Hereditary Peers Face End of Automatic Lords Seats
The hereditary peers' inherited entitlement to sit in the House of Lords is set to end following the passage of new legislation this week. The 92 remaining hereditary seats will be abolished at the conclusion of the current parliamentary session, anticipated in May.
However, a compromise agreement offers some hereditary peers an opportunity to remain in the Lords by transitioning to life peerages, a move described by one departing peer as boarding the "hereditary lifeboat."
The Conservative Party has been offered the chance to retain 15 hereditary members by converting them into life peers, enabling them to continue legislative duties until retirement. Labour, which holds only a few hereditary lords, has proposed this in exchange for Conservative agreement to retire some existing life peers. Additionally, certain cross-bench hereditary peers, who are unaffiliated with political parties, are also expected to be retained.
The Prime Minister holds the ultimate authority over appointments to the Lords. Prior to this, a selection process will determine which hereditary peers are nominated for life peerages. The Conservative leadership in the Lords will recommend candidates to party leader Kemi Badenoch, who will make the final decision.
Acceptance Among Some Hereditary Peers
Charles Courtenay, the Earl of Devon, has stated he will not seek to remain in the Lords through this arrangement.
"I don't think we should be using the hereditary privilege we have in the Lords to haggle or negotiate for life peerages," the earl said. "I don't think it's appropriate."
Lord Courtenay entered the House of Lords in 2018 after inheriting his late father's title, originally granted to an ancestor in 1142, nearly 900 years ago. Although he previously defended the hereditary peers' right to sit, he has accepted the impending change without undue distress.
"I'm quite conscious that if people think the hereditary principle is wrong and that's the decision of the country, then we shouldn't be using that to retain seats in the Lords for ourselves," he said.
He is prepared to accept the removal of hereditary peers, reflecting on his family's history, which includes ancestors executed for treason centuries ago.
While he will no longer be able to participate in Lords proceedings, he and other departing hereditary peers will retain their titles.
"The one thing you look at from the family history is we've been through a lot," Lord Courtenay said. "There's nothing to be gained by fighting progress. We just have to crack on and move along."
Lord Bethell, a Conservative health minister during the Covid-19 pandemic, has also announced his intention to leave the Lords.
"I will not seek a place in the 'Hereditary Lifeboat', and instead am looking forward, with enthusiasm and energy, to leaving the life of a parliamentarian in a couple of weeks to pursue new adventures," Lord Bethell wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Despite some peers stepping aside, the Conservatives are expected to have no difficulty filling the available life peerage nominations.
One Lords source indicated that Conservative hereditary members serving in shadow ministerial roles are likely candidates for life peerages. These include Viscount Camrose, Viscount Younger of Leckie, the Earl of Minto, Lord Keen of Elie, Earl Howe, the Earl of Courtown, and the Earl of Effingham.
Lord Strathclyde, a former Conservative leader of the Lords, has also been mentioned as a potential nominee.
Lord Salisbury, a hereditary peer and former Lords opposition leader who retired in 2017, acknowledged the disappointment among hereditary peers facing removal.
"A lot of people are upset about leaving and I understand that, particularly when they've given many years of service," he said on the BBC's Today in Parliament programme.
"What I am pleased about is there will be a number of hereditary peers who will be given life peerages under a deal that has now been agreed with the present leader of the house. So people on the Tory benches like Lord Howe and Lord Strathclyde I hope would be able to continue to make a remarkable contribution, both of whom are an integral part of the present house."
The BBC approached five Conservative hereditary peers, none of whom were willing to comment on the record. One described the situation as "acutely sensitive at the present time," while another referred to it as "a live issue."
Within the Lords, there is a common view that some hereditary peers have been effective legislators, arguably more so than some members appointed through political patronage.
In his statement marking the abolition of hereditary peers, the Lord Speaker expressed gratitude for their service.
"Whatever views people may have of this constitutional change, it is sad to say goodbye to friends, who in many cases have contributed significantly to debate and scrutiny and to our institutional memory," Lord Forsyth of Drumlean said.
"Recognising their contribution is not about party politics but acknowledging the value of service and commitment, and I am proud to do so and to thank them."
Opposition and Historical Context
Among Members of Parliament and the public, the notion of aristocrats retaining seats by birthright is widely opposed.
Labour's 2024 election manifesto includes a pledge to introduce legislation removing the remaining hereditary peers' right to sit and vote in the House of Lords.
"There is no place in a modern democracy for people shaping our laws purely due to who their parents were," said Dr Jess Garland, director of policy and research for the Electoral Reform Society.
"It was disappointing to see a number of hereditary peers returning to the Lords 'by the back door'. This comes after an aggressive campaign from unelected politicians in the Lords to delay and frustrate the bill, despite it being in the government's manifesto," she added.
"This will look farcical to the public, who will wonder why unelected peers have been able to force an elected government into watering down its clear manifesto pledge to remove the hereditary peers from Parliament."
Historically, hereditary peers have demonstrated resilience through significant challenges. They survived the 17th-century revolution, during which the Lords was abolished by law as "useless and dangerous to the people of England." They also endured reforms under former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, who described their presence as an "anachronism" and removed over 600 hereditary peers in 1999, leaving 92 by compromise.
If the remaining hereditary peers navigate the current political landscape effectively, they may persist through another Labour administration and postpone their eventual removal.
