This House of Lords Library briefing provides a list of hereditary peers' by-election results since the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, including information on turn out and the number of candidates.
Hereditary By-elections: Results (160 KB , PDF)
The House of Lords Act 1999 removed most hereditary peers from the House of Lords. Under the Act, 90 hereditary peers retained their places, elected by their fellow peers to remain as Members. Since the start of the 2002–03 session, when one of the 90 hereditary peers dies, retires or is excluded, a replacement is chosen in a by-election. Hereditary peers wishing to stand in a by-election are listed in a register of hereditary peers, maintained and published by the Clerk of the Parliaments.
There are two different types of by-election. Of the 90 hereditary peers, 15 were elected to provide the House with Members able to act as Deputy Speakers and other office-holders. These peers are voted for by the whole House.
Replacements for vacancies among the remaining 75 peers are voted for by the other hereditary peers in a particular party or by the Crossbench hereditary peers. In 1999, the 75 seats were allocated proportionally to reflect the affiliations of the hereditary peers who sat prior to the House of Lords Act. Consequently, for the purposes of by-elections, 42 are elected by Conservative hereditary peers; two are elected by Labour hereditary peers; three are elected by Liberal Democrat hereditary peers; and 28 are elected by Crossbench hereditary peers.
Hereditary By-elections: Results (160 KB , PDF)
The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) vets nominations to the House and recommends non-party political members. While its advice is usually followed, it is not a statutory body and the prime minister can choose to disregard its advice. This briefing provides an overview of the role and powers of the commission and summarises recent debates concerning its reform.
This page provides interactive data on the creation of life peerages in the House of Lords.
In 2024 the restoration and renewal programme announced it would be developing three options to preserve the Palace of Westminster. Details should be presented to Parliament in 2025. Members will then decide whether the programme should temporarily relocate both Houses of Parliament, keep the Commons Chamber onsite while temporarily relocating the Lords, or conduct a rolling programme of works “to deliver enhanced maintenance and improvement”. Surveying, design and remediation work was also progressed in 2024.
