Hereditary Peers Bill undergoes scrutiny in the Lords

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the right of all but 92 'excepted' hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill will remove the 92-peer exemption and abolish the jurisdiction of the House of Lords in hereditary peerage claims.

Line by line examination  

Committee stage is a thorough examination of the individual parts (clauses) of the bill. 

Starting from the front of the bill, members work through the clauses in order, considering changes (amendments) to the wording or proposals for new clauses. 

Four days of committee stage have been scheduled so far: 

• Monday 3 March
• Monday 10 March
• Wednesday 12 March
• Tuesday 25 March*

(*schedule is subject to change) 

Proposed changes    

Members speaking on day three of committee stage put forward amendments to the bill on subjects including:

• minimum attendance and participation requirements
• bishops and other faith representatives
• ensuring no political party has a majority of members in the Lords.

Get involved

Watch and read the debate 

• Watch the debate live on Parliament TV: part one and part two.
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript: part one and part two.

Explore further information

Find out more about the bill in the House of Lords Library briefing.

Next steps

The fourth day of committee stage is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 25 March.

What's happened so far

Committee stage day two: Monday 10 March

Proposed changes    

Members speaking on day two of committee stage put forward amendments (PDF) to the bill on subjects including:

• proposals for introducing directly elected members of the House of Lords
• preventing life peerages being given when the House of Lords Appointments Commission has recommended against the appointment
• 15-year terms for members.

Catch up

• Watch the debate on Parliament TV: part one and part two.
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript: part one and part two.

Committee stage day one: Monday 3 March

Members speaking on day one of committee stage put forward amendments (PDF) to the bill on subjects including:

• alternative systems for appointing members to the House
• hereditary principle in the UK constitution
• continuing membership of the House of Lords for current hereditary peers
• retaining Lords membership for the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain.

Catch up

• Watch the debate on Parliament TV: part one and part two
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript: part one and part two. 

Second reading 

Second reading, a full debate on the key principles of the bill, took place on Tuesday 11 December 2024. 

Image: House of Lords 2024 / photography by Annabel Moeller