NEWS: THE HOUSE OF LORDS (HEREDITARY PEERS) BILL

Mar 17
8 min read

Updated: Mar 18

"TO NO ONE WILL WE SELL, TO NO ONE DENY OR DELAY RIGHT OF JUSTICE."

(MAGNA CARTA CLAUSE 40)

On 17/03/2026 'the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill' received Royal Assent abolishing Parliament's last remaining 92 Hereditary Lords from the Upper Chamber of their namesake. The week prior, His Majesty's Government (HMG) sitting in the House of Commons, gutted the fundamental freedom of trial by jury, established by rebellious Lords in 1215 via clause 39 of the Magna Carta with the formation of Parliament. In clearing the Upper Chamber of these rebeliious lords 'spiritual' successors, the HMG arguably takes a further stab at that once 'Great Charter's clause against 'cronyism'. We summarise the Bill and constitutional changes.

This comprehensive but concise article concerns 'the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill' and House of Lords (HoL) in general. It begins with a synopsis in the form of a dropdown Q&A before discussing the history of the HoL and present day function (which includes the author's critique). Finally, the article concludes by looking towards the future of the HoL by

examining the manifesto promises of the 3 leading parties at the time of publication. As with all information published on this website nothing constitutes legal advice. Any opinion expressed herein is solely the personal view of the author and you should read the terms of use this website accordingly. We thank you for reading.

SYNOPSIS

WHAT IS 'THE HOUSE OF LORDS'?

The House of Lords is the Upper Chamber of 'the Parliament of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.' Parliament's primary purpose has developed over time but its primary purpose is to pass legislation and hold HMG accountable. Parliament is split into the:

House of Commons: The elected 'Lower Chamber' i.e. the real power.
House of Lords: The appointed 'Upper Chamber'. Its primary purpose is to review legislation.

The House of Lords prior to 10/03/2026 consisted of 800 - 850 members broken down into:

Life Peers: The bulk, around 700 appointed for life by the Prime Minister (PM) on the advice from the Honours Committee (a collection of lawyers, ex-MPs, donors and others referred to as 'experts'). On being appointed to the HoL the Life Peers gained the title 'Lord' as opposed to 'Mr' or 'Mrs'. The name 'Life Peer' refers to the fact that on their death, the title 'Lord' did not pass to their successors or estate and neither did their seat in the HoL.
Hereditary Peers: The counter-weight to politically appointed 'Life Peers.' These were the Dukes, Earls and Viscounts etc whom had been survived the House of Lords Act 1999.
The Lords Spiritual: This refers to 26 Bishops from the Church of England. They are meant to provide a moral counterweight or voice when scrutinising legislation.

WHAT DOES 'THE HOUSE OF LORDS (HEREDITARY PEERS) BILL' SEEK TO ACHIEVE?

The primary purpose of the Bill is to remove the Hereditary Peers. The Bill further seeks to:

Abolishes the Lords' jurisdiction over claims to hereditary peerages. Essentially, it seeks to end a court-like role in deciding who inherits what title.
Ends By-Elections for the Peers: This should not be confused with by-elections for MPs. Section 2 of the House of Lords Act 1999 created 92 "excepted" seats in the HoL which the Hereditary Peers sat in. These Peers were able to fulfil functions of state and the Peers were able to hold by-elections to fill them.
Side Deals: There was a compromise, 15 Conservative Hereditary Peers were made 'Life Peers.' What this means is that on their death, their successors would not inherit their seat in the HoL

WHAT DID 'THE HOUSE OF LORDS ACT 1999' DO?

The 1999 Act removed almost all of the Hereditary Peers from the House of Lords cutting them from approximately 750 to just 92 "excepted" peers whom kept their seats until the 2026 Bill. The rest either became Life Peers or left in protest. What the 1999 Act sought to achieve was completely end the automatic right to inherit a seat in Parliament's Upper Chamber.

WHY IS THE HOUSE OF LORDS REFERRED TO AS 'THE UPPER CHAMBER?'

Several non-specific reasons:

The House of Commons is literally on the Ground Floor of 'the Palace of Westminster' i.e. the building where Parliament sits.
The House of Lords is on the First Floor i.e. it physically sits above the House of Commons. This was not accidental as architect Charles Barry whom redesigned Parliament's building following a fire in 1834 which burnt the building to the ground. He deliberately put the 'higher class' Lords and Bishops on the higher floor away from the noise Commons on the ground floor.
That being said, there are references to the House of Lords being referred to as 'the Upper Chamber' as far back as the 1700s when the house of Lords sat in 'the Painted Chamber' (East End) while the Commons sat is St Stephen's Chapel (West End). To be blunt; while today the term may be explained by its floor, it originally referred to the class of people sitting in the House of Lords as opposed to the House of Commons.

WHY DOES 'THE HOUSE OF LORDS' HAVE SUCH A GRAND TITLE WHEN THE REAL POWER IS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS?

Historical tradition. The 'grand' title derives from history. The Lords were nobles and bishops called by King of England since the 1066 for advice on war, taxes and law. Originally, they sat 'above' the Commons in status but power shifted. The Key dates:

1688 - 1689 'the Glorious Revolution': The Civil War continued. James II advocating legal rights for Christian Catholics dissolves Parliament and begins appointing judges. Parliament decides to interfere with the right of succession and make James II'S Christian Protestant daughter Mary queen. She is married to dutchman William of Orange. Parliament invites William to invade and he lands with 15'000 troops. James II flees to France and in symbolic retribution tosses the Royal Seal into the Thames. After Mary is crowned Mary II, article 4 of the Bill of Rights transfers 'the money power' from the House of Lords to the House of Commons while simultaneously
1707 Acts of Union: England & Scotland legally united. The House of Commons increases its number and powers.
1832 the Great Reform Act: Voting expands, Commons gets bigger, louder - Lords still vetoes, but cannot ignore public pressure.
1911 the Parliament Act: The House of Lords loses veto on non-money bills. As of 1911 it can only delay for 2 years (now its is only 1). This is historically seen as the final victory of the Commons over the Lords. Prior to the 1911 Act the Lords had the power to block a governments budget.
1949 the Parliament Act 2: The House of Lord's ability to delay finance bills is reduced to 1 year.

WHAT IS REPLACING THE 92 HEREDITARY PEERS?

Nothing officially. The Bill does not seek to replace the Hereditary Peers with anything but we suspect that further politically appointed cronies and donors will emerge. Whether these people will comply with article 40 of the Magna Carta and vote independently as opposed to along party lines is debatable, but we say the answer is obviously not.

HOUSE OF LORDS TIMELINE

1066 William the Conqueror:- William Duke of Normandy invades and defeats the English at the battle of Hastings. He calls a council of nobles (barons, earls etc) and bishops i.e. 'the Lords' as advisors. The body is not formalised as a parliament as 'the Parliament' does not yet exist.
1214 Battle of Bouvines:- The incompetence of the Crown leads to the loss of Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Brittany. The English Lords revolt.
1215 Magna Carta:- The effete King John Plantagent is defeated in a series of battles. The Lords force King John to sign Magna Carta (the Great Charter). Parliament is born with the first real limit on royal power. The Lords meet as a group, and start calling themselves “magnates" (Latin for 'Great Ones') i.e. rich landowners.
1295 Edward I’s “Model Parliament:" - The Lords and the Commons meet together for first time but sit sperately. The Lords debate taxes/war but they need money to fund war with France. Consequently they invite the merchants and anyone else with wealth but without 'title.' These wealthy but not 'Lordly' individuals are referred to collectively as 'the Commons.' In practice, this is when the House of Commons and the House of Lords first came to be.
1341 the Lords Split: - The divide between the House of Commons and the House of Lords is made official and permanent. The Lords sit in a separate chamber 'the House of Lords' and appoint their own speaker (Lord Chancellor). The Lords officially get veto power over Bills.
1688-1689 Glorious Revolution: - The Lords back William & Mary against James II and sign Bill of Rights. This transfers the power to raise money i.e. taxes and 'Budgets' to the House of Commons. The Lords lose their finance veto which is reduced to a 2 year delay.
1707 Acts of Union: - The Kingdoms of England & Scotland are unified and the Scottish Lords join. The House of Lords is now UK-wide.
1832 the Great Reform Act:- The Great Reform Act. Arguably the first real revolution in terms of democratisation. Prior to the 1832 Act, the majority of seats were 'rotten boroughs' i.e. tiny villages with MPs. The right to vote was based on wealth and land while booming cities like Manchester had 0 MPs. The House Lords hated the Bill stating it would lead to "Mob Rule." What this Act did was double the number of eligable voters to 650'000 people, killed off 65 Rotten Boroughs and set Property rules for voting. The rich were still the voters but it was 'fairer' insofar as industrial cities like Manchester got its first 2 MPs. The HoL hated and tried to block the Bill at every opportunity leading to mass rioting. The Commons attempted to force the Lords into passing it but it was actually King William IV whom forced it through. Essentially, he threatened to keep making people Lords and appointing them until there was enough votes. The current Lords in seeing there was no legal solution submitted.
1911 the Parliament Act:- The Lords lose their veto on non-money bills and can now only delay .
1949 the Parliament Act:- The Lords delay on non-money Bills is cut to one year. The Lords are advisory forever.
1999 the House of Lords Act:- HMG under PM Tony Blair axes 750 hereditaries, leaves 92 “excepted.” Some commentators suggest this was down to Chancellor Gordon browns plan to sell nearly all of the UK's Gold reserves to fund unsustainable social spending which together with cheap credit lead to inflated property prices and a debt spiral the nation is still suffering from.
2026 the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill:- The Bill passed 10/03/2026 removing the last 92 Hereditary Peers.

FUTURE OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS REFORM

The leading political parties suggest the following:

The Labour Party (in Power): In the short-term the Labour Party now in government has promised 'immediate modernisation" (2024 manifesto). This includes mandatory retirement at 80 years of age, tougher standards with expulsions and fairer appointments. In the long-term, it seeks to replace the Upper Chamber with a "more representative" second chamber but does not suggest its members should be elected.
The Conservative Party (the Opposition): The 'tories' opposed the Bill citing it as unnecessary. As their official name suggests there is no promise of reform.
The Reform Party (Leading Polls): Formerly 'the Brexit Party' it has not forgotten the Upper Chamber's resistence to the UK's split from the European Union. The Brexit Party originally sought to abolish the Upper Chamber entirely stating in concise summary; that it is just a sorry gaggle of political cronies and head-in-the-clouds bishops masquerading as Lords scrounging off the tax-payer. Since changing their name to the Reform Party, their stance evolved through their 'Contract with You' which considers replacing it with a partially elected Chamber.
The Green Party (fastest rising): They suggest a fully proportionally elected chamber based on regions.
The Sottish National Party (Leading Party in Scotland): Their stance is confused. The SNP call for a fully elected chamber but as they also allegedly want Scotland to leave the UK entirely, how are they going to do that? Or win an election when they only stand in Scotland for that matter?
The Liberal Democrats: We have added this party to the list as a joke.

COMMENT

All governments from Hipster New Zealand to Communist China fear 'the Bond Markets.' The world is essentially an oligarchy run by the rich and everything else is just (mis)management and twaddle.