In Focus
Ministers are needed in the House of Lords to take legislation through the House and answer for the government during questions and debates. Some cabinet ministers are appointed from the Lords. For example, the leader of the House of Lords is always a member of the Lords. This briefing looks at the role of ministers in the House of Lords and how they are scrutinised.
In Focus
On 30 October 2025, King Charles III signed a royal warrant directing the Duke of York to be removed from the roll of the peerage with immediate effect. As a result, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is no longer legally recognised as a peer in official documents. This briefing looks at what peerages are, and how they can be removed.
In Focus
At the turn of the twentieth century, debate about the UK’s fiscal policy centred on the issue of tariffs. In July 1904, the House of Lords debated the government’s fiscal policy, and whether the then Conservative government supported the introduction of tariffs as some leading political proponents thought. Moving away from ‘free’ trade to what some considered ‘fair’ trade proved to be both a controversial and divisive policy idea. This briefing looks back to the Lords debate and identifies the key contributions made.
In Focus
Members of the House of Lords who are not ministers can introduce private members’ bills. With limited time available, they rarely become law without government, and usually cross-party, support. This briefing provides a profile of private members’ bills in the Lords including examples of the types of private members’ bills introduced and commentary on the reasons why someone might table a private member’s bill.
Data dashboard
This dashboard presents interactive data on the relative sizes of the largest political parties and groups in the House of Lords. It also presents select statistics on voting behaviour in the House.
In Focus
The strategic defence review, published in June 2025, described a new era of threat and challenge to the UK. Set against a backdrop of difficult economic conditions, the government has set the ambition of spending 3 percent of GDP on defence in the next parliament. This briefing looks back 40 years to a Lords debate on 1985’s defence estimates, a debate in which members raised points that echo some of today’s political choices.
In Focus
Following five days of debate, the House of Lords concluded committee stage on the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The bill would end the exemption that 92 places in the House are filled by hereditary peers. This short update summarises the current status of the bill ahead of report stage, dates for which are yet to be scheduled.
In Focus
In March 1925, the House of Lords debated a motion calling for legislation to be introduced to reform the House of Lords. Whilst composition was among the issues raised, debate focused on the loss of the House’s powers, which were curtailed by the Parliament Act 1911. The 1911 act had also called for the House to be reconstituted on a popular rather than hereditary basis. This briefing looks back at the discussion.
In Focus
UK prime ministers may draw up a resignation honours list on their departure from office, in which they may request that the reigning monarch grant honours to any number of people. Such honours may include peerages, knighthoods and damehoods, or other awards. However, not all have chosen to draw up such a list. This briefing lists those prime ministers who have requested that peerages be conferred on their departure from office.
Research Briefing
The House of Lords (Peerage Nominations) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative). The bill seeks to strengthen the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
In Focus
In 2024, the House of Lords Conduct Committee launched a review of the House of Lords code of conduct for members. The committee published the conclusions of this review and its proposed amendments to the code and guide to the code in January 2025. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate these recommendations. If accepted, these changes would come into force in April 2025.
In Focus
The government’s House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill would remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords and abolish its jurisdiction in hereditary peerage claims. The bill completed its Commons stages unamended and was introduced in the House of Lords in November 2024. The bill’s second reading in the Lords took place on 11 December 2024. This briefing provides an overview of that debate and lists the areas which future amendments could focus on.
In Focus
The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) vets nominations to the House and recommends non-party political members. While its advice is usually followed, it is not a statutory body and the prime minister can choose to disregard its advice. This briefing provides an overview of the role and powers of the commission and summarises recent debates concerning its reform.
In Focus
In 2024 the restoration and renewal programme announced it would be developing three options to preserve the Palace of Westminster. Details should be presented to Parliament in 2025. Members will then decide whether the programme should temporarily relocate both Houses of Parliament, keep the Commons Chamber onsite while temporarily relocating the Lords, or conduct a rolling programme of works “to deliver enhanced maintenance and improvement”. Surveying, design and remediation work was also progressed in 2024.
In Focus
Why are bills before Parliament sometimes likened to a Christmas tree? Where did the term Christmas tree bill come from and why? This briefing looks back through Hansard to find when it was first used in Parliament and to trace its development as a political metaphor.
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