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
Guidance given to members discourages them from reading their speeches. In 1936, the House resolved that the reading of speeches was both ‘alien’ to its customs and ‘injurious’ to debate. This briefing revisits this debate to find arguments both for and against members reading their speeches, discussion about whether it was a recent development and suggestions there were occasions where it was appropriate to do so.
In Focus
As the number of names on the speakers’ list for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill rose, hitting over 200, there were calls for more than the usual one day of second reading debate. The House held two days of second reading on 12 and 19 September 2025. This briefing considers the precedent for this.
In Focus
In 2005, the then Labour government proposed the introduction of a national identity card scheme and register. Having passed the House of Commons, the government’s Identity Cards Bill reached the House of Lords, where it received a mixed response at its second reading. Speakers from across the House debated the principle and practicability of identity cards. Some members raised specific concerns, foreshadowing debates held later at committee and report stages. This briefing looks back at the bill’s second reading and summarises the key points made.
In Focus
The Lords Library has drawn together lists of members who have held selected positions in public life. This non-exhaustive collection provides an introduction to the diversity of experience in the House of Lords, including political careers in central, local, devolved and international settings; senior positions in defence, public service, policing and law; and leadership in science, education, culture and sport.
In Focus
The lord speaker chairs the business of the House of Lords, along with deputies, and has other procedural, ceremonial and ambassadorial roles. As a result of the resignation of the current lord speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, an election for a new lord speaker will be held in January 2026.
In Focus
On 30 October 2025, King Charles III signed a royal warrant directing the Duke of York to be removed from the roll of the peerage with immediate effect. As a result, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is no longer legally recognised as a peer in official documents. This briefing looks at what peerages are, and how they can be removed.
In Focus
At the turn of the twentieth century, debate about the UK’s fiscal policy centred on the issue of tariffs. In July 1904, the House of Lords debated the government’s fiscal policy, and whether the then Conservative government supported the introduction of tariffs as some leading political proponents thought. Moving away from ‘free’ trade to what some considered ‘fair’ trade proved to be both a controversial and divisive policy idea. This briefing looks back to the Lords debate and identifies the key contributions made.
In Focus
The strategic defence review, published in June 2025, described a new era of threat and challenge to the UK. Set against a backdrop of difficult economic conditions, the government has set the ambition of spending 3 percent of GDP on defence in the next parliament. This briefing looks back 40 years to a Lords debate on 1985’s defence estimates, a debate in which members raised points that echo some of today’s political choices.
In Focus
Following five days of debate, the House of Lords concluded committee stage on the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The bill would end the exemption that 92 places in the House are filled by hereditary peers. This short update summarises the current status of the bill ahead of report stage, dates for which are yet to be scheduled.
In Focus
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.
In Focus
UK prime ministers may draw up a resignation honours list on their departure from office, in which they may request that the reigning monarch grant honours to any number of people. Such honours may include peerages, knighthoods and damehoods, or other awards. However, not all have chosen to draw up such a list. This briefing lists those prime ministers who have requested that peerages be conferred on their departure from office.
Research Briefing
The House of Lords (Peerage Nominations) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative). The bill seeks to strengthen the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
In Focus
In 2024, the House of Lords Conduct Committee launched a review of the House of Lords code of conduct for members. The committee published the conclusions of this review and its proposed amendments to the code and guide to the code in January 2025. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate these recommendations. If accepted, these changes would come into force in April 2025.
In Focus
The government’s House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill would remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords and abolish its jurisdiction in hereditary peerage claims. The bill completed its Commons stages unamended and was introduced in the House of Lords in November 2024. The bill’s second reading in the Lords took place on 11 December 2024. This briefing provides an overview of that debate and lists the areas which future amendments could focus on.
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