In British Parliament, there are two houses that contribute to the creation of legislation. The House of Commons is ubiquitous in British politics. It is where elected members of the ruling party and the opposition debate laws, and there are often fireworks. So what about the House of Lords? The
unelected house, in comparison, rarely makes headlines.
House of Lords: UK
We need to cast our minds back hundreds and hundreds of years to trace the origin of the House of Lords. When the Plantagenet kings ruled England, the nobility or lords began to provide an advisory council to the king.
Magna Carta
A document holding the monarch to account and protecting the rights and privileges of the nobility.
Regicide
The murder of a king or queen.
After King John's barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, a new era of a merchant class emerged. Men became rich by selling commodities, most often wool, to European nations as free trade thrived.
During the 14th century, Edward III divided Parliament into two groups, the commons and the lords. The House of Commons was more powerful, with the zenith of this resulting in the regicide of Charles I in 1649.
Fig. 1 - Charles I print
In the twentieth century, a series of reforms left us with the House of Lords as we recognise it today.
The House of Lords has been around for a while, hasn't it? Nothing quite summarises how enshrined in tradition this institution is like the 'woolsack' where the house speaker sits. A red cloth stuffed with wool, it symbolises the economic importance of wool to the Commonwealth and has been in use since the 14th century and the introduction of the chamber.
House of Lords: members
There are four different types of members or peers that make up the 784-strong House of Lords. As in the commons, the Lord Speaker presides over the chamber. Sometimes, Lords also work as ministers to the legislative branch of the government but the ordinary members are as follows:
| Type of Member | Explanation |
| Life peers | Accounting for most of the chamber, life peers come from all works of professional life to provide insight and experience. They are appointed by an independent commission and can be council leaders, diplomats, doctors or business people to name but a few. |
| Spiritual peers | A small proportion of the House of Lords is religious figures. 26 bishops from the diocese around the UK provide a Church of England perspective. It is the only religion specifically allocated a place in the chamber. |
| Hereditary peers | The most controversial members in the House of Lords are the hereditary peers. Before reforms, this made up almost the entirety of the chamber. Now it accounts for 92 of the seats. The hereditary peers have no specific qualifications apart from their noble family name. These unchosen, unelected members come under the most scrutiny. |
| Crossbenchers | Most of the members in the chamber have a political affiliation, though this is not proportional to the voting as it is in the House of Commons. The neutral peers are known as the crossbenchers. |
So what do all these members actually do? Let's read on to find out.
Fig. 2 - Thomas Rowlandson's nineteenth-century depiction of the House of Lords chamber
Roles of the House of Lords
As one of two chambers in the Houses of Parliament, the House of Lords has a key role in legislation in the United Kingdom. Its primary function is to question and challenge existing laws. They also work with the House of Commons to craft new acts. Finally, the House of Lords acts as an important soundboard for the revision of laws that are not in the immediate zeitgeist.
The Passage of a Bill
The billing process can start in either House and goes through a number of stages:
- First Reading (merely read the bill that has been put forward, no debate)
- Second Reading (debate upon the bill but no amendments made)
- Committee Stage (amendments made upon the bill after debates have been listened to)
- Report Stage (these changes are reported back to the House of Commons)
- Third Reading (final debates and changes are made)
Once the first House has agreed on the necessary amendments they pass the altered bill to the second to carry out the stages again. Until both the House of Lords and House of Commons agrees on any changes this back-and-forth process can be repeated quite often until a final decision has been made.
If a decision cannot be reached then the House of Commons has the most authority and therefore the supremacy to decide without the agreement of the House of Lords. Other limitations include limits on how long they can delay their decisions and they are also not allowed to amend bills in relation to financial issues as the House of Commons has the 'financial privilege'. The Houses work together to be able to provide a check and balance on one another when carrying out the process of passing a bill.
House of Commons vs House of Lords
Let's now place a magnifying glass over the differences between the two chambers in the British parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
| House of Commons | House of Lords |
| Has the ability to vote for and pass legislation. | Can delay most types of bills by up to a year (see our deep dive on the Salisbury Convention for the exceptions). |
| The House of Commons can be held accountable for their actions by the electorate. This is referred to as 'confidence', and a vote of no confidence can be applied. | Despite not being held accountable by the general public, the House of Lords has the ability to veto |
| The House of Commons determines where the government money is spent. This is control of the 'supply'. | The House of Lords has the ability to revive dormant debates and bring them back into the political sphere so that legislation can be changed. |
The Salisbury Convention had an important impact on how the House of Lords was run.
This was a series of arrangements that created the prevailing doctrine which is still in use today. Enacted during a Labour government, it blocked the House of Lords from vetoing manifesto policies and was the result of the Marquess of Salisbury, the leader of the Conservative opposition.
Obviously, this is only the House of Lords in its current iteration, so what changes have occurred over the years?
House of Lords: reform
The recent history of the House of Lords has brought some serious reforms. We will now examine a couple of these.
House of Lords Reform Act (1999)
In a bid to make the House of Lords more democratic, this reform brought a significant reduction in the number of hereditary peers in the chamber. Where there had been 650, there were now only 92. Life peers had a greater say as a result, and the size of the overall chamber also shrunk considerably.
A Lords free of a thousand-odd relics of British elitism is a Lords that can muster public support. However odd it may seem, the Lords have started playing the role of people's champion.1
- Richard Worf, 'Lord's Revenge: The Revival of the House of Lords', 2001
As Worf posits, this was a huge step in revamping what many Brits consider an archaic relic of yesteryear.
House of Lords Reform Act (2014)
In 2014, further steps occurred to allow the House of Lords to have greater accountability. This new act meant that members of the House of Lords could be expelled if they commit serious offences. It also allowed life peers and hereditary peers to resign, meaning that there can be some introspection from members as to if the office is right for them.
Fig. 3 - House of Lords flag
House of Lords - Key takeaways
- The House of Lords is a centuries-old institution within the British Parliament.
- Its different members include hereditary peers, spiritual peers and crossbenchers, though the majority of the chamber are life peers.
- The House of Lords plays a key role in the passage of a bill and can challenge existing legislation, as well as prevent the House of Commons from unconstitutional behaviour.
- Some important reforms in the House of Lords include the 1999 and 2014 House of Lords Reform Acts. Some commentators believe that these are steps towards making the chamber more appealing to the general public.
References
- Richard Worf, 'Lord's Revenge: The Revival of the House of Lords', Harvard International Review, Vol. 22, No. 4 (WINTER 2001), pp. 7-8.
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