House of Lords
Overview
 
The House of Lords is the upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

.

The House of Lords is the second chamber of Parliament. It is independent from, and complements the work of, the House of Commons – they share responsibility for making laws and checking government action. Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons and members of the Lords may also take on roles as Government Ministers.

Unlike the House of Commons, members of the House of Lords are appointed.
Timeline

1605    Gunpowder Plot: A conspiracy led by Robert Catesby to blow up the English Houses of Parliament is thwarted when Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, finds Guy Fawkes in a cellar below the House of Lords.

1913    The United Kingdom's House of Lords rejects the Irish Home Rule Bill.

1992    Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher joins the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher.

1999    Britain's House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament.

1999    The House of Lords Act is given Royal Assent, restricting membership of the British House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage.

2007    British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected.

 
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