This Library Note considers the current role of the Bishops in the House of Lords, and religious representation in the House generally in the context of the Government’s proposals for reform.
House of Lords: Religious Representation (824 KB , PDF)
The membership of the House of Lords includes twenty six Church of England Bishops and Archbishops on an ex officio basis, their right to sit and vote in the House established by ancient usage and by statute. This Library Note provides background information on the role of Bishops in the second chamber, and in the context of the Government’s proposals for reform of the House, it examines arguments made both in favour and against their continued membership. The Note then considers further issues arising from the Government’s proposals, as well as arguments made regarding the formal representation of other denominations or faiths in Parliament.
House of Lords: Religious Representation (824 KB , PDF)
On 8 May 2025, the country will mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the end of the second world war in Europe. Many of the commemorations will take place in cemeteries where those who died during the conflict are remembered. This briefing focuses on the organisation behind these cemeteries, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It looks at how the commission developed and recent work on one of its key principles: equality in death.
In March 1925, the House of Lords debated a motion calling for legislation to be introduced to reform the House of Lords. Whilst composition was among the issues raised, debate focused on the loss of the House’s powers, which were curtailed by the Parliament Act 1911. The 1911 act had also called for the House to be reconstituted on a popular rather than hereditary basis. This briefing looks back at the discussion.
This page provides interactive data on the creation of life peerages in the House of Lords.
