We saw a big victory last night as the bill to remove the last hereditary peers from the House of Lords finally passed. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill means the remaining 84 hereditary peers will no longer have the automatic right to sit in the upper chamber for life, influencing the laws we all live under, purely due to who their parents were.
It will seem absurd to many that politicians were allowed to have a job-for-life in Parliament due to an accident of birth. There is clearly no place for this in a modern democracy.
Until the end of this session of Parliament in early May, when the hereditaries will eventually leave, the UK will still be one of only two countries left in the world with hereditary legislators, with the other being the African nation of Lesotho.
This marks the most significant Lords reform for a generation
The passing of this bill marks the most significant reform to the House of Lords since 1999, when Tony Blair’s Labour government removed over 600 hereditary peers from the upper house. However, 92 were left in place as a temporary compromise – one which ended up lasting 27 years.
As part of that earlier legislation, it was also agreed that departing hereditaries would be replaced via ‘by-elections’, allowing members of aristocratic families to stand for seats that had fallen vacant and be elected by fellow hereditary peers already in the chamber.
These ‘by-elections’ often led to preposterous scenes in the upper chamber, such as elections with more candidates than voters. The by-elections were stopped in this Parliament, meaning 84 hereditaries remained as of this week after retirements and members passing away.
For years the ERS campaigned on this issue, highlighting the ludicrous spectacle of hereditary legislators self-selecting who among them got to sit in Parliament, as well as the totally undemocratic nature of the Lords. This consistent campaigning would not have been possible without the support of our members, so our thanks go to you. Today’s victory is the work of many hands.
This campaigning came to fruition when Labour pledged to end the principle of birthright legislating in its manifesto, describing the practice as ‘indefensible’.
The behaviour of peers over bill underlines case for further democratic reform of the Lords
Yet, despite having a clear democratic mandate, the bill came up against months of co-ordinated resistance and delaying tactics from the hereditary peers and members of the opposition, who threatened to hold up the government’s legislative agenda if hereditary peers were not allowed to remain in the chamber.
The episode has been a stark illustration of the backward nature of the Lords, where we saw unelected politicians abusing their position to protect their own interests and attempt to thwart a democratically-backed manifesto pledge.
The one fly in the ointment is that it is disappointing to see a number of hereditary peers returning to the Lords by the back door by being given life peerages as a ‘compromise’. This will look farcical to the public, who will wonder why unelected peers were able to force an elected government to water down its clear manifesto pledge to remove ‘indefensible’ hereditary peers from Parliament.
That said, the principle of hereditary legislating has now been vanquished, and ministers should be commended on the passing of this bill, which is a crucial first step towards reforming the Lords so it better reflects the country it serves. No part of Parliament should be a gated community from which the public are excluded.
It is clear ministers have the backing of the public in this, who find the idea of hereditary and unelected politicians influencing their lives unacceptable.
That is why progress must not stall here, and the government now needs to urgently move onto the next phase, as promised, and reform the Lords into a smaller, democratic chamber, with members chosen by and accountable to the people of this country.
Add your name - Let’s end the era of unelected influence.