House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

Key Points

• End the link between hereditary peerage and Lords membership, and abolish the Lords’ jurisdiction over hereditary peerage claims.
• Proposals from Lords to radically reform the Lords’ composition (e.g., ending hereditary by-elections, shrinking the chamber, and moving to elected and life peers; stronger appointments oversight; and terms/retirement rules).
• New mechanics for resignation from the Lords, including incapacity resignations signed on someone else’s behalf under existing reform rules.
• Several amendments would alter how peerages are awarded and who may sit, including potential salaries for ministers, life peers’ ability to sit and vote, and a cap on hereditary seats (with a view to a smaller, more democratically validated chamber).
• A central policy debate is whether to pursue a broader, elected/democratised Lords (democratic mandate) or to retain more traditional, appointed membership, with the Commons preferring repeal paths and critiquing some Lords’ reforms.

Progress

The bill began in the Commons, passed the Lords with many amendments, and then moved back to the Commons for consideration of those amendments. In September 2025 the Commons voted to disagree with several Lords amendments, prompting further negotiation. By March 2026 the Lords prepared further motions about whether to insist on certain amendments, signalling continued but stalled reform and a process of back-and-forth between the Houses.

Voting

Votes show cross‑party negotiation rather than a single bloc. In the Lords, the bill sailed through its Third Reading in 2024 with broad support, while amendments tabled in Committee were largely defeated. In September 2025 the Commons voted to disagree with multiple Lords amendments, indicating resistance to the Lords’ reform pathways. Later in March 2026, the Lords prepared fresh moves on whether to insist on amendments after the Commons’ reasons, continuing a two-House dialogue over the bill’s direction.