (see section 2). The Hereditary Peers Bill removes this exception. The Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain will continue to have ceremonial functions but will not be entitled to sit in the House and vote.

The removal from the House of the remaining hereditary peers was included in the 2024 Labour Party manifesto. 

Whilst birth

ought not to entitle an individual to sit in Parliament, the effect is that the House will have an entirely appointed membership. For that reason, I do not seen this is a change to enhance democracy.

It is likely that 2026 will see a considerable number of new Life Peers. The new life peers may include some of the hereditary peers to enable them to continue to sit. The majority of new life peers will be nominated by the Prime Minister and most of them will be those willing to take the Labour Party whip in the House. 

Government Press release 10 March 2026 - The Bill will come into effect at the end of this session of Parliament, after which no peer will be a member of the House of Lords on the basis of their hereditary peerage. 

Parliament - Hereditary Peers Bill passes final stage - The government confirmed that a number of life peerages will be allocated to the Official Opposition and to the Crossbenchers, and that there will be an increase in the number of ministerial salaries that can be paid.

Addition 12 March 2026:

Public Sector Executive - Hereditary Peers Bill passes bringing major reform to the House of Lords

Addition 14 March 2026:

The Electoral Reform Society has published an interesting paper on House of Lords reform - Unfinished Business: Routes to an Elected Second Chamber

The paper is of interest. As things stand in early 2026, an elected second chamber is unlikely to come about. Politicians appear to prefer a system of patronage which will prevail after the removal of the hereditary peers. 

Canada - The 343 members of the lower house (the House of Commons) are styled as Members of Parliament (MPs), and each elected to represent an electoral district (also known as a riding). The 105 members of the upper house (the Senate) are styled senators and appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister.  

Australia - there is a bicameral Parliament with an elected Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate consists of 76 senators, twelve from each of the six states and two from each of the mainland territories. House of Representatives has 150 members.

New Zealand has a unicameral legislature consisting of the monarch (represented by the governor-general) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world. It was bicameral until the abolition of the New Zealand Legislative Council at the end of 1950.