The government is proposing to expel all remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords in the biggest parliamentary shakeup in a quarter of a century.
Britain's remaining 92 hereditary peers would lose their seats and voting rights in the House of Lords under proposals put forward by ministers on Thursday.
The move completes reforms first made by Tony Blair's government, which stripped all hereditary peers of their 700-year-old right to seats in the House of Lords in 1999. Just 92 members elected from the full hereditary peerage were allowed to hold on until an agreement could be reached to phase them out.
The 92 hereditary peers currently sitting in the House of Lords are all white men, with an average age of just under 70. They continue to increase their numbers by holding by-elections when members retire or die.
Campaigners have long called for an overhaul of the system, and Labour said in its manifesto that retaining hereditary peerages was “inexcusable”.
Under the government's bill, there will be no hereditary peers in the House of Lords, and the Earl Marshal and Lord Chamberlain, who were expected to retain their seats due to their ceremonial roles, will also be removed.
The Bill is expected to become law next year and would fulfil Labour's manifesto promise.
Constitution Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said it was a “landmark reform”.
“Hereditary succession in legislation has persisted for far too long and is incompatible with modern Britain,” he said. “The second chamber plays a vital role in our constitution and people should not be able to vote for laws in Parliament based on the accident of their birth.”
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Leader of the House of Lords, Angela Smith, said: “It is right that we bring forward these reforms now, recognising the valuable contribution that so many hereditary peers have made to Parliament – completing the work we started 25 years ago.”
“Abolishing hereditary powers from the House of Lords would deliver a specific promise made in our manifesto and would also help us deliver our commitment to reduce the size of the House of Commons as we move forward with further reforms.”
Mr Smith has previously said Labour wants to reduce the House of Lords, which has around 800 members, to the same size as the House of Commons, which has 650. Most members of the House of Lords are appointed for life, but 26 seats are reserved for archbishops and bishops of the Church of England.
In its manifesto, Labour promised to raise the retirement age for life peers to 80 and ultimately replace the House of Lords with a second chamber that is more representative of the UK.
Meanwhile, the government has appointed a series of life peers, including to retiring Labour MPs, in a bid to bolster the number of members of the House of Lords. James Timpson, former chief executive of the Timpson Group, and Patrick Vallance, former government chief scientific adviser, have been given peerages to take up ministerial roles. Further appointments are expected in the coming months.
There are currently 277 Conservative members of the House of Lords, 185 Labour members of the House of Lords and 183 crossbenchers.
The Bill to abolish hereditary peerages will have its first reading in the House of Commons on Thursday, with a second reading due to take place later this autumn. Government sources expect a lengthy debate once the Bill is tabled in the House of Lords.
Of the 92 hereditary peers who hold seats in the House of Lords, 42 are Conservative Leaders and 28 are crossbenchers. Labour has only two peers and the Liberal Democrats have three. These numbers are fixed and do not change to reflect the composition of Parliament.
According to the Institute of Constitutional Law at University College London, Lesotho is the only country outside the UK with an element of hereditary power in its parliament.
