Lord Constantine was a West Indian cricketer and politician, who became the first person of non-European descent to be awarded a life peerage. This briefing provides biographical information including an overview of Lord Constantine’s career and a summary of his maiden speech in the House of Lords.
Lord Constantine Profile (203 KB , PDF)
Learie Constantine was born on 21 September 1901. He played test cricket for the West Indies and spent his first-class cricket career playing in England. Following his retirement from the game, Constantine returned to Trinidad, and between 1954 and 1961, he served as a politician in the first Trinidad Legislature. He also published his book Colour Bar in 1954, which examined racial prejudice and discrimination on a worldwide basis.
He returned to England when he was appointed as the first High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago in London in 1962. He held the post until 1964. He subsequently wrote and broadcast on cricket, became a governor of the BBC and became a member of the Race Relations Board. He was knighted in 1962 and became rector of St Andrews University in 1967.
In the New Year’s Honours List in 1969, it was announced that Sir Learie Constantine was to be awarded a life peerage. On appointment, he became the first person of non-European descent to be awarded a life peerage. Constantine was introduced in the House of Lords on 26 March 1969, and delivered his maiden speech on 10 March 1971. Lord Constantine did not speak again in the House before his death four months later, on 1 July 1971. He was aged 69 years old. A state funeral took place on 8 July 1971 at Aroica cemetery in Trinidad. He was posthumously awarded the Trinity Cross and there was a memorial service at Westminster Abbey.
Lord Constantine Profile (203 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.
