House of Lords Flashcards
Who are Life Peers?
They are appointed for the duration of their life and there are about 700 of them in total.
Who are hereditary peers?
They inherit their title and have had their numbers significantly reduced to just 92 following the Lords Reform Act in 1999.
Who are the Lords Spiritual?
They are senior members of the church of England and there is a fixed number of 26.
Give 2 Key examples of Hereditary Peers?
Lord Attlee - He is the Grandson of Clement Attlee and since 1997 has been a Conservative peer prior to this he was a cross-bencher.
9th Duke of Wellington - He was originally a Conservative peer but due to their sewage dumping policies he became a cross-bencher.
Give 2 Key Examples of Life Peers?
John Bird - He is the founder of the Big Issue magazine and in turn was made a Lord in 2015, he is a cross - bencher.
Jock Stirrup - He became a Lord in 2011 after serving as a senior royal airforce commander and he is currently a cross - bencher.
Give 2 examples of Controversy surrounding the appointment of peers?
In 2021 Boris Johnson appointed Peter Cruddas as a Lord despite warnings from his advisors as he had previously been involved in the cash for access scandal.
In 2020 Boris Johnson appointed Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords despite warnings of his previous involvement in the KGB and FSB.
What roles do the Lords play in creating Legislation?
They are sometimes known as the revising chamber in the sense that they discuss and debate legislation before suggesting amendments to the House of Commons.
Give a recent example of controversy surrounding Lord’s amendments?
The House of Lords proposed a number of amendments to the Government Rwanda Bill however, they were voted against including an amendment to provide an exception for people had fought alongside the UK armed forces as well as victims of modern slavery.
How are the Lords effective in debating?
They have a less busy schedule meaning they can spend more time debating particular issues. Furthermore, they are generally experts in particular fields which can improve the quality of debates.
Give 2 examples of debates currently occurring in the Lords?
The Lords are currently debating a bill introduced by the Cross - bencher Baroness O’Loan which aims to reduce the limit for abortion from 24 to 22 months.
The Lords are also currently debating a bill which would set in place more regulations for artificial intelligence as proposed by the Conservative Lord Holmes of Richmond.
How do the Lords carry out scruntiny?
They scrutinise legislation in the whole house as they have no select committees although they do have some joint ones with the Commons. They also have ministerial questions if said minister sits in the Lords.
How many times have the commons used the 1949 Parliament Act in order to overrule the delaying of the Lords?
It has only happened 7 times since the introduction of the 1911 act with the most recent example being the 2004 Fox Hunting Bill as well as the European Parliamentary elections act 1999.
What caused the Salisbury convention to emerge?
When Labour was elected in 195 there were only 16 Labour supporting Lords. In turn the Conservative Lord Salisbury created a convention that the lords would not block something in a government manifesto.
Why was there controversy surrounding the Salisbury agreement regarding the Coatlition and May Governments?
It was deemed that it should not apply to the Coalition Government as there was not a collective manifesto between the two parties.
It also came into debate after the 2017 election as Theresa May was reliant upon a confidence and supply deal which made it less clear cut.
In what ways are the Lords effective in regards to Legislation?
Government legislation is much more likely to be defeated in the Lords than it is in the Commons for example the Government suffered 14 defeats in the passing of the EU withdrawal bill 2018.
Lords are more likely to rebel against the whips and cross - benchers in turn make outcomes less predictable.
