Structure + role of the House of Lords

• Composition of the Lords

  • 784 Peers vs 650 Mps (no maximum number of peers)
  • 26 Lord Spiritual (Bishops + Archbishops of the Church of England)
  • Around 665 Life peers (appointed for their lifetime only)
  • Around 91 hereditary peers (title passed down for generations)
  • 584 men vs 206 women
  • Crossbench peer= politically neutral
  • PM chooses the Lords. However, The H o L appointments commission nominates independent crossbenchers
• Reform of the Lords over the years

  • 1909 - Lords attempted to defeat 'the peoples budget', however it went agaisnt the Salisbury Convention (Lords won't vote against manifesto pledges)
  • 1911 Parliament Act- Lords power to veto was replaced by the power to delay + they cannot defeat money bills
  • 1949 Parliament Act- they can only delay bills for one year
  • 1958 Peerages Act - Introduced life peers
  • 1999 House of Lords Reform Act- Removed most hereditary peers leaving 91, the number of peers was above 1300 before the act and was under 700 after.
• Roles of the Lords

  • Debate legislation that has been sent from the Commons
  • Initiate legislation
  • Delay legislation (one year, 1949 Parliament Act)
  • Defeat legislation (notably proposed by the government - 2012 Welfare reform Act.
  • The Lords defeated the government over Brexit legislation 14 times.
  • Hold general debates
• Overview of the Lords

  • Lords have more expertise + time than the commons. (E.g, Lord Horgan-Howe, ex-police chief.
  • The are democratically illegitimate - they are unelected