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House of Lords

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United
   Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". The Sovereign,
   the House of Commons (which is the lower house of Parliament and
   referred to as "the Commons"), and the Lords together comprise the
   Parliament.

   Members of the House of Lords are known as "Lords of Parliament". The
   House of Lords does not have a fixed number of members: currently there
   are 751 members, consisting of 26 " Lords Spiritual" and 725 " Lords
   Temporal". The Lords Spiritual are the two archbishops and 24 most
   senior bishops of the Church of England, while the Lords Temporal are
   633 current Life Peers, the 90 Hereditary Peers and the two Great
   Officers of State.

   Lords Spiritual are "Lords of Parliament" (and not peers) so long as
   they continue to occupy their ecclesiastical positions, whereas Lords
   Temporal serve for life. By convention, the Archbishops of Canterbury
   and York are offered life peerages on retirement from those
   ecclesiastical positions.

   The House of Lords originated in the 14th century and has been in
   almost continuous existence since. The name "House of Lords" was not
   used as a name for the Upper House until 1544. It was abolished in 1649
   by the revolutionary government that came to power during the English
   Civil War, but was restored in 1660. The House of Lords was once more
   powerful than the elected House of Commons. Since the 19th century,
   however, the powers of the House of Lords have been steadily declining;
   now, the Upper House is far weaker than its elected counterpart. Under
   the Parliament Acts (passed in 1911 and 1949), all government
   legislation excluding "money bills" (which include the annual Finance
   Bill implementing the Budget) passed by the House of Commons can be
   delayed for twelve months, but cannot be rejected. This power is called
   a suspensive veto in political science.

   Further reforms were enacted under the House of Lords Act 1999, which
   removed the automatic hereditary right of peers to sit in the Upper
   House. Two hereditary peers, the Duke of Norfolk [The hereditary Earl
   Marshal, who organises openings of Parliament, coronations and state
   funerals] and the Marquess of Cholmondley [hereditary Lord High
   Chamberlain, who has a role in the openings of Parliament] retain seats
   because of their offices of state Great Officers of State, and an
   additional 90 are elected to represent the other hereditary peers.
   Further reforms have been contemplated but have not been passed into
   law : among the proposals are removing hereditary peers and directly
   electing at least 50% of the House of Lords.

   In addition to performing legislative functions, the House of Lords
   also holds judicial powers: it constitutes the highest court of appeal
   for most cases in the United Kingdom. The judicial functions of the
   House of Lords are not performed by the whole Chamber, but rather by an
   Appelate Committee of members with experience of high judicial office,
   who are known as "Law Lords". The House of Lords is not the only court
   of last resort in the United Kingdom; in some cases, that role is
   fulfilled by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The
   Constitutional Reform Act 2005 will transfer the judicial functions of
   the Lords to a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, but the
   provisions enacting the transfer have not yet been brought into force.
   It is understood that the Law Lords are "resistant" and have yet to
   formally decide on a new location, away from the Houses of Parliament :
   their present offices are "most agreeable", it seems, while possible
   new offices nearby in a re-modelled listed neo-Gothic Middlesex
   Guildhall are being considered.

History

   Parliament developed from the council that advised the King during
   mediæval times. This royal council came to be composed of
   ecclesiastics, noblemen, and representatives of the counties
   (afterwards, representatives of the boroughs as well). The first
   Parliament is often considered to be the "Model Parliament" (held in
   1295), which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and
   representatives of the shires and boroughs. The power of Parliament
   grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or
   declined. For example, during much of the reign of Edward II
   (1307–1327), the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire
   and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1322, the authority
   of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or
   royal charter, but by an authoritative statute, passed by Parliament
   itself. Further developments occurred during the reign of Edward II's
   successor, Edward III. Most importantly, it was during this King's
   reign that Parliament clearly separated into two distinct chambers: the
   House of Commons (consisting of the shire and borough representatives)
   and the House of Lords (consisting of the senior clergy and the
   nobility). The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during
   the early fifteenth century, both Houses exercised powers to an extent
   not seen before. The Lords were far more powerful than the Commons
   because of the great influence of the aristocrats and prelates of the
   realm.

   The power of the nobility suffered a decline during the civil wars of
   the late fifteenth century, known as the Wars of the Roses. Much of the
   nobility was decimated on the battlefield or executed for participation
   in the war, and many aristocratic estates were lost to the Crown.
   Moreover, feudalism was dying, and the feudal armies controlled by the
   barons became obsolete. Hence, the Crown easily re-established its
   absolute supremacy in the realm. The domination of the Sovereign
   continued to grow during the reigns of the Tudor monarchs in the 16th
   century. The Crown was at the height of its power during the reign of
   Henry VIII (1509-1547).

   The House of Lords remained more powerful than the House of Commons,
   but the Lower House did continue to grow in influence, reaching a
   zenith in relation to the House of Lords during the middle 17th
   century. Conflicts between the King and the Parliament (for the most
   part, the House of Commons) ultimately led to the English Civil War
   during the 1640s. In 1649, after the defeat and execution of King
   Charles I, a republic (the Commonwealth of England) was declared, but
   the nation was effectively under the overall control of Oliver
   Cromwell. The House of Lords was reduced to a largely powerless body,
   with Cromwell and his supporters in the Commons dominating the
   Government. On 19 March 1649, the House of Lords was abolished by an
   Act of Parliament, which declared that "The Commons of England [find]
   by too long experience that the House of Lords is useless and dangerous
   to the people of England." The House of Lords did not assemble again
   until the Convention Parliament met in 1660 and the monarchy was
   restored. It returned to its former position as the more powerful
   chamber of Parliament—a position it would occupy until the 19th
   century.

   The 19th century was marked by several changes to the House of Lords.
   The House, once a body of only about 50 members, had been greatly
   enlarged by the liberality of George III and his successors in creating
   peerages. The individual influence of a Lord of Parliament was thus
   diminished. Moreover, the power of the House as a whole experienced a
   decrease, whilst that of the House of Commons grew. Particularly
   notable in the development of the Lower House's superiority was the
   Reform Bill of 1832. The electoral system of the House of Commons was
   not, at the time, democratic: property qualifications greatly
   restricted the size of the electorate, and the boundaries of many
   constituencies had not been changed for centuries. Entire cities such
   as Manchester were not represented by a single individual in the House
   of Commons, but the 11 voters of Old Sarum retained their ancient right
   to elect two Members of Parliament. A small borough was susceptible to
   bribery, and was often under the control of a patron, whose nominee was
   guaranteed to win an election. Some aristocrats were patrons of
   numerous " pocket boroughs", and therefore controlled a considerable
   part of the membership of the House of Commons.

   When, in 1831, the House of Commons passed a Reform Bill to correct
   some of these anomalies, the House of Lords rejected the proposal. The
   popular cause of reform, however, was not abandoned by the ministry,
   despite a second rejection of the bill in the Lords in 1832. The Prime
   Minister, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, then advised the King to
   overwhelm the opposition to the bill in the House of Lords by creating
   about 80 new pro-Reform peers. William IV originally baulked at the
   proposal, which effectively threatened the opposition of the House of
   Lords, but at length relented. Before the new peers were created,
   however, the Lords who opposed the bill admitted defeat, and abstained
   from the vote, allowing the passage of the bill. The crisis damaged the
   political influence of the House of Lords, but did not altogether end
   it. Over the course of the century, however, the power of the Upper
   House experienced further erosion, and the Commons gradually became the
   stronger House of Parliament.
   The rejection of the People's Budget, proposed by David Lloyd George
   (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.
   The rejection of the People's Budget, proposed by David Lloyd George
   (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.

   The status of the House of Lords returned to the forefront of debate
   after the election of a Liberal Government in 1906. In 1909, the
   Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, introduced the "
   People's Budget", which proposed a new tax targeting wealthy
   landowners. The unpopular measure, however, failed in the heavily
   Conservative House of Lords. Having made the powers of the House of
   Lords a primary campaign issue, the Liberals were re-elected in January
   1910. Asquith then proposed that the powers of the House of Lords be
   severely curtailed. After a General Election in December 1910, the
   Asquith Government secured the passage of a bill to curtail the powers
   of the House of Lords. The Parliament Act 1911 soon destroyed the power
   of the House of Lords to reject legislation: most bills could be
   delayed for no more than three parliamentary sessions or two calendar
   years. It was not meant to be a permanent solution; more comprehensive
   reforms were planned. Neither party, however, pursued the matter with
   much enthusiasm, and the House of Lords remained primarily hereditary.
   In 1949, the Parliament Act reduced the delaying power of the House of
   Lords further to two sessions or one year.

   In 1958, the predominantly hereditary nature of the House of Lords was
   changed by the Life Peerages Act 1958, which authorised the creation of
   life baronies, with no numerical limits. The number of Life Peers then
   gradually increased, though not at a constant rate. In 1968, the Labour
   Government of Harold Wilson attempted to reform the House of Lords by
   introducing a system under which hereditary peers would be allowed to
   remain in the House and take part in debate, but would be unable to
   vote. This plan, however, was defeated in the House of Commons by a
   coalition of traditionalist Conservatives (such as Enoch Powell) and
   Labour members who advocated the outright abolition of the Upper House
   (such as Michael Foot). When Michael Foot attained the leadership of
   the Labour Party, abolition of the House of Lords became a part of the
   party's agenda; under Neil Kinnock, however, a reformed Upper House was
   proposed instead. In the meantime, the creation of hereditary peerages
   (except for members of the Royal Family) has been arrested, with the
   exception of three creations during the administration of the
   Conservative Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

   The Labour Party's return to power in 1997 under Tony Blair finally
   heralded the reform of the House of Lords. The Blair Government
   introduced legislation to remove all hereditary peers from the Upper
   House as the first step in Lords reform. As a part of a compromise,
   however, it agreed to permit 92 hereditary peers to remain until the
   reforms are complete. The hereditary peers were removed under the House
   of Lords Act 1999 (see below for its provisions), making the House of
   Lords predominantly an appointed House.

   Since then however, reform has stalled (see Lords Reform). The Wakeham
   Commission proposed introducing a 20% elected element to the Lords, but
   this plan was widely criticised. A Joint Committee was established in
   2001 to resolve the issue, but it reached no conclusion and instead
   gave Parliament seven options to choose from (fully appointed, 20%
   elected, 40% elected, 50% elected, 60% elected, 80%, and fully
   elected). In a confusing series of votes in February 2003, all of these
   options were defeated although the 80% elected option fell by just
   three votes in the Commons. MPs favouring outright abolition voted
   against all the options. New peers, therefore, are only created by
   appointment to the house.

   The Labour Party now intends to introduce reform in the near future,
   although they are yet to state exactly what system they will be
   proposing. It is understood, however, that they may be inclined to
   support Billy Bragg's Secondary Mandate system. The Conservative Party
   favour an eighty per cent elected Second Chamber, while the Liberal
   Democrats are calling for a fully elected Senate. Elect the Lords is a
   cross-party campaign initiative that was set up to make the case for a
   predominantly elected Second Chamber in the run up to the 2005 general
   election. In the post-election Queen's Speech, the government announced
   that it would "bring forward proposals to continue the reform of the
   House of Lords" in the 2005/2006 legislative session.

   The Times reported on July 19, 2005 that the Labour Party would propose
   that the House of Lords be 80% elected and renamed the "Second
   Chamber". The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, has announced
   plans to develop a cross-party consensus on House of Lords reform. A
   cross-party group of senior MPs ( Ken Clarke, Robin Cook (deceased
   August 2005), Paul Tyler, Tony Wright and George Young) published a
   report in 2005 proposing that 70% of members of the House of Lords
   should be elected - each member for a single long term - by the single
   transferable vote system. Most of the remainder would be appointed by a
   Commission to ensure a mix of "skills, knowledge and experience".

Lords Spiritual

   Members of the House of Lords who sit by virtue of their ecclesiastical
   offices are known as Lords Spiritual. Formerly, the Lords Spiritual
   comprised a majority in the House of Lords, including the Church of
   England's archbishops, diocesan bishops, abbots, and priors. After
   1539, however, only the archbishops and bishops continued to attend,
   for the Dissolution of the Monasteries suppressed the positions of
   abbot and prior. In 1642, during the English Civil War, the Lords
   Spiritual were excluded altogether, but they returned under the Clergy
   Act 1661. The number of Lords Spiritual was further restricted by the
   Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847, and by later acts. Now, there can be
   no more than 26 Lords Spiritual, always including the five most
   important prelates of the Church: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
   Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham, and the
   Bishop of Winchester. Membership of the House of Lords also extends to
   the 21 longest-serving other diocesan bishops of the Church of England.

   The Church of Scotland is not represented by any Lords Spiritual; being
   a Presbyterian institution, it has no archbishops or bishops. The
   Church of Ireland did obtain representation in the House of Lords after
   the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. Of the Church of
   Ireland's ecclesiastics, four (one archbishop and three bishops) were
   to sit at any one time, with the members rotating at the end of every
   parliamentary session (which normally lasted approximately one year).
   The Church of Ireland, however, was disestablished in 1871, and ceased
   to be represented by Lords Spiritual. The same is true for the Church
   in Wales which was disestablished in 1920. The current Lords Spiritual,
   therefore, represent only the Church of England.

   Other ecclesiastics have sat in the House of Lords in recent times:
   Immanuel Jakobovits, was appointed to the House of Lords by Margaret
   Thatcher while he was Chief Rabbi. In recognition of his work at
   reconciliation and in the Peace Process, the Archbishop of Armagh (the
   senior Anglican bishop in Northern Ireland), Lord Eames was appointed
   to the Lords by Tony Blair. Other clergymen appointed include Reverend
   Donald Soper, Reverend Timothy Beaumont [Lib Dem], and some Scottish
   clerics. There have been no Roman Catholic clergymen appointed, though
   it was rumoured that Cardinal Basil Hume was offered a peerage, but
   refused, and accepted instead the Order of Merit, a personal
   appointment of the Queen, shortly before his death.

   In practice, however, although the Free Churches have never been
   represented as of right in the Lords, some Methodist and other
   ministers sit as Lords Temporal. Other clerics such as the Chief Rabbi
   are also often elevated as Lords Temporal; and indeed the heads of
   various professions and learned societies, and notably the military,
   academic and legal professions, are customarily considered.

Lords Temporal

   Since the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Lords Temporal have been
   the most numerous group in the House of Lords. Unlike the Lords
   Spiritual, they may be publicly partisan. Publicly non-partisan Lords
   are called cross-benchers. Originally, the Lords Temporal included
   several hereditary peers (that is, those whose peerages may be
   inherited), who ranked variously as dukes, marquesses, earls,
   viscounts, and barons. Such hereditary dignities can be created by the
   Crown, in modern times on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day.
   Reforms enacted in 1999 (see above) caused several hundred hereditary
   peers to lose their seats in the House of Lords. The House of Lords Act
   1999 provides that only 92 individuals may continue to sit in the Upper
   House by virtue of hereditary peerages. Two hereditary peers remain in
   the House of Lords because they hold hereditary offices connected with
   Parliament: the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain. Of the
   remaining 90 hereditary peers in the House of Lords, 15 are elected by
   the whole House. Seventy-five hereditary peers are chosen by fellow
   hereditaries in the House of Lords, grouped by party. The number of
   peers to be chosen by a party reflects the proportion of hereditary
   peers that belongs to that party (see current composition below). When
   an elected hereditary peer dies, a by-election is held, with a variant
   of the Alternative Vote system being used. If the recently deceased
   hereditary peer was elected by the whole House, then so is his or her
   replacement; a hereditary peer elected by a specific party is replaced
   by a vote of elected hereditary peers belonging to that party (whether
   elected as part of that party group or by the whole house).

   The Lords Temporal also include the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, a
   group of individuals appointed to the House of Lords so that they may
   exercise its judicial functions. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, more
   commonly known as Law Lords, were first appointed under the Appellate
   Jurisdiction Act 1876. They are selected by the Prime Minister, but are
   formally appointed by the Sovereign. A Lord of Appeal in Ordinary must
   retire at the age of 70, or, if his or her term is extended by the
   government, at the age of 75; after reaching such an age, the Law Lord
   cannot hear any further legal cases. The number of Lords of Appeal in
   Ordinary (excluding those who are no longer able to hear cases because
   of age restrictions) is limited to twelve, but may be changed by
   statutory instrument. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary traditionally do not
   participate in political debates, so as to maintain judicial
   independence. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary hold seats the House of Lords
   for life, remaining members even after reaching the retirement age of
   70 or 75. Former Lord Chancellors and holders of other high judicial
   office may also sit as Law Lords under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act,
   although in practice this right is infrequently exercised. After the
   coming into force of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lords of
   Appeal in Ordinary will become judges of the Supreme Court of the
   United Kingdom and will be barred from sitting or voting until they
   retire as judges.

   The largest group of Lords Temporal, and indeed of the whole House, are
   life peers. Life peers with seats in the House of Lords rank only as
   barons or baronesses, and are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958.
   Like all other peers, life peers are created by the Sovereign, who acts
   on the advice of the Prime Minister. By convention, however, the Prime
   Minister allows leaders of other parties to select some life peers so
   as to maintain a political balance in the House of Lords. Moreover,
   some non-party life peers (the number being determined by the Prime
   Minister) are nominated by an independent House of Lords Appointments
   Commission. If an hereditary peer also holds a life peerage, he or she
   remains a member of the House of Lords without a need for an election.
   In 2000, the government announced it would set up an Independent
   Appointments Commission, under Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, to select
   fifteen so-called "People's Peers" for life peerages. However, when the
   choices were announced in April 2001, from a list of 3,000 applicants,
   the choices were treated with criticism in the media, as all were
   distinguished in their field, and none were "ordinary people" as some
   had originally hoped.

   In many historical instances, some peers were not permitted to sit in
   the Upper House. When Scotland united with England to form Great
   Britain in 1707, it was provided that the Scottish hereditary peers
   would only be able to elect 16 representative peers to sit in the House
   of Lords; the term of a representative was to extend until the next
   general election. A similar provision was enacted in respect of Ireland
   when that kingdom merged with Great Britain in 1801; the Irish peers
   were allowed to elect 28 representatives, who were to retain office for
   life. Elections for Irish representatives ended in 1922, when most of
   Ireland became an independent state; elections for Scottish
   representatives ended with the passage of the Peerage Act 1963, under
   which all Scottish peers obtained seats in the Upper House.

Qualifications

   Several different qualifications apply for membership of the House of
   Lords. No person may sit in the House of Lords if under the age of 21.
   Furthermore, only Commonwealth citizens and citizens of the Republic of
   Ireland may sit in the House of Lords. The nationality restrictions
   were previously more stringent: under the Act of Settlement 1701, and
   prior to the British Nationality Act 1948, only natural-born subjects
   were qualified.

   Additionally, some bankruptcy-related restrictions apply to members of
   the Upper House. A person may not sit in the House of Lords if he or
   she is the subject of a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in
   England and Wales only), or if he or she is adjudged bankrupt (in
   Northern Ireland), or if his or her estate is sequestered (in
   Scotland). A final restriction bars an individual convicted of high
   treason from sitting in the House of Lords until completing his or her
   full term of imprisonment. An exception applies, however, if the
   individual convicted of high treason receives a full pardon. Note that
   an individual serving a prison sentence for an offence other than high
   treason is not automatically disqualified.

   Finally, some qualifications apply only in the case of the Lords of
   Appeal in Ordinary. No person may be created a Lord of Appeal in
   Ordinary unless he or she has either held "high judicial office" for
   two years, or has been a practising barrister for fifteen years. The
   term "high judicial office" encompasses membership of the Court of
   Appeal of England and Wales, of the Inner House of the Court of Session
   (Scotland), or of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland.

   Women were excluded from the House of Lords until the Life Peerages
   Act, passed in 1958 to address the declining number of active members,
   facilitated the creation of peerages for life. Women were immediately
   eligible and four were among the first life peers appointed. However,
   hereditary peeresses, whose existence had long been a constitutional
   anomaly, continued to be excluded until the passage of the Peerage Act
   1963. Since the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, hereditary
   peeresses remain eligible for election to the Upper House; there are
   three among the 92 hereditaries who continue to sit. All women in the
   House of Lords are amongst the Lords Temporal; the Church of England
   does not presently permit the consecration of female bishops, though
   this issue is currently under consideration, with many observers
   expecting female bishops in the near future.

Officers

   Traditionally the House of Lords did not elect its own speaker, unlike
   the House of Commons; rather, the ex officio presiding officer was the
   Lord Chancellor. With the passage of the Constitutional Reform Act
   2005, the post of Lord Speaker was created, a position to which a peer
   is elected by the House and subsequently appointed by The Crown. The
   first Lord Speaker to be elected, on May the fourth 2006, is Baroness
   Hayman, a former Labour peer. As the Speaker is expected to be an
   impartial presiding officer, Baroness Hayman has resigned from the
   Labour whip.

   This reform of the post of Lord Chancellor was made due to the
   constitutional anomalies inherent in the role. The Lord Chancellor was
   not only the Speaker of the House of Lords, but also a member of the
   Cabinet; his or her department, formerly the Lord Chancellor's
   Department, is now called the Department for Constitutional Affairs. In
   addition, the Lord Chancellor is the head of the judiciary of England
   and Wales, serving as the president of the Supreme Court of England and
   Wales. Thus, the Lord Chancellor was part of all three branches of
   government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The
   overlap of the legislative and executive roles is a characteristic of
   the Westminster system, as the entire cabinet consists of members of
   the House of Commons or the House of Lords, however in June 2003, the
   Blair Government announced its intention to abolish the post of Lord
   Chancellor because of the office's mixed executive and judicial
   responsibilities. The abolition of the office was rejected by the House
   of Lords, and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 was thus amended to
   preserve the office of Lord Chancellor. The Act no longer guarantees
   that the office holder of Lord Chancellor is the presiding officer of
   the House of Lords, and therefore allows for the House of Lords to
   elect a speaker of their own.
   The Lord Chancellor wore black and gold robes whilst presiding over the
   House of Lords.
   The Lord Chancellor wore black and gold robes whilst presiding over the
   House of Lords.

   The Lord Speaker may be replaced as presiding officer by one of his or
   her deputies. The Chairman of Committees, the Principal Deputy Chairman
   of Committees, and several Deputy Chairmen of Committees are all
   deputies to the Lord Speaker, and are all appointed by the House of
   Lords itself. By custom, the Crown appoints each Chairman, Principal
   Deputy Chairman, or Deputy Chairman to the additional office of Deputy
   Speaker of the House of Lords. There was previously no legal
   requirement that the Lord Chancellor or a Deputy Speaker be a member of
   the House of Lords, though the same has long been customary; thus the
   Woolsack upon which the Lord Chancellor sat was notionally not in the
   House of Lords, although situated in the middle of it.

   Whilst presiding over the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor
   traditionally wore ceremonial black and gold robes. This is no longer a
   requirement for the Speaker except for State occasions outside of the
   chamber. The Speaker or or Deputy Speaker sits on the Woolsack, a large
   red seat stuffed with wool, at the front of the Lords Chamber. When the
   House of Lords resolves itself into committee (see below), the Chairman
   or a Deputy Chairman presides, not from the Woolsack, but from a chair
   at the Table of the House. The presiding officer has little power
   compared to the Speaker of the House of Commons. He or she only acts as
   the mouthpiece of the House, performing duties such as announcing the
   results of votes. The Lord Speaker or Deputy Speaker cannot determine
   which members may speak, or discipline members for violating the rules
   of the House; these measures may be taken only by the House itself.
   Unlike the politically neutral Speaker of the House of Commons, the
   Lord Chancellor and Deputy Speakers originally remained members of
   their respective parties, and may participate in debate, however this
   is no longer true of the new role of Lord Speaker.

   Another officer of the body is the Leader of the House of Lords, a peer
   selected by the Prime Minister. The Leader of the House is responsible
   for steering Government bills through the House of Lords, and is a
   member of the Cabinet. The Leader also advises the House on proper
   procedure when necessary, but such advice is merely informal, rather
   than official and binding. A Deputy Leader is also appointed by the
   Prime Minister, and takes the place of an absent or unavailable Leader.

   The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk and officer of the
   House of Lords (but is not a member of the House itself). The Clerk,
   who is appointed by the Crown, advises the presiding officer on the
   rules of the House, signs orders and official communications, endorses
   bills, and is the keeper of the official records of both Houses of
   Parliament. Moreover, the Clerk of the Parliaments is responsible for
   arranging by-elections of hereditary peers when necessary. The deputies
   of the Clerk of the Parliaments (the Clerk Assistant and the Reading
   Clerk) are appointed by the Lord Speaker, subject to the House's
   approval.

   The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod is also an officer of the House;
   he takes his title from the symbol of his office, a black rod. Black
   Rod (as the Gentleman Usher is normally known) is responsible for
   ceremonial arrangements, is in charge of the House's doorkeepers, and
   may (upon the order of the House) take action to end disorder or
   disturbance in the Chamber. Black Rod also holds the office of
   Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords, and in this capacity attends
   upon the Lord Speaker. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod's duties
   may be delegated to the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod or to the
   Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms.

Procedure

   The House of Lords and the House of Commons assemble in the Palace of
   Westminster. The Lords Chamber is lavishly decorated, in contrast with
   the more modestly furnished Commons Chamber. Benches in the Lords
   Chamber are coloured red; thus, the House of Lords is sometimes
   referred to as the "Red Chamber". The Woolsack is at the front of the
   Chamber; supporters of the Government sit on benches on the right of
   the Woolsack, whilst members of the Opposition sit on the left. Neutral
   members, known as Cross-benchers, sit on the benches immediately
   opposite the Woolsack.

   The Lords Chamber is the site of many formal ceremonies, the most
   famous of which is the State Opening of Parliament, held at the
   beginning of each new parliamentary session. During the State Opening,
   the Sovereign, seated on the Throne in the Lords Chamber and in the
   presence of both Houses of Parliament, delivers a speech outlining the
   Government's agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session.

   In the House of Lords, members need not seek the recognition of the
   presiding officer before speaking, as is done in the House of Commons.
   If two or more Lords simultaneously rise to speak, the House decides
   which one is to be heard by acclamation, or, if necessary, by voting on
   a motion. Often, however, the Leader of the House will suggest an
   order, which is thereafter generally followed. Speeches in the House of
   Lords are addressed to the House as a whole ("My Lords") rather than to
   the presiding officer alone (as is the custom in the Lower House).
   Members may not refer to each other in the second person (as "you"),
   but rather use third person forms such as "the noble Duke", "the noble
   Earl", "the noble Lord", "my noble friend", etc.

   Each member may make no more than one speech on a motion, except that
   the mover of the motion may make one speech at the beginning of the
   debate and another at the end. Speeches are not subject to any time
   limits in the House; however, the House may put an end to a speech by
   approving a motion "that the noble Lord be no longer heard". It is also
   possible for the House to end the debate entirely, by approving a
   motion "that the Question be now put". This procedure is known as
   Closure, and is extremely rare.

   Once all speeches on a motion have concluded, or Closure invoked, the
   motion may be put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the
   Lord Speaker or Deputy Speaker puts the question, and the Lords respond
   either "Content" (in favour of the motion) or "Not-Content" (against
   the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the
   voice vote, but if his assessment is challenged by any Lord, a recorded
   vote known as a division follows. Members of the House enter one of two
   lobbies (the "Content" lobby or the "Not-Content" lobby) on either side
   of the Chamber, where their names are recorded by clerks. At each lobby
   are two Tellers (themselves members of the House) who count the votes
   of the Lords. The Lord Speaker may not take part in the vote. Once the
   division concludes, the Tellers provide the results thereof to the
   presiding officer, who then announces them to the House. If there is an
   equality of votes, the motion is decided according to the following
   principles: legislation may proceed in its present form, unless there
   is a majority in favour of amending or rejecting it; any other motions
   are rejected, unless there is a majority in favour of approving it. The
   quorum of the House of Lords is just three members for a general or
   procedural vote, and 30 members for a vote on legislation. If fewer
   than three or 30 members (as appropriate) are present, the division is
   invalid.

   The full, formal style of the House is The Right Honourable the Lords
   Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
   Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The formal style of
   individual members of the House of Lords is The Right Honourable the
   Lord X of Y. The House of Lords, like the House of Commons, meets in
   the Palace of Westminster. Lords who are Privy Counsellors place "PC"
   after their title : all Privy Counsellors are in any case entitled to
   the epithet "The Right Honourable".

Committees

   The Parliament of the United Kingdom uses committees for a variety of
   purposes; one common use is for the review of bills. Committees of both
   Houses consider bills in detail, and may make amendments. In the House
   of Lords, the committee most commonly used for the consideration of
   bills is the Committee of the Whole House, which, as its name suggests,
   includes all members of the House. The Committee meets in the Lords
   Chamber, and is presided over not by the Lord Speaker, but by the
   Chairman of Committees or a Deputy Chairman. Different procedural rules
   apply in the Committee of the Whole House than in normal sessions of
   the Lords; in particular, members are allowed to make more than one
   speech each on a motion. Similar to the Committee of the Whole House
   are the Grand Committees, bodies in which any member of the House may
   participate. A Grand Committee does not meet in the Lords Chamber, but
   in a separate committee room. No divisions are held in Grand
   Committees, and any amendments to the bill require the unanimous
   consent of the body. Hence, the Grand Committee procedure is used only
   for uncontroversial bills.

   Bills may also be committed to Public Bill Committees, which consist of
   between twelve and sixteen members each. A Public Bill Committee is
   specifically constituted for a particular bill. A bill may also be
   referred to a Special Public Bill Committee, which, unlike the Public
   Bill Committee, has the power to hold hearings and collect evidence.
   These committees are used much less frequently than the Committee of
   the Whole House and Grand Committees.

   The House of Lords also has several Select Committees. The members of
   these committees are appointed by the House at the beginning of each
   session, and continue to serve until the next parliamentary session
   begins. The House of Lords may appoint a chairman for a committee; if
   it does not do so, the Chairman of Committees or a Deputy Chairman of
   Committees may preside instead. Most Select Committees are permanent,
   but the House may also establish ad hoc committees, which cease to
   exist upon the completion of a particular task (for instance,
   investigating the reform of the House of Lords). The primary function
   of Select Committees is to scrutinise and investigate Government
   activities; to fulfil these aims, they are permitted to hold hearings
   and collect evidence. Bills may be referred to Select Committees, but
   are more often sent to the Committee of the Whole House and Grand
   Committees.

   The committee system of the House of Lords also includes several
   Domestic Committees, which supervise or consider the House's procedures
   and administration. One of the Domestic Committees is the Committee of
   Selection, which is responsible for assigning members to many of the
   House's other committees.

Legislative functions

   The House of Lords meets in a lavishly decorated chamber in the Palace
   of Westminster (above).
   Enlarge
   The House of Lords meets in a lavishly decorated chamber in the Palace
   of Westminster (above).

   Most legislation may be introduced in either House, but, most commonly,
   is introduced in the House of Commons.

   The power of the Lords to reject a bill passed by the House of Commons
   is severely restricted by the Parliament Acts. Under those Acts,
   certain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assent without
   the consent of the House of Lords. The House of Lords cannot delay a
   money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the House of
   Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more
   than one month. Other public bills cannot be delayed by the House of
   Lords for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year.
   These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in
   the House of Commons, and cannot have the effect of extending a
   parliamentary term beyond five years. A further restriction is a
   constitutional convention known as the Salisbury Convention, which
   means that the House of Lords does not oppose legislation promised in
   the Government's election manifesto.

   By a custom that prevailed even before the Parliament Acts, the House
   of Lords is further restrained insofar as financial bills are
   concerned. The House of Lords may neither originate a bill concerning
   taxation or Supply, nor amend a bill so as to insert a taxation or
   Supply-related provision. (The House of Commons, however, often waives
   its privileges and allows the Upper House to make amendments with
   financial implications.) Moreover, the Upper House may not amend any
   Supply Bill. The House of Lords formerly maintained the absolute power
   to reject a bill relating to revenue or Supply, but this power was
   curtailed by the Parliament Acts, as aforementioned.

   Hence, as the power of the House of Lords has been severely curtailed
   by statute and by practice, the House of Commons is clearly the more
   powerful chamber of Parliament.

   In March 2006, it was reported that, among other reforms, the
   Government are considering removing the ability of the Lords to delay
   legislation that arises as a result of manifesto commitments, and
   reducing their ability to delay other legislation to a period of 60
   days .

Judicial functions

   The judicial functions of the House of Lords originate from the ancient
   role of the Curia Regis as a body that addressed the petitions of the
   King's subjects.

   The judicial functions of the House of Lords are exercised not by the
   whole House, but by a committee of "Law Lords". The bulk of the House's
   judicial business is conducted by the twelve Lords of Appeal in
   Ordinary, who are specifically appointed for this purpose under the
   Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. The judicial functions may also be
   exercised by Lords of Appeal (other members of the House who happen to
   have held high judicial office). No Lord of Appeal in Ordinary or Lord
   of Appeal may sit judicially beyond the age of seventy-five. The
   judicial business of the Lords is supervised by the Senior Lord of
   Appeal in Ordinary and his or her deputy, the Second Senior Lord of
   Appeal in Ordinary.

   The jurisdiction of the House of Lords extends, in civil and in
   criminal cases, to appeals from the courts of England and Wales, and of
   Northern Ireland. From Scotland, appeals are possible only in civil
   cases; Scotland's High Court of Justiciary is the highest court in
   criminal matters. The House of Lords is not the United Kingdom's only
   court of last resort; in some cases, the Privy Council performs such a
   function. The jurisdiction of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom,
   however, is narrower than that of the House of Lords; it encompasses
   appeals from ecclesiastical courts, issues related to devolution,
   disputes under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, and a
   few other minor matters.

   Not all Law Lords sit to hear cases; rather, since World War II cases
   have been heard by panels known as Appellate Committees, each of which
   normally consists of five members (selected by the Senior Lord). An
   Appellate Committee hearing an important case may consist of even more
   members. Though Appellate Committees meet in separate committee rooms,
   judgement is given in the Lords Chamber itself. No further appeal lies
   from the House of Lords, although the House of Lords may refer a
   "preliminary question" to the European Court of Justice in cases
   involving an element of European Union law, and a case can be brought
   at the European Court of Human Rights if the House of Lords does not
   provide a satisfactory remedy in cases where the European Convention on
   Human Rights is relevant.

   A distinct judicial function—one in which the whole House, rather than
   just the Law Lords, may participate—is that of trying impeachments.
   Impeachments are brought by the House of Commons, and are tried in the
   House of Lords; a conviction requires only a majority of the Lords
   voting. Impeachments, however, are essentially obsolete; the last
   impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806.

   Similarly, the House of Lords was once the court that tried peers
   charged with high treason or felony. The House would be presided over
   not by the Lord Speaker, but by the Lord High Steward, an official
   especially appointed for the occasion of the trial. If Parliament was
   not in session, then peers could be tried in a separate court, known as
   the Lord High Steward's Court. Only peers, their wives, and their
   unremarried widows were entitled to trials in the House of Lords or the
   Lord High Steward's Court; the Lords Spiritual were tried in
   Ecclesiastical Courts. In 1948, the right of peers and peeresses to be
   tried in such special courts was abolished; now, they may be tried in
   the same courts as others.

   The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 will lead to the creation of a
   separate Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, to which the judicial
   function of the House of Lords, and some of the judicial functions of
   the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, will be transferred. In
   addition, the office of Lord Chancellor has been reformed by the act,
   to remove his ability to act as both a government minister and a judge.
   This is motivated in part by concerns that the historical admixture of
   legislative, judicial, and executive power, may not be in conformance
   with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights (a
   judicial officer having legislative or executive power not being likely
   to be considered sufficiently impartial to provide a fair trial), and
   in any case are considered undesirable according to modern
   constitutional theory concerning the separation of powers. The new
   Supreme Court will be located in Middlesex Guildhall.

Relationship with the Government

   Unlike the House of Commons, the House of Lords does not control the
   term of the Prime Minister or of the Government. Only the Lower House
   may force the Prime Minister to resign or call elections by passing a
   motion of no-confidence or by withdrawing supply. Thus, the House of
   Lords' oversight of the government is limited.

   Most Cabinet ministers are from the House of Commons, rather than the
   House of Lords. In particular, all Prime Ministers since 1902 have been
   members of the Lower House. ( Alec Douglas-Home, who became Prime
   Minister in 1963 whilst still an Earl, disclaimed his peerage and was
   elected to the Commons soon after his term began.) No major cabinet
   position (except Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords) has
   been filled by a peer since 1982. However, the House of Lords does
   remain a source for junior ministers.

Current composition

   The House of Lords, as of 31 October 2006:
   Affiliation Life peers Hereditary peers Lords spiritual Total
   Elected by party † Elected by whole house Royal office-holders
     Labour 208 2 2 0 0 212
     Conservative 160 39 9 0 0 208
     Liberal Democrats 73 3 2 0 0 78
     Green 1 0 0 0 0 1
     Cross-benchers 168 29 2 2 0 201
     Non-affiliated 9 2 0 0 0 11
     Lords Spiritual 0 0 0 0 26 26
   Total 620 75 15 2 26 738

   Note: These figures exclude thirteen peers who are on leave of absence.

   †The number of hereditary peers "allocated" to each party, which is
   based on the proportion of hereditary peers that belongs to that party,
   is:
     * Conservative Party: 42 peers
     * Labour Party: 2 peers
     * Liberal Democrats: 3 peers
     * Cross-benchers: 28 peers

   Of the initial 42 hereditary peers elected as Conservatives, one ( Lord
   Brabazon of Tara) now sits as a Cross-bencher, having become the House
   of Lords' Chairman of Committees, and another ( Lord Willoughby de
   Broke) now sits as a non-affiliated member.

Current political leaders in the Lords

     * Lord Strathclyde - Conservative Party
     * Lord McNally - Liberal Democrats
     * Baroness Amos - Labour, Cabinet Member

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