The British lords were deprived of the hereditary right to a seat in parliament. What you need to know

In the UK, there will no longer be hereditary peers who, by right of birth, sit in the House of Lords. This will end the history of a political institution that had its roots in medieval times. From the next session of Parliament, only bishops and peers appointed by the Government will be able to sit in the upper house. How the British parliament lost its centuries—old tradition - in the Izvestia article.

History of the House of Lords

The distant ancestor of the current House of Lords of Great Britain can be called the Royal Council, which has gathered around the King of England since the Norman conquest in 1066. The closest circle of the monarch included, as a rule, representatives of the clergy and nobility, who inherited their titles. They did not have full-fledged power, but they had some influence on public administration.

• Over the centuries, the Royal Council transformed into the first prototypes of parliament. In the 14th century, two separate chambers were formed — the House of Commons, consisting of representatives of counties and cities, and the House of Lords, which included wealthy landowners, abbots and bishops. The House of Lords was briefly abolished during the English Revolution of the 17th century, but was restored and became part of the United Kingdom's parliament, formed in 1707.

• For most of history, the House of Lords has had more influence than the lower house of Parliament. However, since the beginning of the 19th century, the power of peers began to be gradually limited under pressure from the Labor Party. In 1911, a law was passed that deprived the House of Lords of the right to reject bills. Since then, this body has had hardly more power than the king.

Powers and composition of the House of Lords

• There are currently 842 members of the House of Lords. This makes it the second largest representative body after the National People's Congress (which includes more than 2,900 deputies). A small part of the seats are given to the bishops of the Anglican Church, they can have up to 26 mandates. Another 92 belong to hereditary peers. They are elected by other peers and must have a title passed down from father to son. The remaining members of the House of Lords are life peers, who are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

• Most peers in the House of Lords have a party affiliation. Although the ruling party is currently the Labor Party, the majority in the upper house belongs to the Conservatives. Several peers also belong to small and national parties. A separate group of 177 people consists of independent lords who do not belong to any of the parties. As a rule, these are experts in their fields who are necessary for discussing narrow-profile draft laws.

• Although, in fact, the House of Lords has become a ceremonial body, it still retains certain powers. She can delay bills within the framework of a suspensive veto, as well as make amendments that the House of Commons deems acceptable. At the same time, members of the chamber cannot delay bills related to financing for more than a month or block the election promises of the ruling party.

• The House of Lords also cannot influence the work of the Government. However, it retains the function of an expert body that can assess the actions of the executive branch. Theoretically, members of the House of Lords can be appointed by ministers, but in practice, the Government includes only members of the lower house of Parliament.

House of Lords reforms

• Due to the fact that the House of Lords retains minimal influence on state affairs, it remains at the center of the UK political debate. The main reason for its criticism has long been that it is possible to sit in it by birthright, and not for merit. The Labor Party has always included in its program a clause on the elimination of this ancient principle and after coming to power tried to limit it.

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• The reform of 1999 was a huge blow to centuries-old traditions. At that time, the House of Lords had 1,330 members, half of whom were hereditary peers. The reform almost completely abolished them, leaving only 92 mandates as a compromise. Some hereditary peers became life peers and remained in the House of Lords.

• The new Labour government of Keir Starmer continued to struggle with MPs of noble origin. It proposed another bill that would permanently eliminate hereditary peers, depriving them of the right to sit and vote. In order for the bill to pass the House of Lords, hereditary Conservatives and independents were again asked to switch to a life peerage, and on March 10 they accepted this condition. In May, when the new session of Parliament begins, the powers of hereditary peers will cease. After that, Lesotho will remain the last country in the world where the right to sit in parliament is inherited — 22 out of 33 seats in its Senate belong to local tribal leaders.