header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Calling time on hereditary peers? (Pt 3)

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
10 January 2025 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 8099 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail
202617
A ‘timid pipsqueak’ of a Bill, or the first step towards greater reform? Neil Parpworth charts the journey of the Hereditary Peers Bill through the House of Commons
  • The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on 12 November 2024.
  • Several new clauses were tabled by opposition MPs, including the exclusion of bishops and archbishops, a mandatory retirement age of 80, and a minimum participation requirement.
  • Although the government maintained its commitment to wider reforms to the House of Lords, opposition MPs expressed scepticism that further Bills will be brought forward during the lifetime of the present Parliament.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, which was introduced on 5 September 2024 and received a second reading on 15 October 2024, passed its remaining stages in the House of Commons on 12 November 2024. As readers will recall, the Bill’s purpose is to break the link between the UK’s legislature and the aristocracy (see ‘Calling time on hereditary peers? Pt 1’, 174 NLJ 8089, pp9-10, and ‘Pt

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

NEWS
Read All
Legal notice: Notice under the Trustee Act 1925

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Emergency lawyers on call as international regulatory actions soar
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
NLJ this week: Employment law’s fine margins
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
NLJ this week: Promises broken on non-molestation orders?
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
NLJ this week: Assisted dying under the legal microscope
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll