A speech by the sovereign at the start of a parliamentary session usually takes place every year. However, there have been seven years since 1900 without a speech. Most can be ascribed to the preceding session being longer than average. The most recent year without a King’s Speech was 2025, resulting from the Starmer government’s decision to extend the session beginning in July 2024 until April 2026.
In July 2025, the Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report contending that goods which are produced or part-produced with forced labour are being sold to consumers in the UK. It also argued that the UK had fallen behind comparable countries in its approach to tackling forced labour. The committee called for new legislation to address the issue. The government responded that it was “actively exploring options to strengthen protections”.
The recent King’s Speech confirmed plans to lower the voting age to 16. A century earlier, Parliament examined proposals for a very different constitutional change: ending ministerial by-elections. Introduced in the 18th century as a safeguard against crown influence, ministerial by-elections were later viewed by some as outdated. For others, they were an important democratic safeguard. This briefing examines the Lords second reading debate on the bill that abolished the by-elections.
In Focus
Ministers are needed in the House of Lords to take legislation through the House and answer for the government during questions and debates. Some cabinet ministers are appointed from the Lords. For example, the leader of the House of Lords is always a member of the Lords. This briefing looks at the role of ministers in the House of Lords and how they are scrutinised.
In Focus
The right for hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords has come to an end. This briefing lists the last hereditary peers sitting in the House of Lords when the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act passed into law in March 2026, together with their length of service as a hereditary member. It also notes those who have returned to the House as life peers.
In Focus
Social media and other technologies have made it easier, quicker and cheaper for foreign powers to spread false information online aimed at undermining UK democracy. Such disinformation campaigns are one type of interference operation. In parallel, researchers have noted a link between declining public trust and societal polarisation, which can be exacerbated by online discourse. This briefing provides introductory reading to these issues, including recent reports and government announcements.
In Focus
Concerns about abuse and intimidation towards elected representatives have increased in recent years. The Jo Cox Civility Commission made a number of recommendations in a 2024 report to address this because of concerns that this activity would dissuade people from standing in elections and encourage existing representatives to stand down. The government has instigated a number of policies to tackle the abuse and intimidation of elected representatives.
Research Briefing
Prorogation is the mechanism by which parliamentary sessions are ended. This House of Lords Library briefing sets out the start and end dates of each parliamentary session since 1900, together with the number of calendar days between the end of the previous session and the start of the new one.
Research Briefing
This House of Lords Library briefing provides a list of movers and seconders of the humble address to the sovereign, following the sovereign’s speech at the State Opening of Parliament. The list provides information from 1979 to 2026.
Research Briefing
Between 2002 and 2024, by-elections were held to replace excepted hereditary peers who left the House of Lords. In July 2024, the House agreed to pause by-elections following the introduction of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. This bill was passed in 2026, ending the need for by-elections. This briefing provides a list of by-election results, including information on turnout and the number of candidates.
Research Briefing
This briefing explores what announcements the government could make in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026 about the constitution.
In Focus
The motion “that this bill do now pass” is moved immediately after a bill’s final stage in the House of Lords (known as third reading). It is amendable and so provides an opportunity for the House to oppose, delay or record a view on a measure if there is enough support. This briefing provides examples of amendments to the motion and what the outcome was each time.
Research Briefing
The Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill is a government bill that would increase the total number of ministerial salaries that could be paid from 109 to 120. It completed its Commons stages on 17 March 2026. No amendments were tabled. It is due to have its second reading and remaining stages in the House of Lords on 14 April 2026. It has been certified as a money bill.
In Focus
The House of Lords International Agreements Committee has published a report on treaty scrutiny in Westminster. The committee described the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010’s framework for treaty scrutiny as a “weak and insufficient mechanism for securing meaningful accountability to Parliament” and called for it to be reformed. The government said it saw some difficulties in the committee’s proposals, but it was also “keen to work with the committee to help to mitigate or resolve, so far as possible, the issues which the committee has raised”.
In Focus
It has been suggested that the Parliament Acts could be used to pass the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill if it does not complete all its House of Lords stages before the end of the 2024–26 parliamentary session. This briefing considers how the Parliament Acts apply to private members’ bills.
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