UK law removing hereditary peerage from the House of Lords
United Kingdom legislation
House of Lords Act 1999
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title
An Act to restrict membership of the House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage; to make related provision about disqualifications for voting at elections to, and for membership of, the House of Commons; and for connected purposes.
Citation
1999 c. 34[1]
Introduced by
Margaret Beckett, Leader of the House of Commons[2] (Commons)
Territorial extent
England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent
11 November 1999[3]
Commencement
11 November 1999[4]
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999.[3] For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats (hereditary peers); the Act removed such a right. However, as part of a compromise, the Act did permit ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House. Another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House.[5]
The Act decreased the membership of the House from 1,330 in October 1999 to 669 in March 2000.[6] As another result of the Act, the majority of the Lords were now life peers, whose numbers had been gradually increasing since the Life Peerages Act 1958.[7] As of June 2023, there were 785 members of the House of Lords, of whom 25 were senior Church of England bishops,[8] whose representation in the House is governed by the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015.[9]
^"House of Lords Act 1999 (original text)". 11 November 1999. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
^"Hansard, Vol 323 No 22 Col 714". 19 January 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
^ ab"Hansard, Vol 337 No 149 Col 1306". 11 November 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
^"House of Lords – Annual Report and Accounts 1999–2000". Retrieved 19 May 2008. the Bill received Royal Assent and came into immediate effect on 11 November, the last day of the 1998–99 session.
^Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"House of Lords – Annual Report and Accounts 1999–2000". Retrieved 19 May 2008. This major change had the effect of reducing the total membership of the House from 1,330 in October 1999 – the highest figure ever recorded – to 669 in March 2000
^Cracknell, Richard (15 June 2000). Lords Reform: The interim House – background statistics; Research Paper 00/61(PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
^"Lords membership". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
^"What is the role of bishops in UK politics?". BBC News. 25 January 2012.
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