The UK House of Lords is set for the biggest shake-up in decades, as plans to eliminate the remaining hereditary peers from its composition are unveiled. The 92 seats reserved for this group are inherited through family titles. Abolishing them is a key election pledge made by the Labour Party. The current changes will complete reforms initiated by the last Labour government, which removed the right of all other hereditary peers to sit in the Lords in 1999. Labour has also promised to set a retirement age of 80 for members of the Lords, although this will come in later after a consultation has been conducted.
A first reading of the legislation to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords is being brought to the Commons. Constitution Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has called it a “landmark reform” to the UK Constitution. He believes that the hereditary principle has run its course, and the proposal is an important step in the campaign for “putting politics in the service of working people”. The move is also in sync with the new Labour party’s views that have approved the abolition of the House of Lords, replacing it with an elected Assembly of the Nations and Regions. However, this proposal seems unlikely to materialize before the next election.
Various attempts to change the House of Lords have been made over the years, but the process has proved notoriously difficult as members themselves are required to approve any changes. During the coalition government, the Liberal Democrats’ attempt to replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber collapsed after disagreements with Conservative rebels. Following such issues and changes, half of the hereditary members in the chamber are now Conservatives, while the remainder are mainly independent Crossbenchers. Only a few are Labour or Liberal Democrat hereditary peers.
Critics have described the House of Lords as too large in size, with multiple members failing to serve democracy. Its members are entitled to a daily allowance of £342 for each attending sitting day. However, they also have the option not to claim the allowance. Some Lords receive a salary, with the Lord Speaker being amongst them, earning £106,363. Lords who are government ministers are also entitled to a ministerial salary varying between £66,884 and £106,363
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