Hereditary peer ‘by-elections’ – where aristocrats vote to pick
other hereditary aristocrats to sit in the House of Lords for
life – are set to resume [1], in a sign of ‘warped priorities’
for the upper house.
The by-elections were paused during the pandemic, but House of
Lords authorities announced this week that they will soon be
filling these ‘grotesquely elitist’ roles [2].
Four places will be filled by the end of July (summer recess),
with only the all-male hereditary peers entitled to a vote. There
are still 92 hereditary peers in the Lords – making up more than
a tenth of the chamber.
The Electoral Reform Society is calling for these so-called
elections to be scrapped as a stepping-stone to ‘real reform’ of
the broken second chamber.
Willie Sullivan, Senior Director at the Electoral Reform
Society, said: “Hereditary peers are a testament to the
House of Lords being a private members’ club for an elite few. It
is shocking that in 2021, more than one in ten of our Lords are
there exclusively picked from a handful of male aristocrats.
“It’s a sign of very warped priorities from the second chamber
that these should be restarting, when there are almost no
defenders of this absurd system left. Sadly, legislation to phase
out hereditary peers has been repeatedly filibustered – by
hereditary peers [3] – reflecting how much sway these figures
still hold on the basis of birth.
“Removing these by-elections would be the first step in a package
of reform desperately needed to ensure we have a scrutiny chamber
that is fit for purpose, rather than this elitist mockery of
democracy.
“These so-called by-elections must be the last. It’s time
politicians – including the new Lord Speaker – took the steps
needed to abolish this absurd practice and give the public a say
over who sits in our second chamber.
“It is time for a fairly-elected second chamber to end the farce
of unaccountable Lords – and create a new, proportionally-elected
chamber that we can be truly proud of. This has to be the start
of rebuilding the public’s faith in our democracy and its
institutions.”
The electorate is based on the party makeup of hereditary peers
who were evicted in the 1990s, choosing from a candidate list of
208 male aristocrats and just one woman. The ‘elections’
frequently have just a handful of participants. For most of the
by-elections, only sitting peers from the ex-peer’s group can
vote.
The ERS backs a fairly-elected second chamber, elected by
proportional representation, to scrutinise legislation and speak
up for the nations and regions of the UK.
The ERS has published a new briefing on these ‘mock elections’
[4].
More than 60,000 people have signed the ERS’ petition for a
fairly-elected second chamber [5].
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Announcement here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5801/ldselect/ldproced/273/27303.htm
[2] https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/house-of-lords-publications/records-of-activities-and-membership/register-of-all-hereditary-peers/register-of-hereditary-peers-running-list/
[3] See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38261542
and https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/media-centre/press-releases/campaigners-name-and-shame-aristocrats-planning-to-filibuster-lords-reform-attempt/
[4] Figures are from March, but only one peer has changed since -
meaning the figures are largely unchanged: https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ERS-Hereditary-Peers-and-Hereditary-Peer-By-Elections-Briefing-2021.pdf
[5] https://action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/3342/petition/1?_ga=2.195233644.1501004506.1619697918-1057107299.1616751471
