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</form> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="breadcrumbs" role="navigation"><div class="container-fluid"><a href="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/">Home</a> <span class="breadcrumbs__separator">></span> <a href="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/">Latest News and Research</a> <span class="breadcrumbs__separator">></span> <a href="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/blog/">News and Comment</a> <span class="breadcrumbs__separator">></span> <span>A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history</span></nav></div><nav class="breadcrumbs container-fluid breadcrumbs_mobile"><a href="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/blog/">< News and Comment</a></nav> <div id="content" class="site-content"> <div id="primary" class="content-area"> <div class="container-fluid"> <main id="main" class="site-main" role="main"> <div class="content-block"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <h1 class="page-title heading_pull-top">A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history</h1> <figure class="featured-image"> <figure> <img width="992" height="561" src="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Lords-e1511274089275-992x561.jpg" class="attachment-post-featured-image size-post-featured-image wp-post-image" alt="House of Lords" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Lords-e1511274089275-992x561.jpg 992w, https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Lords-e1511274089275-730x413.jpg 730w" sizes="(max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px" /> <figcaption class="credit-tracker-thumbnail">Photograph: Annabel Moeller. Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament</figcaption> </figure> </figure> <div class="author"> <div class="author__image"> <img alt='' data-src='https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland.jpg' data-srcset='https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland.jpg 150w, https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland-390x390.jpg 390w, https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland-124x124.jpg 124w' class='avatar avatar-64 photo lazyload' height='64' width='64' decoding='async' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' style='--smush-placeholder-width: 64px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 64/64;' /><noscript><img alt='' src='https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland.jpg' srcset='https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland.jpg 150w, https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland-390x390.jpg 390w, https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Jessica-Garland-124x124.jpg 124w' class='avatar avatar-64 photo' height='64' width='64' decoding='async'/></noscript> </div> <div class="author__content"> <div><strong>Author:</strong></div> <div>Jessica Garland, Director of Policy and Research</div> </div> </div> <p class="date">Posted on the 3rd April 2018</p> <nav class="btn-list btn-list_tags"> <ul> <span> <strong> Campaign: </strong> </span> <li> <a href="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/category/house-of-lords/"> <span>House of Lords</span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> <nav class="btn-list btn-list_social-share"> <ul class="clearfix"> <li> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/" target="_new" title="Share on Facebook" class="btn btn_icon-left btn_icon-facebook modal-btn"> <i class="icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1536 1792"><path fill="#fff" d="M1248 128q119 0 203.5 84.5T1536 416v960q0 119-84.5 203.5T1248 1664h-188v-595h199l30-232h-229V689q0-56 23.5-84t91.5-28l122-1V369q-63-9-178-9-136 0-217.5 80T820 666v171H620v232h200v595H288q-119 0-203.5-84.5T0 1376V416q0-119 84.5-203.5T288 128h960z"/></svg></i> Share </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/&text=A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history&via=electoralreform" target="_new" title="Post this page on X" class="btn btn_icon-left btn_icon-twitter modal-btn"> <i class="icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1664 1792"><path fill="#fff" d="M1620 408q-67 98-162 167 1 14 1 42 0 130-38 259.5T1305.5 1125 1121 1335.5t-258 146-323 54.5q-271 0-496-145 35 4 78 4 225 0 401-138-105-2-188-64.5T221 1033q33 5 61 5 43 0 85-11-112-23-185.5-111.5T108 710v-4q68 38 146 41-66-44-105-115t-39-154q0-88 44-163 121 149 294.5 238.5T820 653q-8-38-8-74 0-134 94.5-228.5T1135 256q140 0 236 102 109-21 205-78-37 115-142 178 93-10 186-50z"/></svg></i> Share </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Hey have you read this? A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history%20https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/%20Electoral Reform Society – ERS" target="_new" title="Share on WhatsApp" class="btn btn_icon-left btn_icon-linkedin modal-btn"> <i class="icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1536 1792"><path fill="#fff" d="M985 974q13 0 97.5 44t89.5 53q2 5 2 15 0 33-17 76-16 39-71 65.5T984 1254q-57 0-190-62-98-45-170-118T476 889q-72-107-71-194v-8q3-91 74-158 24-22 52-22 6 0 18 1.5t19 1.5q19 0 26.5 6.5T610 544q8 20 33 88t25 75q0 21-34.5 57.5T599 811q0 7 5 15 34 73 102 137 56 53 151 101 12 7 22 7 15 0 54-48.5t52-48.5zm-203 530q127 0 243.5-50t200.5-134 134-200.5 50-243.5-50-243.5T1226 432t-200.5-134T782 248t-243.5 50T338 432 204 632.5 154 876q0 203 120 368l-79 233 242-77q158 104 345 104zm0-1382q153 0 292.5 60T1315 343t161 240.5 60 292.5-60 292.5-161 240.5-240.5 161-292.5 60q-195 0-365-94L0 1670l136-405Q28 1087 28 876q0-153 60-292.5T249 343t240.5-161T782 122z"/></svg></i> Share </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history%20https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/%20Electoral Reform Society – ERS" target="_new" title="Share on Bluesky" class="btn btn_icon-left btn_icon-linkedin modal-btn"> 🦋 Share </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/&title=A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history&source=Electoral Reform Society – ERS" target="_new" title="Share on LinkedIn" class="btn btn_icon-left btn_icon-linkedin modal-btn"> <i class="icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1536 1792"><path fill="#fff" d="M349 625v991H19V625h330zm21-306q1 73-50.5 122T184 490h-2q-82 0-132-49T0 319q0-74 51.5-122.5T186 148t133 48.5T370 319zm1166 729v568h-329v-530q0-105-40.5-164.5T1040 862q-63 0-105.5 34.5T871 982q-11 30-11 81v553H531q2-399 2-647t-1-296l-1-48h329v144h-2q20-32 41-56t56.5-52 87-43.5T1157 602q171 0 275 113.5t104 332.5z"/></svg></i> Share </a> </li> <li> <a href="mailto:?subject=A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history&body=https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/" title="Share via Email" class="btn btn_icon-left"> <i class="icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1792 1792"><path fill="#fff" d="M1792 710v794q0 66-47 113t-113 47H160q-66 0-113-47T0 1504V710q44 49 101 87 362 246 497 345 57 42 92.5 65.5t94.5 48 110 24.5h2q51 0 110-24.5t94.5-48 92.5-65.5q170-123 498-345 57-39 100-87zm0-294q0 79-49 151t-122 123q-376 261-468 325-10 7-42.5 30.5t-54 38-52 32.5-57.5 27-50 9h-2q-23 0-50-9t-57.5-27-52-32.5-54-38T639 1015q-91-64-262-182.5T172 690q-62-42-117-115.5T0 438q0-78 41.5-130T160 256h1472q65 0 112.5 47t47.5 113z"/></svg></i> Email </a> </li> </ul> </nav> <div class="row flexible-block"> <div class="col-xs-12 wysiwyg"> <p>Westminster is packed full of peculiar traditions from the Commons’ door being slammed in Black Rod’s face to the ban on MPs clapping. While many of them are relatively harmless, there are others which are an affront to democracy. Chief among these archaic practices is the continued presence of 92 hereditary peers in the House of Lords.</p> <p>Their role is not just ceremonial. They are entitled to amend draft legislation and challenge the government of the day. And yet the people who their decisions affect – that’s the 66 million people living in the UK – have absolutely no say in who fills these positions.</p> <p>The same goes for life peers who currently sit in the House of Lords too. But what distinguishes these 92 is that they have not been appointed: they are eligible to sit simply because of the aristocratic families into which they were born – ‘elected’ from a tiny pool when the former hereditary peer passes away.</p> <p>Don’t be fooled by the word ‘election’ into thinking there is anything democratic about this procedure. It sees Parliamentary elites choosing from among themselves.</p> <p>To be eligible to stand you have to be a hereditary peer not currently in the Lords. And to be eligible to vote in the election you have to be a hereditary peer from the relevant political party, already in the House.</p> <p>This system resulted in an electorate of three choosing between seven candidates following the death of Lord Avebury in 2016.</p> <p>This absurd practice has hung around as an embarrassing stain on our democracy for far too long. But thankfully, one member of the house is trying to change that.</p> <p>For the second time, Lord Grocott has brought forward draft legislation which would scrap hereditary peerage ‘by-elections’ once and for all. He proposes to achieve this by ensuring that when a hereditary peer dies, retires or is excluded, they are not replaced.</p> <p>Lord Grocott’s Bill has reached the committee stage and was debated in the House of Lords on March 23rd. But what ensued on that day was a handful of peers using delaying tactics to ensure the Bill did not pass the committee stage (another oddity of the Westminster system which is completely alien to most people). Just two hereditary peers put down <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0002/18002-I(Rev).pdf">around 60 amendments to force the debate to drag on</a> – and run out of time. It means further time will need to be made for the bill to progress. It is not certain that this will happen.</p> <p>We hope – for our democracy’s sake – that a second day of debate is scheduled promptly, so that progress can be made on ridding our Parliament of the undemocratic hereditary principle.</p> <p>This ‘tradition’ is an unwelcome hangover from a time of privilege. It’s time to end the farce of hereditary peerage by-elections – and start bringing the second chamber into the 21st century.</p> <p><em>Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament Photography by Annabel Moeller</em></p> </div> </div> <nav class="btn-list btn-list_social-share"> <ul class="clearfix"> <li> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/" target="_new" title="Share on Facebook" class="btn btn_icon-left btn_icon-facebook modal-btn"> <i class="icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1536 1792"><path fill="#fff" d="M1248 128q119 0 203.5 84.5T1536 416v960q0 119-84.5 203.5T1248 1664h-188v-595h199l30-232h-229V689q0-56 23.5-84t91.5-28l122-1V369q-63-9-178-9-136 0-217.5 80T820 666v171H620v232h200v595H288q-119 0-203.5-84.5T0 1376V416q0-119 84.5-203.5T288 128h960z"/></svg></i> Share </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/a-handful-of-hereditary-peers-are-trying-to-stifle-reform-they-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/&text=A handful of hereditary peers are trying to stifle reform – they are on the wrong side of history&via=electoralreform" target="_new" title="Post this page on X" class="btn btn_icon-left btn_icon-twitter modal-btn"> <i class="icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1664 1792"><path fill="#fff" d="M1620 408q-67 98-162 167 1 14 1 42 0 130-38 259.5T1305.5 1125 1121 1335.5t-258 146-323 54.5q-271 0-496-145 35 4 78 4 225 0 401-138-105-2-188-64.5T221 1033q33 5 61 5 43 0 85-11-112-23-185.5-111.5T108 710v-4q68 38 146 41-66-44-105-115t-39-154q0-88 44-163 121 149 294.5 238.5T820 653q-8-38-8-74 0-134 94.5-228.5T1135 256q140 0 236 102 109-21 205-78-37 115-142 178 93-10 186-50z"/></svg></i> Share </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Hey have you read this? 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