The World of Politics

POLICY BANK RECOMMENDATIONS

House of Lords Reform

Policy idea
Replace the current appointed House of Lords with a 100-member elected upper chamber whose members serve four-year staggered terms (25 per annum) elected by party-list proportional representation from within appointed membership of House.

Problem this addresses

• Lords are overwhelmingly appointed at the moment, undermining democratic legitimacy.
• Large legislative bodies with mixed appointment types weaken accountability.

Proposal

• Elect 100 members to the upper chamber with staggered elections.
• Allow all peers to attend and speak, but only allow elected members to vote.
• Pay salaries and support offices at a level reflecting full-time responsibility, payment by central administration, but direct responsibility to Lord staff would be appointed to.

Why this matters

• Strengthens democratic legitimacy and responsiveness of the upper chamber.
• Reduces reliance on political appointments to shape legislative outcomes.
• Encourages clearer accountability between voters and revising ministers.

Implementation / next steps

• Introduce a bill to establish an elected upper chamber.
• Define electoral rules (proportional list) and term lengths.
• Set transitional arrangements for existing peers.

Barriers / trade-offs

• HMG may resist fundamental reform absent broad cross-party support.
• Appointed peers and party leaders may oppose dilution of appointment powers.
• Electoral reform debates could overshadow structural reform.

Context
A Bill to remove hereditary peers has stalled after Labour introduced it against longstanding House of Lords conventions. Conservatives have opposed comprehensive reform, preferring incremental changes. Current practice mixes appointments with large numbers of life peers chosen by party leaderships, oscillating, pendulously, from Government to Government with appointments becoming increasingly indefensible.

Sources and further reading
House of Lords Annual Report 2024/5 (p.107 for relatively modest direct members’ expenses)
House of Commons Annual Report 2024/5 ( compare expenses at p114)
House of Lords’ own chronology on proposals for the Chamber’s reform since 1886/8.
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill as amended on report from the Lords – 9th July 2025.
The Constitution Blog’s commentary “The Story so Far” by Professor Meg Russell FBA, Director of the Constitution Unit
7th April 2025 also provides an excellent analysis of the opportunity for action presented by the Bill in a second blog post.
Although the Electoral Reform Society long ago cast aside objectivity to advocate for the removal of the hereditaries, their running commentary on the state of constitutional reform, is often informative – “Lords-a-delaying?” – 16th December 2025.

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