Britain is kicking out its last dukes and earls from Parliament – ending a 700-year-old tradition that let people vote on laws just because of who their ancestors were
The UK has taken a decisive step toward modernising its centuries-old parliamentary system, with the House of Lords passing the Hereditary Peers Bill on Tuesday (10 March).
This legislation ends the right of hereditary peers – dukes, earls, viscounts, and other nobles who inherit their titles – to sit and vote in the upper chamber simply by virtue of their ancestry.
The move fulfills a key manifesto pledge from the governing Labour Party and completes reforms initiated more than 25 years ago under Tony Blair’s government.
In 1999, the House of Lords Act removed most hereditary peers, over 600 at the time, but retained 92 as an interim compromise. Those 92 “excepted” hereditary peers have continued to participate in lawmaking, including through a system of by-elections to fill vacancies when one dies or retires.
The bill reduces that number to zero, effective at the end of the current parliamentary session. After that, no one will hold a seat in the House of Lords based solely on hereditary peerage.
The UK will join the vast majority of modern democracies in eliminating this hereditary element from its legislature, leaving only Lesotho’s Senate with a similar feature.
“The Lords plays a vital role within our bicameral Parliament, but nobody should sit in the House by virtue of an inherited title,” she said. “Getting this bill through is a major first step towards reform of the Lords, with further changes to follow, including on members’ retirement and participation requirements,” said Baroness Smith, Leader of the House of Lords.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Minister for the Cabinet Office, went further: “Hereditary peerages are an archaic and undemocratic principle. Our Parliament should always be a place where talents are recognised and merit counts. It should never be a gallery of old boys’ networks, nor a place where titles, many of which were handed out centuries ago, hold power over the will of the people.”
Passage came after compromise negotiations
To overcome resistance and secure Conservative support, the government offered additional life peerages, non-hereditary appointments, to some departing hereditary peers, particularly from the opposition benches and crossbenchers.
Reports suggest up to 15 such conversions could occur, allowing a handful of experienced members to remain while ending the hereditary right itself.
The reform has been described by the government as one of the biggest changes to British parliamentary democracy in a generation. It removes an anomaly dating back roughly 700 years, when medieval barons and nobles formed part of the king’s advisory council, evolving into the House of Lords.
While this phase focuses narrowly on hereditary membership, ministers have signaled more changes ahead, potentially addressing the overall size of the chamber (currently over 800 members, the world’s second-largest legislative body after China’s National People’s Congress), mandatory retirement ages, or attendance rules.
