Table Of Content
There are 827 peers in the House of Lords as of August 2023, with 784 of peers eligible to attend proceedings (those on leave of absence or who hold certain outside roles such as sitting judges are still peers but ineligible to attend). When the House of Lords resolves itself into committee (see below), the Chairman of Committees or a Deputy Chairman of Committees presides, not from the Woolsack, but from a chair at the Table of the House. The presiding officer has little power compared to the Speaker of the House of Commons. The presiding officer only acts as the mouthpiece of the House, performing duties such as announcing the results of votes. This is because, unlike in the House of Commons where all statements are directed to "Mr/Madam Speaker", in the House of Lords they are directed to "My Lords"; i.e., the entire body of the House.
Peers suspended
In December, there were 784 peers, making the House of Lords the second largest parliamentary chamber in the world. Like MPs, they scrutinise the work of government and recommend changes to proposed legislation. Members of the House enter one of two lobbies (the content lobby or the not-content lobby) on either side of the Chamber, where their names are recorded by clerks. At each lobby are two Tellers (themselves members of the House) who count the votes of the Lords.
Rwanda bill further delayed after Lords again votes for changes - The Guardian
Rwanda bill further delayed after Lords again votes for changes.
Posted: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Ministers and their teams
The Lords has increased in size from 690 peers in November 2000, to 827 peers in 2023. The number of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (excluding those who were no longer able to hear cases because of age restrictions) was limited to twelve, but could be changed by statutory instrument. By a convention of the House, Lords of Appeal in Ordinary did not take part in debates on new legislation, so as to maintain judicial independence. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary held their seats in the House of Lords for life, remaining as members even after reaching the judicial retirement age of 70 or 75.
Number of members of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom in 2024, by political party or grouping
UK Parliament passes controversial Rwanda migrant bill after a two-year tussle - WION
UK Parliament passes controversial Rwanda migrant bill after a two-year tussle.
Posted: Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:02:21 GMT [source]
Today, the two houses of Parliament—the House of Lords and the House of Commons—meet in the Palace of Westminster in London, and are the only body in the United Kingdom’s constitutional monarchy government with the authority to create legislation and make laws. Through a series of legislative acts, known as the “Reform Acts,” a number of changes were made to the composition and legislative process in Parliament. The Reform Act of 1918 gave women the right to vote, and the first woman was elected to the body that same year.
Most legislation, with the exception of money bills, may be introduced in either the House of Lords or House of Commons. This Act made provision to preferentially admit female bishops of the Church of England to the Lords Spiritual over male ones in the 10 years following its commencement (2015 to 2025). This came as a consequence of the Church of England deciding in 2014 to begin to ordain women as bishops.
The Lords' judicial functions originated from the ancient role of the Curia Regis as a body that addressed the petitions of the King's subjects. The functions were exercised not by the whole House, but by a committee of "Law Lords". The bulk of the House's judicial business was conducted by the twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, who were specifically appointed for this purpose under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. Most notably, until 2009 the House of Lords served as the court of last resort for most instances of UK law.
During Henry IV’s time on the throne, the role of Parliament expanded beyond the determination of taxation policy to include the “redress of grievances,” which essentially enabled English citizens to petition the body to address complaints in their local towns and counties. By this time, citizens were given the power to vote to elect their representatives—the burgesses—to the House of Commons. By 1254, the sheriffs of the various counties in England were instructed to send elected representatives of their districts (knowns as “knights of the shire”) to consult with the king on issues related to taxation. Four years later, at the English university town of Oxford, the noblemen who served in Parliament at the time drafted the “Provisions of Oxford,” which called for regular meetings of the legislative body, composed of representatives from each of the counties. Many call for reform of the Lords, primarily due to it not being elected by popular vote. It is widely argued that one of the most urgent reforms needed is to contain the ballooning size of the Lords by restricting the Prime Minister’s power to appoint new peers.
Through the work of parliamentary select committees, peers investigate public policy covering a wide range of public policy, from justice and home affairs, to the long-term sustainability of the NHS. Committees produce reports which can often directly or indirectly influence the formulation of government policy. There are also 92 hereditary peers who continue to sit in the House of Lords ‘by right’ – that is, because of titles they have inherited. When a hereditary peer representing a political party dies or retires , a by-election among the other hereditary peers in their own party is held to choose their replacement. The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk and officer of the House of Lords (but is not a member of the House itself).
In the meantime, the creation of new hereditary peerages (except for members of the Royal Family) has been arrested, with the exception of three that were created during the administration of Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. It follows a reverse last year of that policy in the supreme court, where the bill was found to be unlawful, necessitating the present bill to overrule its predecessor. The government desperately wants its bill to allow some deportation to take place this summer, which is why it has resisted a flurry of amendments passed by the House of Lords.
Further cross-party talks took place, and a further white paper was published in 2008, but progress was halted by the 2010 general election which saw a change in government. Until 1999, it was comprised primarily of hereditary peers and between the 1950s and 1990s, membership had increased from 850 to 1,200. In 2000, Tony Blair said HOLAC would ensure the Lords were "more representative of our diverse society". These reforms were intended to be a first stage of reform, but the next stage was never completed. The limits on the Lords’ power reflect the fact that it is the unelected chamber of parliament.
In particular, all prime ministers since 1902 have been members of the lower house[78] (Alec Douglas-Home, who became prime minister in 1963 whilst still an earl, disclaimed his peerage and was elected to the Commons soon after his term began). In recent history, it has been very rare for major cabinet positions (except Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords) to have been filled by peers. Detailed proposals for Lords reform, including a draft House of Lords Reform Bill, were published on 17 May 2011.
However, the Lords still plays an important parliamentary role, particularly in shaping and refining legislation, and it is often referred to as a ‘revising chamber’. It frequently asks the House of Commons to ‘think again’ by tabling amendments to legislation that are then voted on by MPs. While it is uncommon for the government to be defeated on Lords amendments, it will often table its own amendments to address peers’ concerns. It went on to explain that there was cross-party consensus for the Chamber to be re-titled the "Senate of the United Kingdom"; however, to ensure the debate remained on the role of the Upper House rather than its title, the white paper was neutral on the title issue. The Labour Party included in its 1997 general election manifesto a commitment to remove the hereditary peerage from the House of Lords.[44] Their subsequent election victory in 1997 under Tony Blair led to the denouement of the traditional House of Lords. The Labour government introduced legislation to expel all hereditary peers from the Upper House as a first step in Lords reform.
In 2005, a cross-party group of senior MPs (Kenneth Clarke, Paul Tyler, Tony Wright, George Young, and Robin Cook) published a report proposing that 70% of members of the House of Lords should be elected – each member for a single long term – by the single transferable vote system. Most of the remainder were to be appointed by a Commission to ensure a mix of "skills, knowledge and experience". A cross-party campaign initiative called "Elect the Lords" was set up to make the case for a predominantly elected Upper Chamber in the run up to the 2005 general election. The King's Speech is delivered in the House of Lords chamber during the State Opening of Parliament.
Scotland formally became a part of the United Kingdom in 1707, and thus sent representatives to the Parliament at Westminster. By the late 1700s, Ireland was also part of the United Kingdom (the six counties in the north of the island—known collectively as Ulster—remain part of the U.K. today), and land-owners there elected their own representatives to both houses of Parliament. During their brief rule, Parliament was once again elevated to having law-making powers. In fact, when Mary and William died (in 1694 and in 1702, respectively), the legislature established new protocols for succession, and named George of Hanover king.
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