Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament that “the nation moves forward together” after legislation removed the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords.
The House of Lords passed the Hereditary Peers Bill on Tuesday evening, completing a reform launched more than 25 years ago and fulfilling a key manifesto pledge from Starmer’s Labour government to modernise the upper chamber.
Angela Smith, the leader of the Lords, said in a statement that the chamber played a “vital role within our bicameral parliament, but nobody should sit in the House by virtue of an inherited title.”
“Getting this bill through is a major first step towards reform of the Lords, with further changes to follow including on members’ retirement and participation requirements,” she added.
Prior to the reform, 92 hereditary peers retained the right to sit and vote, kept as a temporary compromise after over 600 were removed in 1999 by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called the system an “anachronism.”
Under the new rules, around 15 Conservative hereditary peers will be granted life peerages, with each party deciding whom to nominate.
The lavish red and gold chamber of the Palace of Westminster now accommodates around 800 members, mostly life appointed by the prime minister on party or independent commission advice, alongside Church of England bishops and, until recently, some hereditary peers.
Critics have long called for an overhaul of the appointments system, saying it encouraged cronyism and created the largest upper chamber in the world, larger than the 650 elected members of the House of Commons.
The Lords can suggest amendments to legislation but cannot block it, and the elected House of Commons can override any changes.
Goodness Anunobi
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