House of Lords

:This article is about the British House of Lords. For the historical Irish body, see Irish House of Lords.

History

Parliament developed from the council that advised the King during mediæval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, and representatives of the counties (afterwards, representatives of the boroughs as well). The first Parliament is often considered to be the "Model Parliament" (held in 1295), which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs. The power of Parliament grew slowly, changing as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined. For example, during much of the reign of Edward II (1307–1327), the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1322, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, but by an authoritative statute, passed by Parliament itself. Further developments occurred during the reign of Edward II's successor, Edward III. Most importantly, it was during this King's reign that Parliament clearly separated into two distinct chambers: the House of Commons (consisting of the shire and borough representatives) and the House of Lords (consisting of the senior clergy and the nobility). The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the early fifteenth century, both Houses exercised powers to an extent not seen before. The Lords were far more powerful than the Commons, due to the great influence of the aristocrats and prelates of the realm.

Related Topics:
Counties - Boroughs - 1295 - Edward II - 1307 - 1327 - 1322 - Edward III

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The power of the nobility suffered a relapse due to the civil wars of the late fifteenth century, known as the Wars of the Roses. Much of the nobility was either decimated on the battlefield or executed for participation in the war, and many aristocratic estates were lost to the Crown. Moreover, feudalism was dying, and the feudal armies controlled by the barons became obsolete. Hence, the Crown easily re-established its absolute supremacy in the realm. The domination of the Sovereign continued to grow during the reigns of the Tudor monarchs in the 16th century. The Crown was at the height of its power during the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547).

Related Topics:
Wars of the Roses - Feudalism - Tudor monarchs - Henry VIII - 1509 - 1547

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The House of Lords remained more powerful than the House of Commons, but the Lower House did continue to grow in influence, reaching its zenith in relation to the House of Lords during the middle 17th century. Conflicts between the King and the Parliament (for the most part, the House of Commons) ultimately led to the English Civil War during the 1640s. In 1649, after the defeat and execution of King Charles I, a republic (the Commonwealth of England) was declared, but the nation was truly a dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell. The House of Lords relapsed into a largely powerless body, with Cromwell and his supporters in the Commons dominating the Government. On 19 March 1649, the House of Lords was abolished by an Act of Parliament, which declared that "The Commons of England by too long experience that the House of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England." The House of Lords did not assemble again until the Convention Parliament met in 1660 and the monarchy was restored. It returned to its former position as the more powerful chamber of Parliament—a position it would occupy until the 19th century.

Related Topics:
English Civil War - 1640s - 1649 - King Charles I - Commonwealth of England - Oliver Cromwell - 19 March - Convention Parliament - 1660

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The 19th century was marked by several changes to the House of Lords. The House, once a body of only about 50 members, had been greatly enlarged by the liberality of George III and his successors in creating peerages. The individual influence of a Lord of Parliament was thus diminished. Moreover, the power of the House as a whole experienced a decrease, whilst that of the House of Commons grew. Particularly notable in the development of the Lower House's superiority was the Reform Bill Crisis of 1832. The electoral system of the House of Commons was not, at the time, democratic but antediluvian: property qualifications greatly restricted the size of the electorate, and the boundaries of many of the constituencies had not been changed for centuries. Entire cities such as Manchester were not represented by a single individual in the House of Commons, but the 11 voters of Old Sarum retained their ancient right to elect two Members of Parliament. A small borough was susceptible to bribery, and was often under the control of a patron, whose nominee was guaranteed to win an election. Some aristocrats were patrons of numerous "pocket boroughs", and therefore controlled a considerable part of the membership of the House of Commons.

Related Topics:
George III - 1832 - Manchester - Old Sarum - Pocket boroughs

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When, in 1831, the House of Commons passed a Reform Bill to correct some of these anomalies, the House of Lords rejected the proposal. The popular cause of reform, however, was not abandoned by the ministry, despite a second rejection of the bill in the Lords in 1832. The Prime Minister, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, then advised the King to overwhelm the opposition to the bill in the House of Lords by creating about 80 new pro-Reform peers. William IV originally baulked at the proposal, which effectively threatened the opposition of the House of Lords, but at length relented. Before the new peers were created, however, the Lords who opposed the bill admitted defeat, and abstained from the vote, allowing the passage of the bill. The crisis damaged the political influence of the House of Lords, but did not altogether end it. Over the course of the century, however, the power of the Upper House experienced further erosion, and the Commons gradually became the stronger branch of Parliament.

Related Topics:
1831 - Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey - William IV

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The status of the House of Lords returned to the forefront after the election of a Liberal Government in 1906. In 1908, the Government under Herbert Henry Asquith introduced a number of social welfare programmes, which, together with an expensive arms race with Germany, had forced the Government to seek more funding in the form of tax increases. In 1909, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, introduced the "People's Budget", which proposed a new tax targeting wealthy landowners. The unpopular measure, however, failed in the heavily Conservative House of Lords. Having made the powers of the House of Lords a primary campaign issue, the Liberals were re-elected in January 1910. Asquith then proposed that the powers of the House of Lords be severely curtailed. Proceedings on the bill were briefly interrupted by the death of King Edward VII, but were soon recommenced under the new monarch, George V. After a General Election in December 1910, the Asquith Government secured the passage of a bill to curtail the powers of the House of Lords. The Prime Minister proposed, and the King agreed, that the House of Lords could be flooded by the creation of 500 new Liberal peers if it failed to pass the bill. (This was the same device used earlier to force the Upper House to consent to the passage of the Reform Act 1832.) The Parliament Act 1911 soon came into effect, destroying the House of Lords' power to reject most bills. Money Bills (bills that dealt solely with matters related to revenue and public expenditures, such as the Budget) could be delayed by the House of Lords for no more than one month, and most other bills for no more than three parliamentary sessions or two calendar years. The Parliament Act 1911 was not meant to be a permanent solution; rather, more comprehensive reforms were planned. Neither party, however, pursued the matter with much enthusiasm, and the House of Lords remained primarily hereditary. In 1949, the Parliament Act was slightly modified, so that the delaying power of the House of Lords with respect to most bills was reduced from three sessions or two years to two sessions or one year.

Related Topics:
1906 - 1908 - Herbert Henry Asquith - Social welfare - Arms race - Germany - 1909 - Chancellor of the Exchequer - David Lloyd George - 1910 - King Edward VII - George V - Parliament Act 1911 - 1949

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In 1958, the predominantly hereditary nature of the House of Lords was changed by the Life Peerages Act 1958, which authorised the creation of life baronies, with no numerical limits. In 1968, the Labour Government of Harold Wilson attempted to reform the House of Lords by introducing a system under which hereditary peers would be allowed to remain in the House and take part in debate, but would be unable to vote. This plan, however, was defeated in the House of Commons by a combination of traditionalist Conservatives (such as Enoch Powell) and Labour members who advocated the outright abolition of the Upper House (such as Michael Foot). When Michael Foot attained the leadership of the Labour Party, abolition of the House of Lords became a part of the party's agenda; under Neil Kinnock, however, a reformed Upper House was instead proposed. In the meantime, the creation of hereditary peerages (except for members of the Royal Family) has been arrested, with the exception of three creations during the administration of the Conservative Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Related Topics:
1958 - Life Peerages Act 1958 - 1968 - Harold Wilson - Enoch Powell - Michael Foot - Neil Kinnock - Margaret Thatcher - 1980s

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Reform

The Labour Party's return to power in 1997 under Tony Blair finally heralded the reform of the House of Lords. The Blair Government introduced legislation to remove all hereditary peers from the Upper House as the first step in Lords reform. As a part of a compromise, however, it agreed to permit 92 hereditary peers to remain until the reforms are complete. The hereditary peers were removed under the House of Lords Act 1999 (see below for its provisions).

Related Topics:
1997 - Tony Blair - House of Lords Act 1999

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Since then however, reform has stalled. The Wakeham Commission proposed introducing a 20% elected element to the Lords, but this plan was widely criticised. A Joint Committee was established in 2001 to resolve the issue, but it reached no conclusion and instead gave Parliament seven options to choose from (fully appointed, 20% elected, 40% elected, 50% elected, 60% elected, 80%, and fully elected). In a confusing series of votes in February 2003 all of these options were defeated although the 80% elected option fell by just three votes. MPs favouring outright abolition voted against all the options. Another proposal was put forward by a group of MPs, proposing a 70% elected house, with most of the remainder appointed by a Commission to ensure a mix of skills, knowledge and experience. This proposal also did not reach the statute book. New peers, therefore, are only created by appointment to the house.

Related Topics:
Wakeham Commission - Joint Committee - 2003

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The Labour Party now intends to introduce reform early in the next Parliament, although they are yet to state exactly what system they will be proposing. It is understood, however, that they may be inclined to support Billy Bragg's Secondary Mandate system. The Conservative Party favour an eighty per cent elected Second Chamber, while the Liberal Democrats are calling for a fully elected Senate. Elect the Lords is a cross-party campaign initiative that was set up to make the case for a predominantly elected Second Chamber in the run up to the 2005 general election. The post-election Queen's Speech saw an announcement that the government "will bring forward proposals to continue the reform of the House of Lords" in the 2005/2006 legislative session.

Related Topics:
Billy Bragg - Secondary Mandate - Senate - Elect the Lords - 2005 general election - Queen's Speech

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The Times reported on July 19 2005 that Labour Party proposals would see the House of Lords 80% elected and renamed the "Second Chamber."

Related Topics:
The Times - July 19 - 2005

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