UK 

Ministers set to axe hereditary peers 'by Easter' with Labour poised to force through bill

13 October 2024, 08:23

Ministers set to axe hereditary peers 'by Easter' as Labour forces through bill. Picture: Alamy

By Danielle de Wolfe

@dannidewolfe

Ministers are set to abolish hereditary peers in the House of Lords "by Easter" it's been revealed

MPs will vote this week on the government’s plans to abolish 92 hereditary peers who current reside in the House of Lords.

The legislation will reportedly be forced through even if members block the proposals, The Times revealed on Sunday.

The "cleaning up" of the peerage system forms part of a key manifesto pledge by Labour, who vowed to reform the way in which the House of Lords operates.

The House of Lord's Chamber Palace of Westminster in London before the State Opening of Parliament, Tuesday May 11, 2021. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP). Picture: Alamy

Hereditary peerages - held by individuals who inherit their titles through their families - have faced widespread criticism in recent months.

The peerage system as a whole came under intense scrutiny under the Tory government, after a number of peers - including Scottish life peer Michelle Mone - found themselves caught up in scandals linked to PPE contracts during Covid.

It comes within weeks of Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing an investigations into £600m worth of Covid contracts handed out by the Tory government.

Read more: Michelle Mone admits she stands to benefit from £60 million Covid equipment profit

Read more: Kick Michelle Mone out of the Lords, government minister says after baroness admits lying over PPE firm connection

According to The Times, the clean-up could see hereditary peers being removed from the Lords by Easter.

The move by Labour represents the biggest shake-up of parliamentary rules in nearly a quarter of a century.

The key roles of peers, who sit within the House of Lords, centre around law making and governance.

According to reports, the forcing through of the legislation will finish reforms first introduced by the last Labour government.

Baroness Michelle Mone ahead of the State Opening of Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II. Lady Mone has admitted she did not tell the truth about her links to PPE firm Medpro, Sunday December 17, 2023. Picture: Alamy

In 1999 the party revoked the 700-year-old right of all hereditary peers to sit in the Lords.

This shake-up left just 92 hereditary peers in the House - a move that acted as an olive branch to the Conservatives.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) bill is expected to pass through its second reading on Tuesday.

It comes as Lord Strathclyde, a Conservative peer and former leader of the Lords - who is one of the 92 set to be booted out of the Lords - condemned the move by Labour as a “high-handed, shoddy political act”.