There are still 92 seats in the UK's second chamber of parliament that have simply been passed down through generations. The new government no longer finds this appropriate and is now seeking constitutional reform.
The new British government wants to reform the second chamber of parliament – the House of Lords – and abolish hereditary titles. This affects 92 members of the House of Lords, whose seats have been inherited through the father for generations. The responsible minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds of the social democratic Labour Party, introduced a corresponding bill in the House of Commons.
The House of Lords, with around 800 unelected members, is considered the largest parliamentary chamber in the world after the Chinese People's Congress. Today, it has a primarily advisory function and can postpone laws, but no longer prevent them. Most MPs are appointed for life by the political parties. This often leads to accusations of nepotism, most recently after Boris Johnson, as then Prime Minister, appointed several confidants to the House of Lords.
Last reform 25 years ago
The bill is a groundbreaking constitutional reform, said Thomas-Symonds. “The hereditary principle of legislation has endured for too long and is no longer appropriate in modern Britain. The Second Chamber plays a crucial role in our constitution and there should be no people voting on our laws in Parliament because of the accident of their birth.”
In a second step, a retirement age of 80 years is to be set. The conservative opposition criticised the plan as “political vandalism” and “act of revenge”. Around half of the 92 “hereditary peers” are conservatives, only a few are associated with Labour.
The new Prime Minister Keir Starmer had previously announced that he wanted to replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber. In the election manifesto, however, his Labour Party only promised to discuss proposals. In 1999, under then Prime Minister Tony Blair, Labour had already abolished all but 92 hereditary nobility seats.
