House of Lords spends forty hours debating themselvesLast night at 10.20PM, the committee of the whole House of Lords on the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill was finally adjourned. There were five days of committee, close to 150 amendments put forward,...Posted 02 Apr 2025
It’s not just hereditary peers that are ‘hard to justify’ – It’s the whole unelected chamberBefore Labour won the 2024 general election, the Labour leader in the House of Lords hinted that if Labour were to take power, we could finally see an end to the 92 hereditary peers in...Posted 30 Mar 2025
‘Procedural shenanigans’ as peers debate their own reformThe House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is being debated again this week in the House of Lords. This bill, as the name suggests, seeks to remove the last 92 hereditary Lords from the second...Posted 11 Mar 2025
How are peers appointed to the House of Lords?The House of Lords is the second chamber of our Parliament. Before bills become laws, they must pass through the House of Lords, and Lords themselves play a key role in scrutinising public policy. That...Posted 29 Jan 2025
The Commons versus the Lords: What’s the difference?Our parliament is made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, but do we really need two chambers? It can be tempting to see it as pointless duplication, but the colour...Posted 04 Nov 2024
Hereditary Peers: Thank you for your contribution, and goodnightLast night, the first debate of the Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill happened in the House of Commons. The Bill, if passed, will remove the remaining 92 Peers who sit in our House of Lords purely...Posted 16 Oct 2024
The plans to remove all the hereditary peers are now in motionToday’s the day we’ve been waiting for, plans have been laid for the final 92 hereditary peers to lose their places in the Lords! For over 700 years the House of Lords has contained Peers...Posted 05 Sep 2024
Does the House of Lords have any power?This July, the King’s Speech outlined the government’s intention to remove hereditary seats from the House of Lords. This is a positive step toward reforming parliament’s second chamber, as it signals the beginning of the...Posted 28 Aug 2024
King’s Speech signals first moves on Lords and electoral reformThe first King’s Speech of any new government is a significant political moment. Amid the ostentation and pomp of the ceremony, the government lays out in detail the plans for its legislation in the new...Posted 24 Jul 2024
ERS in the Press – Coverage we’ve secured in the GE campaignYou might have noticed that there’s a general election approaching. Whilst the date of the election may have taken us all a little by surprise, the ERS communications team were ready to go and making...Posted 25 Jun 2024