The
House of Lords Act 1999 (1999 c. 34) was an
ActAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
of the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
that was given
Royal AssentThe granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of lawmaking by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. While the power to withhold Royal Assent was once exercised often, it is exceedingly rare in the modern, democratic...
on 11 November 1999. It was a major constitutional enactment that greatly
reformedFor almost a century, governments in the United Kingdom have attempted to find a way to undertake a comprehensive reform of the House of Lords, which is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats; the Act removed such a right. However, as part of a compromise, the Act did permit
ninety-two hereditaries to remain in the House on an interim basis. The Act decreased the membership of the House from 1,330 (October 1999) to 669 (March 2000). As another result of the Act, the majority of the Lords were now
life peerIn the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
s, whose numbers had been gradually increasing since the
Life Peerages Act 1958The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the monarch of the United Kingdom. Life peers are barons and are members of the House of Lords for life, but their titles and membership in the Lords are not inherited by their children...
.
Background
The Lords was once the stronger of the two houses of Parliament. A process of gradual evolution combined with such moments of crisis as the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
s transferred the political control of England, first from the
CrownA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
to the House of Lords and then to the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
. The rising wealth of the Commons eventually allowed it to wage two civil wars, dethrone two Kings, and gradually reduce the power of the Lords. Prior to the House of Lords Act 1999 the power of the Lords had been diminished by the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 which stripped the Lords of the ability to block, or
vetoA veto, Latin for "I forbid", is used to denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a piece of legislation. In practice, the veto can be absolute A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is used to denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a piece of legislation....
, adoption of most bills; at most it could delay bills for one year. Furthermore, the Commons has absolute power when it comes to
money billIn the Westminster system , a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending , as opposed to changes in public law.- Conventions :...
s.
After eighteen years of
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
rule, the
Labour partyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
led by
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
won a
landslide victoryIn politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election.-Australia:...
at the
1997 general electionThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
, in the process inflicting the biggest defeat for the Conservatives since 1832. The Labour Party had for years endorsed abolition of the unelected House of Lords in its election platforms, though since 1992 this had changed to a policy of
reforming the HouseFor almost a century, governments in the United Kingdom have attempted to find a way to undertake a comprehensive reform of the House of Lords, which is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
instead.
During the twentieth century successive Labour governments proposed many bills that were opposed by the traditionally Conservative House of Lords. In the first year of Tony Blair's government the Lords rejected Labour bills thirty-eight times. The rejection considered the most contentious was of the
European Elections BillThe European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its long title is "An Act to amend the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 so as to alter the method used in Great Britain for electing Members of the European Parliament to make other amendments...
, which the Lords voted down an unprecedented five times. Blair claimed that the Conservatives were using the hereditary peers to "frustrate" and "overturn the will of the democratically elected House of Commons". Here Blair found an opportunity to implement one of Labour's campaign promises, "reforming" the Lords.
On 24 November 1998, in
opening the second session of ParliamentIn the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December, or in a General Election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
, the Queen delivered her annual
Speech from the ThroneA speech from the throne is an event in certain monarchies in which the monarch reads a prepared speech to a complete session of Parliament, outlining the government's agenda for the coming year. This event is often held annually, although in some places it may occur more or less frequently...
; the Speech is written for her by the ruling party and outlines that party's legislative agenda for the upcoming year and not the Monarch's personal views. In it, she suggested that her Government (i.e. the ruling Labour Party) would pursue a reform of the House of Lords. These remarks were followed by shouts of "Hear! Hear!" from supportive Labour Members of Parliament, and by similar shouts of "Shame! Shame!" from Conservative peers; such outbursts were unprecedented, for the Queen's Speech is traditionally heard by a silent Parliament.
The House of Lords Bill
The House of Lords Bill was expected to face a tough fight in the House of Lords. Several Lords threatened to disrupt the Government's other bills if they continued with the plan to abolish the hereditaries' right to sit in the House of Lords. The
Earl of OnslowMichael William Coplestone Dillon Onslow, 7th Earl of Onslow, Bt, is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was known as Viscount Cranley from 1945 to 1971, and he was educated at Eton and the Sorbonne.-Politics:...
, for instance, said, "I'm happy to force a
divisionA division is a parliamentary mechanism which calls for a rising vote, wherein the members of the house literally divide into groups indicating a vote in favour of or in opposition to a motion on the floor...
on each and every clause of the Scotland Bill. Each division takes 20 minutes and there are more than 270 clauses." Lords had plenty of other means by which they could obstruct the Government's programme.
In order to convince some peers to vote for reform, Tony Blair announced that he would compromise by allowing a number of hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords on an interim basis. On 2 December 1998, the Conservative Leader of the Opposition,
William HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Richmond , Shadow Foreign Secretary and Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet...
, rose in the House of Commons to attack Tony Blair's plans. He suggested that Mr Blair's changes indicated his lack of principles. Hague further suggested that the Conservative Party would never agree to such constitutional reforms that were "based on no comprehensive plan or principle." Mr Hague's remarks backfired when Blair revealed that the Conservative Party in the House of Lords, rather than oppose his reforms, would definitely support them, and that he had done a secret deal with the Conservative leader in the House of Lords, Viscount Cranborne. Mr Hague immediately removed Viscount Cranborne from office, but, in protest, several Conservative Lords who held front-bench positions resigned.
On 19 January 1999, the
Leader of the House of CommonsThe Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
,
Margaret BeckettMargaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and subsequently the Acting Leader of the Party following John Smith's...
, introduced the House of Lords Bill into the House of Commons. The House of Commons passed the bill by a vote of 340 to 132 on 16 March. The next day it was presented to the House of Lords, where debate on the bill was far longer. One significant amendment made to the Bill was the so-called
Weatherill Amendment, named for the
Lord WeatherillBruce Bernard Weatherill, Baron Weatherill, PC, DL was an English politician, and Speaker of the British House of Commons.-Tailor:...
, the former
Speaker of the House of CommonsIn the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. The present Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin.The Speaker...
. The Weatherill Amendment put into place the deal agreed to by the Prime Minister and Viscount Cranborne, and allowed ninety-two hereditary peers to remain members of the House of Lords.
Several controversies relating to the technicalities of the bill were brought up in the House of Lords. One issue regarded the language used in clauses 1 to 7, which was described by
Lord Mayhew of TwysdenPatrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, Kt, PC , is a British barrister, and Conservative Party politician.He was educated at Tonbridge School and Balliol College, Oxford...
as "uncertain in its effects and would leave the position of most hereditary Peers uncertain if the Bill was enacted." A second issue was related to the Treaty of Union of 1707 uniting Scotland and England into
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
. After lengthy debates, both matters were referred to the
House of Lords Committee on PrivilegesThe Committee for Privileges is a select committee of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee's remit is to make recommendations to the House on complaints of breach of parliamentary privilege....
.
Under the Articles of Union agreed to in 1707,
Scottish LordsThe Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
would be entitled to elect sixteen representative peers to sit on their Lordships' behalf in the House of Lords. In 1963, the
Peerage ActThe Peerage Act 1963 is a significant act in the history of the British Peerage. It allowed the disclaiming of peerages, and permitted female and Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords.-Background:...
was passed, allowing all Scottish peers to sit in the House, not just sixteen of them. It was felt that removing all Scottish representation would breach the Articles. The Government, however, responded that the Articles did envisage a change in the election of representative peers. It was argued that some portions of the Treaty were entrenched, while others were not. For instance, Scotland and England were united "forever," the Scottish
Court of SessionThe Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland. It is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal and sits exclusively in Parliament House in Edinburgh.The Sheriff Court is the other Scottish civil court; this sits locally...
was to "remain in all time coming within Scotland as it is now constituted," and the establishment of the
Church of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland , known informally by its Scots language name, The Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
was "effectually and unalterably secured." However, it was suggested, the election of Scottish representative peers was not entrenched, and therefore could be amended. Furthermore, the Government argued that Parliament was entirely sovereign and supreme, and could at its will change the Articles of Union. For example, the
Treaty of UnionThe Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
joining Great Britain and Ireland required that the two nations be united "for ever." Nonetheless, in 1922, by an
Act of ParliamentAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
, most of Ireland was made independent as the
Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
. Thus, even entrenched clauses were argued to be open to amendment by the authority of Parliament. The Committee agreed and reported to the House on 20 October 1999, that the Bill was indeed lawful in this regard.
After the Committee's first and second reports were considered, the Lords passed the bill 221 to 81 on 26 October 1999. Once the Lords settled the differences between their version of the bill and the Commons version thereof, the Bill received
Royal AssentThe granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of lawmaking by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. While the power to withhold Royal Assent was once exercised often, it is exceedingly rare in the modern, democratic...
on 11 November 1999 and became an
Act of parliamentAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
. The Act then came into force the same day.
Membership of the House of Lords
The House of Lords Act 1999 provides firstly that "No-one shall be a member of the House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage." (The Act treats the
Principality of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...
and the
Earldom of ChesterThe Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been given to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Traditional power base...
as hereditary peerages, though those titles, granted normally to the heir-apparent, are never inherited.) The Act then provides that ninety-two peers, including the
Earl MarshalEarl Marshal is an ancient chivalric title used separately in England, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and formerly in Scotland.- England :...
, the
Lord Great ChamberlainThe Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable...
and ninety other peers elected in accordance with the
Standing OrdersRules of order, also known as standing orders or rules of procedure, are the written rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by a deliberative assembly, which detail the processes used by the body to make decisions....
of the House would be excepted from the exclusion of hereditary peers, and that after the first session of the next Parliament, whenever one of these seats fell vacant, the Lords would have to proceed to a by-election. The Act also provided that a hereditary peer would be entitled to vote in elections for, and sit in, the House of Commons, unless he or she was also a member of the House of Lords. Previously, hereditary peers had been constitutionally disqualified from being electors to, or members of, the House of Commons. The first hereditary peer to gain a seat in the Commons under this provision was
John ThursoJohn Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso , known as John Thurso, is a Scottish businessman and Liberal Democrat politician, currently serving as the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Business, Innovation and Skills...
.
The Act prevents even hereditary peers who are the first to hold their titles from sitting automatically in the House of Lords. The Government did agree, however, to give
life peerIn the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
ages (the titles of which are indicated in parentheses) to four such new hereditary peers: Toby Austin Richard William Low, 1st Baron Aldington (Baron Low), Frederick James Erroll, 1st Baron Erroll of Hale (Baron Erroll of Kilmun), Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham (Baron Pakenham of Cowley) and
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of SnowdonAntony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, GCVO, RDI, is an English photographer and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker who sits in the House of Lords by a life peerage granted him in 1999. He was married to Princess Margaret from 1960 to 1978...
(Baron Armstrong-Jones). Additionally, life peerages were created for former Leaders of the House of Lords: John Julian Ganzoni, 2nd Baron Belstead (Baron Ganzoni), Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington (Baron Carington of Upton),
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount CranborneRobert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, PC , is a British Conservative politician. During the 1990s, he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne...
(Baron Gascoyne-Cecil), George Patrick John Rushworth Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe (Baron Jellicoe of Southampton),
Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron ShepherdMalcolm Newton Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd [Hereditary] and also Baron Shepherd of Spalding [Life Peerage] PC , was a British Labour politician and peer who served as Leader of the House of Lords under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan.Shepherd was born Blackburn, Lancashire 27 September 1918;...
(Baron Shepherd of Spalding) and David James George Hennessy, 3rd Baron Windlesham (Baron Hennessy).
Life peerages were also offered to members of the royal family with new hereditary peerages, but declined:
Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghThe Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Philip was originally a royal prince of Greece and Denmark, and thus a member of the Danish-German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, but renounced these titles shortly before his marriage and adopted the...
,
Charles, Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1952, he has been heir apparent to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. After earning a bachelor of arts from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served a tour of duty with Royal Navy...
,
Prince Andrew, Duke of YorkThe Prince Andrew, Duke of York , is the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
,
Prince Edward, Duke of KentPrince Edward, Duke of Kent is a member of the British Royal Family, a grandchild of George V. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since 1942....
and
Prince Edward, Earl of WessexThe Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex is the third son and fourth child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
.
Before the granting of Royal Assent, the Lords had adopted a Standing Order making provision for the election of peers. The Order provided that there be elected:
- Two peers by the Labour peers
- Three peers by the Liberal Democrat peers
- Twenty-eight Crossbench peers
- Forty-two Conservative peers
- Fifteen peers, to serve as Deputy Speakers and in other offices, by the entire House of Lords
The elections for officers of the House were held on 27 and 28 October 1999, while those for peers elected by party were held on 3 and 4 November; the results were proclaimed to the House on 29 October and 5 November. Voters were required to rank in order of preference, on a ballot prepared by the Clerk of the Parliaments, as many candidates as there were places to be filled. The candidates receiving the greatest number of votes (without regard to the ranking on the ballots, so in effect
block votingPlurality-at-large voting, commonly referred to as block voting or bloc voting, is a voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
) were declared elected. Only if there were ties would the ranking be examined. Thereafter, until November 2002, if a vacancy occurred, the next-highest vote-getter (the rankings being examined, again, only in the case of ties) in the original election would fill the seat.
Since November 2002, by-elections have been held to fill vacancies. Voting is by preferential voting, with peers ranking the candidates in order of preference. As many or as few preferences as desired may be indicated. To win the election, a peer must receive a majority of first preference votes. If no candidate receives such a majority, the candidate with the fewest number of first preference votes is eliminated, with each of his votes being redistributed according to the second preference marked on the ballot (see
Instant-runoff votingInstant-runoff voting is the American English term for a voting system used for single-winner elections, in which voters rank candidates in an order of preference...
). The process is continued until one candidate receives a majority. Two by-elections have been held in 2003 and a third in 2004. A further four by-elections were necessary in 2005, with none occurring in 2006. A by-election was held in March 2007 following the death of
Lord MowbrayCharles Edward Stourton, 26th Baron Mowbray, 27th Baron Segrave and 23rd Baron Stourton CBE was a baron in the peerage of England. From 1965 to 1983, he was premier baron in the English peerage. He sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords, and was a Conservative whip in government...
in late 2006.
It was expected that the Government would eventually present a bill to remove the remaining ninety-two hereditary peers from the House of Lords, but this has yet to occur.
See also
External links