In Focus
Challenging for equality in Parliament: How women won their place in the House of Lords
To mark International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we take a look at how women fought for and won their right to sit in the House of Lords.
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In Focus
House of Lords: Scrutiny of the new UK-EU relationship
Relations between the UK and the EU entered a new phase in 2021, following the end of the Brexit transition period and the agreement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. While those negotiations are now over, UK-EU relations remain of significant policy interest. This article looks at opportunities for the House of Lords to scrutinise the new relationship through committee activity, post-legislative scrutiny, holding ministers to account and interparliamentary cooperation.
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In Focus
House of Lords: Impact of virtual and hybrid sittings in 2020
In 2020, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the House of Lords made several changes to the way it conducted its business. This included the use of virtual proceedings and sittings which featured both physical and remote participation. This briefing looks at the impact of those changes on member participation over the course of 2020.
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In Focus
Representation of women in the House of Lords
It has been over 60 years since women gained the right to join the House of Lords. Today, just under a third of members are women. Why is the number of women not equal to that of men?
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Research Briefing
Lords Membership: How Many Women Have Sat in the Lords?
This House of Lords Library briefing provides lists of the female life Peers and the female hereditary Peers who have been Members of the House of Lords.
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Research Briefing
House of Lords: Backgrounds in Public Life—February 2021
This briefing lists current members of the House of Lords who have held selected roles in public life. The chosen senior positions range across politics, government, defence, the judiciary, education, culture, media, and religion.
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Research Briefing
Lords Appointments: Life peerages created since 1958
In 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced 58 new life peers. This took the total number of life peers created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 to 1,517. This briefing provides information and statistics on these peerage creations. This includes breakdowns by decade and by prime minister. It also contains a list of every life peer appointed under the Act.
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In Focus
New Lords appointments: December 2020
This article analyses the new peers announced in December 2020 by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the 79 peers he has appointed in total since taking office.
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Research Briefing
Size of the House of Lords: November 2020 Update
This briefing provides an update on the size of the House of Lords and recent statements on the issue following the new peerages announced this year. As at 20 November 2020, the size of the absolute membership was 820. This represented an increase in the size of the membership from the end of the 2017–19 session, but is lower than the peak of 845 at the end of the 2015–16 session.
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In Focus
Proxy voting and the House of Lords
Members of the House of Commons may now vote by proxy in certain circumstances. In contrast, the practice has been prohibited in the House of Lords for over 150 years. What is the background to the rule against proxy voting in the second chamber?
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In Focus
New Lords appointments in July 2020
This article analyses the 36 new peerages announced by the Prime Minister on 31 July 2020. It provides statistics on the background, gender and party affiliation of the new peers. The article also compares the number and gender balance of peers created by Boris Johnson with those of the former Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May.
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In Focus
House of Lords: Hybrid sittings, participation and Covid-19
This In Focus article considers the impact of changes the House of Lords has made during the pandemic on Member participation, focusing on the period between the introduction of hybrid proceedings and the beginning of the 2020 summer recess.
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In Focus
Capping the size of the House of Lords
There is currently no cap on the membership of the House of Lords. Some have recommended the introduction of a cap to address concerns about the size of the House. This article discusses recent proposals to cap the membership at 600 and sets out the Government's position. It also contains brief information on recent changes in the size of the House.
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In Focus
Retirement from the House of Lords
There is no formal retirement age for members of the House of Lords. However, members can voluntarily retire under the provisions of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014. This article explains how these provisions came into force and details how many members have retired under this legislation so far.
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In Focus
House of Lords membership: A snapshot in June 2020
There is no fixed number of seats in the House of Lords, and its make up can change week by week. This piece provides a snapshot of its composition in June 2020.
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