The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house,the House of Commons,it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London,England. One of the oldest institutions in the world,its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
Peerages in the United Kingdom form a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles,composed of various ranks,and within the framework of the Constitution of the United Kingdom form a constituent part of the legislative process and the British honours system. The British monarch is considered the fount of honour and is notionally the only person who can grant peerages,though there are many conventions about how this power is used,especially at the request of the British government. The term peerage can be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titled nobility,and individually to refer to a specific title. British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm.
The Peerage Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits female hereditary peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed.
The House of Lords Act 1999 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords,one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries,the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;the Act removed such a right. However,as part of a compromise,the Act allowed ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House. Another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House.
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of November 2024,there are 801 hereditary peers:30 dukes,34 marquesses,189 earls,109 viscounts,and 439 barons.
In the United Kingdom,life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited,in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the Dukedom of Edinburgh awarded for life to Prince Edward in 2023,all life peerages conferred since 2009 have been created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 with the rank of baron and entitle their holders to sit and vote in the House of Lords,presuming they meet qualifications such as age and citizenship. The legitimate children of a life peer appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958 are entitled to style themselves with the prefix "The Honourable",although they cannot inherit the peerage itself. Prior to 2009,life peers of baronial rank could also be so created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 for senior judges.
The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
The Lords Temporal are secular members of the House of Lords,the upper house of the British Parliament. These can be either life peers or hereditary peers,although the hereditary right to sit in the House of Lords was abolished for all but ninety-two peers during the 1999 reform of the House of Lords. The term is used to differentiate these members from the Lords Spiritual,who sit in the House as a consequence of being bishops in the Church of England.
David Arthur Russell Howell,Baron Howell of Guildford,is a British Conservative Party politician,journalist,and economic consultant. Having been successively Secretary of State for Energy and then for Transport under Margaret Thatcher,Howell has more recently been a Minister of State in the Foreign Office from the election in 2010 until the reshuffle of 2012. He has served as Chair of the House of Lords International Relations Committee since May 2016. Along with William Hague,Sir George Young and Kenneth Clarke,he is one of the few Cabinet ministers from the 1979–97 governments who continued to hold high office in the party,being its deputy leader in the House of Lords until 2010. His daughter,Frances,was married to the former Chancellor of the Exchequer,George Osborne.
Brian Mackenzie,Baron Mackenzie of Framwellgate,,is a British life peer and former police officer. He now sits in the House of Lords as a non-affiliated member,having formerly been a Labour Party peer. He is the former President of the Police Superintendents' Association.
Jane Bonham Carter,Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury is a British Liberal Democrat politician,and member of the House of Lords.
Rodney Elton,2nd Baron Elton,was a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords.
Jennifer Jane Forwood,11th Baroness Arlington,is the daughter of General Sir John Nelson and Lady Margaret Jane Fitzroy,sister of the 9th Duke of Grafton.
Herbert Robin Cayzer,3rd Baron Rotherwick,is a British landowner and estate manager. He sat as a hereditary peer in the House of Lords for the Conservative Party,from 1996 until his retirement in 2022.
Julian Pascoe Francis St Leger Grenfell,3rd Baron Grenfell,Baron Grenfell of Kilvey,is a Labour hereditary peer,life peer,and former member of the House of Lords known for his strong Europhile views.
The 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to The London Gazette of 1 August 1997 and marked the May 1997 resignation of the Prime Minister,John Major.
Frederick Matthew Thomas Ponsonby,4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede,Baron Ponsonby of Roehampton,is a British peer and Labour Party politician.
By-elections to the House of Lords occur when vacancies arise among seats assigned to hereditary peers due to death,resignation,or disqualification. Candidates for these by-elections are limited to holders of hereditary peerages,and their electorates are made up of sitting Lords;in most cases the electorate are those sitting hereditary peers of the same party affiliation as the departed peer.
The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received royal assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign –actions previously constitutionally impossible for life peers. It also makes provision to exclude members who commit serious criminal offences resulting in a jail sentence of at least one year,and members who fail to attend the House for a whole session. The Act does not have retrospective effect.
