Hereditary peers to be booted out of House of Lords within months (original) (raw)
A new bill to scrap the 92 remaining hereditary seats in the Lords will be introduced in the Commons today - fulfilling Labour's pledge to start full Lords reform within 100 days of taking power.
The House of Lords is set for major changes
Hereditary peers will be booted out of the House of Lords within months, ministers have confirmed.
A new bill to scrap the 92 remaining hereditary seats in the Lords will be introduced in the Commons today (THU) - fulfilling Labour's pledge to start full Lords reform within 100 days of taking power.
Baroness Smith, Labour's leader in the Lords said the new bill would "complete work we began 25 years ago" - when the Blair government reduced the number to 90 - plus the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain.
And Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Minister for the Constitution, said: "This is a landmark reform to our constitution. The hereditary principle in law making has lasted for too long and is out of step with modern Britain.
“The second chamber plays a vital role in our constitution and people should not be voting on our laws in Parliament by an accident of birth."
Labour ’s plan would see the upper chamber eventually replaced with an “alternative chamber” that’s more representative of the UK.
The first step is removing the remaining hereditaries - including the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain, who will retain their constitutional roles, but lose the right to sit and vote in the House.
Alongside the hereditary peers bill, which will progress to second reading later in the autumn, Labour will introduce a bill to change rules that aim to increase the proportion of women Bishops in the upper chamber.
The Church of England requested the rule change be brought in.
Baroness Smith said: “While recognising the valuable contributions many hereditary peers have made to Parliament, it is right that this reform is being brought forward now – completing work we began 25 years ago.
“Removing the hereditary principle from the Lords will deliver on a specific manifesto commitment. It will also help deliver on our commitment to reduce the size of the second chamber, as we bring forward further reforms.”
Mr Thomas-Symonds added: “This Bill shows this government's commitment to delivering on our manifesto and is an important part of putting politics in the service of working people."
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