Overview
- The bill has cleared the Lords and now awaits Royal Assent, taking effect at the end of the current parliamentary session this spring.
- The change removes the 92 excepted hereditary peers’ right to sit and vote, ending membership by inheritance while leaving titles untouched.
- To sustain the chamber’s work, the government will allocate additional life peerages to the Official Opposition and crossbenchers, with nominees subject to established vetting.
- Conservative peers accepted the compromise after assurances on new appointments; Lord True called the outcome a bitter pill, and the Lord Speaker thanked hereditaries for their service.
- Ministers say the move completes reforms begun in 1999 under Tony Blair and foreshadows further changes on retirement and participation rules.