“My Ministers will also introduce
legislation to enable peerages to
be removed”
- It is unacceptable that disgraced peers are able to retain
their peerages, regardless of the circumstances. The Bill will
create a mechanism for removing peerages from disgraced peers.
- This will serve to protect the integrity of the peerage
system and uphold standards in public life.
What does the Bill
do?
- The Bill will create a mechanism for removing peerages from
disgraced peers, without the need to introduce bespoke
legislation for every individual case. It will introduce a
strengthened system of accountability for peers that applies to
both current and retired members
of the House of Lords.
- The public rightly expects that peers who are, or have
been, members of the House of Lords, exercising public
functions as legislators, should uphold the highest standards
in public life. Where they fall well below those standards,
they should not expect to continue to be afforded the honour of
holding a peerage.
- At the moment, disgraced peers can still benefit from their
title, in terms of their status and reputation, even if they
are expelled from the House of Lords or choose to resign.
- The Government was elected on the promise of increasing
accountability and ensuring that all serving peers meet the
high standards the public expects. Having passed the House of
Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, which removes the right of
hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, the
Government secured agreement with the Lords to establish a
dedicated select committee to look at how best to implement the
manifesto commitments on a retirement age and participation
requirement.
Territorial extent
and application
- The Bill will extend and apply to the whole of the UK.
Key facts
A peerage is a dignity conferred by the Crown. In contrast to
other types of styles, titles, and honours that can be removed
under the Royal Prerogative, there is currently no mechanism by
which a peerage can be removed, and to do so in
any individual case would require
an Act of Parliament.
- The Titles Deprivation Act 1917, which authorised enemies
of the UK to be deprived of their peerages during the First
World War, is the most recent example of Parliament legislating
in this way. The most recent example of an Act of Parliament
specifically removing an individual's peerage is over five
centuries old (from 1478).
- The revocation of peerages from individuals is separate to
the rules related to suspension and expulsion of members from
the House of Lords. Members can be removed from the House of
Lords for various reasons, including being sentenced to a year
or more of imprisonment, for example. But expulsion from the
House of Lords does not change their title or status as a peer.
This means that a peer may be guilty of serious misconduct,
including a criminal offence, and expelled
from the House, but would
still hold their peerage.
- A peer may be removed from the Roll of the Peerage (an
officially compiled and maintained list, intended to contain
the names of all living peers). This means the peerage may no
longer be recognised officially, but does not affect an
individual's right to that peerage (which can only be removed
by legislation).
- The manifesto committed to ensuring “all peers meet the
high standards the public expect of them” and to “introduce a
new participation requirement as well as strengthening the
circumstances in which disgraced members can be removed.”
-
The Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for
Government, Hannah White, said “The case demonstrates why – for
the good of public trust in parliament
– it is important
for the House of
Lords to have a
mechanism to remove peerages.”
