Research briefing setting out the government’s commitments covering the constitution, including House of Lords reform, for the House of Lords debate on the 2024 King’s Speech.
King's Speech 2024: Constitution (418KB PDF)
Labour’s manifesto said reform of the House of Lords was “long overdue”. It set out plans for “immediate modernisation”, including the removal of hereditary peers’ right to sit and vote and the introduction of a mandatory retirement age. In the longer term, Labour pledged to replace the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber.
The Labour manifesto also emphasised the importance of standards, promising to ensure all peers “meet the high standards expected of them”, establish a new Integrity and Ethics Commission, review the business appointment rules and establish a Modernisation Committee in the House of Commons looking at standards, working practices and MPs’ second jobs.
Labour has all pledged to lower the voting age to 16 in all elections, to improve voter registration and to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties.
The Library’s briefings for the King’s Speech draw on the Labour Party’s manifesto and other material in the public domain. They have been written in advance of the 2024 King’s Speech to help members of the House of Lords prepare for the debate on the speech. They do not constitute official information about the government’s intentions or provide a complete list of bills to be announced.
King's Speech 2024: Constitution (418KB PDF)
The House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber Bill) [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru). It would require the secretary of state to carry out a consultation regarding proposals for replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber. The bill specifies whom the secretary of state would be required to consult with and the timeframe of that consultation.
![House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 11 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/House-of-Lords-568x426.png)
The bill is a government bill that would make a range of changes to the legal framework concerning elections, including extending the franchise for UK parliamentary elections and other reserved elections to 16- and 17-year-olds. The bill was amended during both its committee and report stages in the House of Commons, with many of the government’s later amendments implementing recommendations from the Rycroft review on countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics.
Social media and other technologies have made it easier, quicker and cheaper for foreign powers to spread false information online aimed at undermining UK democracy. Such disinformation campaigns are one type of interference operation. In parallel, researchers have noted a link between declining public trust and societal polarisation, which can be exacerbated by online discourse. This briefing provides introductory reading to these issues, including recent reports and government announcements.
