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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
David Conn

Labour’s cautionary tale: how hereditary peers clung on for 26 years

Ceiling view of peers sitting in the chamber in their robes, against a gold and red background
Composite illustration by Guardian Design/Alamy Composite: Guardian Design/Alamy

The only solid measure that Keir Starmer’s government has introduced to change the House of Lords is on its way to becoming law, but not without last-ditch resistance.

Labour’s manifesto promise to remove members of the House of Lords who vote in parliament’s second chamber by birthright was the most straightforward change. The limited measure, an overdue completion of the removal of hereditary peers that began 26 years ago, is a further illustration of the constitutional difficulties of reforming parliament’s second chamber.

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