Hereditary peers bill resumes Lords report stage

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the right of all but 92 'excepted' hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill will remove the 92-peer exemption and abolish the jurisdiction of the House of Lords in hereditary peerage claims.

Detailed scrutiny

Report stage is a further chance for members to closely scrutinise elements of the bill and make changes.   

Two days of report stage have been scheduled so far:

• Wednesday 2 July
• Wednesday 9 July*

(*schedule is subject to change).

Proposed changes

Members speaking on day two of report stage discussed amendments (PDF)(changes) to the bill on subjects including: 

• unsalaried ministers
• life peerages for hereditary peers
• minimum attendance requirements
• future composition of the House of Lords
• hereditary peerage claims and gender equality
• review of the effectiveness of the House of Lords.

Votes

There were four divisions (votes) on proposed changes to the bill.

Members voted to agree an amendment relating to salaries of government ministers who are members of the House of Lords.

Members also voted to agree to a change that would make it possible to create a life peerage without a seat in parliament.

Two other amendments - on recommendations from select committees and gender equality when determining hereditary peerage claims were voted on but disagreed to by members.

Catch up

• Watch on Parliament TV: part one and part two
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript: part one and part two

Explore further information

Find out more about the bill in the House of Lords Library briefing.

Next steps

Third reading, a chance for members to make sure the eventual law is effective, workable and without loopholes, is scheduled for Monday 21 July.

What's happened so far?

Report stage day one: Wednesday 2 July

Members speaking on day one of report stage considered amendments (PDF) (changes) to the bill on subjects including: 

• retention of the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain as House of Lords members
• term limits and mandatory retirement age
• further legislation to reform the House of Lords
• reinstating the House membership rule for the Lord Chancellor
• limiting the Prime Minister's power to make appointments to the House.

Votes

There were three divisions (votes) on proposed changes to the bill.

Members voted to agree a change which would allow current hereditary peers in the House of Lords to retain their seats (rather than automatically cease their membership) but abolish the system of by-elections so no new hereditary peers can join the House.

Two other amendments on proposals for democratically elected members of the House of Lords and the power of the House of Lords Appointments Commission to veto peerage nominations were voted on but disagreed to by members.

Catch up

• Watch the Parliament TV recording - part one and part two.
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript - part one and part two.

Committee stage

Line-by-line examination of the bill took place during committee stage over four days between Monday 3 March and Tuesday 1 April.

Second reading 

Second reading, a full debate on the key principles of the bill, took place on Wednesday 11 December 2024. 

Image: House of Lords 2024 / photography by Annabel Moeller