The House of Lords

1. The House of Lords By Mike Allen 1

2. Composition 1 All members are called peers Hereditary Peers These are peers who inherit their titles. New ones would be appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The title is passed from father to eldest son or normally to the eldest and closest male relative. Exceptionally some titles may be passed down through the female line if there is no direct male heir. There are around 20 hereditary peeresses. There are around 800 hereditary peers. In 1999 The Parliament Act reduced the number eligible to sit in the Lords to 92. These are elected by the other hereditary peers. 2

3. Composition 2 Life Peers These may be men or women. They are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. Their heirs do not inherit the title and may not sit in the House of Lords. They number about 600. 3

4. Composition 3 Lords Spiritual 26 in total. They are the most senior priests in the Church of England, which is the established church in England - the official state religion. The peers consist of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the 24 most senior diocesan bishops (bishops with a diocese - a territorial area of churches to administer). 4

5. Composition 4 The Law Lords. There were 18 and were a special type of life peer (first created in 1876). They were abolished by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which created a 12 member Supreme Court separate from the House of Lords. 5

6. Powers 1 Originally the Lords was theoretically coequal on powers with the Commons though a convention grew up in the latter part of the 19th century that the Commons was supreme in financial matters. When the Lords broke this rule in 1909 it led to the Parliament Act 1911 which limited the Lords powers. The Parliament Act 1949 reduced them further. 6

7. Powers 2 The present position (Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949) Effectively the Lords have no power over finance. (They may delay financial legislation by one month but never use the power). 7

8. Powers 3 The Lords may delay legislation by one year. If they reject legislation or amend it in such a way that it is unacceptable to the government then the government can overcome the Lords veto by reintroducing the bill in the next session of Parliament and passing it through all its stages in the Commons. Then it would go for the Royal Assent and become law one year from the original introduction of the bill even if the Lords continued to reject it. In practice the Lords very rarely use these delaying powers. 8

9. Powers 4 The Lords has an absolute veto over any proposal to extend the lifetime of the Commons beyond 5 years. In other words neither the Government nor the Commons can overcome the rejection of such a bill. (Except if the Prime Minister persuaded the monarch to create enough peers to vote it through).� It is ironic that the House of Lords, an unelected chamber, is a guarantor of our democracy. 9

10. The Role Of the Lords 1 Legislation Initiation� The government may introduce bills into the Lords first (before they go to the Commons). These would normally be uncontroversial bills. Before 2005 changes to the judicial system were often introduced to the Lords first. eg the Human Rights bill was introduced into the Lords first in the session 1997-8. To some extent it is done to give the Lords something to do, otherwise at the beginning of the session they would have some months waiting for bills to come to them.� Private peers can also introduce bills but these are rarely successful since no time is allocated for the discussion of such bills in the Commons. Successful examples: the Badger Protection Act 1974, Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007. 10

11. The Role Of the Lords 2 The Revision of Legislation The Lords amends legislation which comes from the Commons. The procedures are very similar to those for the passage of a bill through the Commons, except that the Committee stage is taken on the floor of the chamber. Amendment by the Lords allows time for reflection, new points of view and for detecting errors in the bill not discovered in the Commons. Frequently the government itself will amend its own bills at this stage. �Many amendments will be accepted when the bill returns to the Commons though conflicts may occur. Normally the Lords gives way in a conflict over amendments. �This is seen to be the most important function for the Lords. 11

12. The Role Of the Lords 3 Delegated legislation. There is a joint (and Select) committee with the Commons which tries to act on as watchdog on the use of delegated powers. 12

13. The Role Of the Lords 4 The Discussion Of Current Affairs� The Lords has wide ranging discussions on topics of general interest. It has more time than the Commons for these types of debate because it does not discuss finance in detail. Many peers have wide experience and knowledge and some are specialists so that debates can be good and well informed. However they have little impact. 13

14. The Role Of the Lords 5 A Constitutional Check� Lords can be seen as a check upon the government and the Commons. As noted earlier it has an absolute veto on any proposal to extend the life of the Commons beyond 5 years. However in other respects is an extremely limited check since it has little power and has been afraid to use those powers through fear of abolition. 14

15. The Role Of the Lords 6 As a Convenience to the Government The PM can bring someone into the government as a minister without an election by making the person a peer eg Lord Mandelson in 2008 was created a peer and made Business Secretary. This is, however undemocratic. �It used to be the case that sometimes when a minister was discarded from the cabinet they would be given a peerage as a sort of consolation. Because this would mean a by election and governments have tended to lose many by elections in the last 40 years, little use is made of this option and former ministers now have to wait to retire from the Commons at a general election and then be made a peer. 15

16. Changes in behaviour Professor Norton lists the following :- �An increase in attendance. �An increase in the business of the House with peers sitting for longer. �An increase in the number of times the government has been defeated. between 1979 and 1991 the government was defeated on 173 occasions. The Blair government suffered a total of 383 defeats in the Lords between 1997 and the end of March 2006. The Lords is subject to more lobbying from pressure groups. 16

17. Reform of the Lords 1 Second chambers throughout the world are a problem. This derives from their composition and powers. If they are elected in the same way as the first chamber then it is duplication and it does not seem worthwhile to have such a chamber. If the second chamber is elected in a different way then it is likely to produce a different party composition from the first chamber and there could be clashes between the two. 17

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19. Reform of the Lords 2 Also if the first chamber is elected by the best method possible then what is the justification for using a different method for the second chamber? �The problem about the powers of a second chamber is that if it has powers then it may thwart a duly elected government whilst if it has no powers then again it does not seem worthwhile having a second chamber. 19

20. Reform of the Lords 3 On the other hand second chambers are used for a number of purposes:- �To restrict the power of the first chamber. �To restrict the power of the government - particularly important in a parliamentary system where the government would normally command a majority in the first chamber, either with one party as in the UK or with a coalition of parties as in many European parliamentary democracies. �To represent minorities and interests not well represented in the first chamber. �To provide room for second thoughts 20

21. Reform of the Lords 4 The problems and criticisms of the Lords It is non elected. �The hereditary system does not necessarily guarantee suitability for taking part in political affairs. It is unrepresentative of the nation - it is dominated by males and includes the upper class (the aristocracy) and sections of the middle classes, but there are few peers from a working class background or who are female or black (Afro-Caribbean or Asian). 21

22. Reform of the Lords 5 The Conservative bias amongst peers has been eliminated by the reform of 1999. Representation of the Church of England seems outdated. Approximately 3 million people attend church regularly, with 1.5 million out of the population of 60 million attending the Church of England. The Lords has little power and rarely uses them. They are afraid to use their powers through fear of abolition. It would seem undesirable to have powers that are not used for this reason. 22

23. Defence of the Lords It is a constitutional check on the government and the Commons. It has a valuable revising function. �It is part of our history and heritage. �It is a reservoir of experience and expertise. �It is very difficult to agree on an alternative. 23

24. Reform of the House of Lords in the Twentieth and Twenty first Centuries 1 Parliament Act 1911 delaying power of 2 years introduced power over finance effectively removed absolute veto over extension to Parliamentary lifetime House of Commons lifetime reduced from 7 to 5 years Parliament Act 1949 delaying power reduced to 1 year 24

25. Reform of the House of Lords in the Twentieth and Twenty first Centuries 2 1957 Tax free expenses introduced - this has improved attendance. 1958 Life Peerages Act - introduced life peers - both men and, for the first time, women. 1957 Leave of absence introduced - effectively peers who did not attend regularly were deemed to be on leave of absence and could not attend without giving one month�s notice. This reduced the �backswoodsmen� - peers turning up on special occasions only. 25

26. Reform of the House of Lords in the Twentieth and Twenty first Centuries 3 1963 Peerage (Renunciation) Act - hereditary peers were allowed to renounce (resign) their peerages and female hereditary peeresses where allowed to attend the Lords for the first time. 1968 Parliament Bill - The Labour government proposed to remove the hereditary peers right to vote and their successors right to attend. It was withdrawn due to opposition from Labour backbenchers who feared that a reformed House of Lords might make more use of their powers (which were also to be reduced to 6 months delay). 26

27. Reform of the House of Lords in the Twentieth and Twenty first Centuries 4 1999 Parliament Act reduced the number of hereditary peers eligible to sit in the Lords to 92. These are elected by all the hereditary peers. �The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 created a 12 member Supreme Court separate from the House of Lords and the Lord Chancellor ceased to be head of the judiciary, which became the role of the Lord Chief Justice. The Lord Chancellor ceased to be the chair of the Lords and the Lords has since elected a Lord Speaker. 27

28. Reform of the House of Lords in the Twentieth and Twenty first Centuries 5 In September 2003, the Labour Government proposed a fully appointed House of Lords. This produced a large amount of criticism. In the 2005 general election, all three parties promised reform of the House of Lords in their manifestos with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats promising "substantially"/"predominantly" elected Chambers. In February 2007 the Government published a white paper. It proposed a hybrid House with at least 20 percent non-party-political appointments; direct elections through the list system; and reduced in size to 540 Members. MPs supported two options an 80 percent elected House and a 100% elected House. Peers voted in favour of a fully appointed House and rejected all other options. 28

29. Reform of the House of Lords in the Twentieth and Twenty first Centuries 7 In the 2010 general election, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats promised "substantially"/"predominantly" elected Chambers and Labour a fully elected second chamber. The Coalition agreement of 2010 included reform of the House of Lords.2011 Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister outlined plans for reform with a future bill. a legislature with 300 members, 80% of which could be elected by STV. It was up to MPs and peers to decide the final balance. members of the new legislature to be elected for 15-year terms Under the government's plans, members would be elected on a staged basis - a third every five years - with the first elections for the new chamber to take place in 2015 - on the same day as the next general election. A joint committee of 13 MPs and 13 peers to be set up. Conservative backbenchers barracked Mr. Clegg. Labour opposed the plans and supported 100% elections. 29

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