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List of excepted hereditary peers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Under the reforms of the House of Lords Act 1999, the majority of hereditary peers lost the right to sit as members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Act, however, provides an exception from this general exclusion of membership for up to 92 hereditary peers: 90 to be elected by the House, as well as the holders of two royal offices, the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain, who sit as ex officio members. The initial cohort of excepted hereditary peers were elected in the 1999 House of Lords elections. Between 1999 and November 2002, vacancies among this group were filled by runners-up in the 1999 election. Since then, by-elections to the House of Lords have filled vacancies.
Candidature for both the 1999 elections and subsequent by-elections is restricted to peers in the Peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Peers in the Peerage of Ireland are only eligible for election if they hold a title in one of the other peerages, but if successful may use their Irish peerage title as a member of the House. The electorates are either the whole membership of the House of Lords (including life peers), or a party group of sitting hereditary peers. A standing order of the House, approved prior to the commencement of the House of Lords Act 1999, mandates that the 90 elected hereditary peers consist of:[1]
- 2 peers elected by the Labour hereditary peers
- 42 peers elected by the Conservative hereditary peers
- 3 peers elected by the Liberal Democrat hereditary peers
- 28 peers elected by the crossbench hereditary peers
- 15 peers elected by the whole House
By convention, whole-House elections elect members of the same affiliation as the departed peer.[2]
These numbers elected by each group reflected the relative strengths of the parties among hereditary peers in 1999; this allocation has remained unchanged since then. The fifteen peers elected by the whole House were intended to provide a group of experienced members ready to serve as deputy speakers or other officers.
A small number of hereditary peers sit in the Lords by virtue of their being granted life peerages (see listing). These are not listed below.
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Ex officio members
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Earl Marshal
The Earl Marshal is an hereditary post held by the Duke of Norfolk.
Lord Great Chamberlain
The Lord Great Chamberlain is an hereditary office in gross post among the Cholmondeley, Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby and Carington families.
In 1902 it was ruled by the House of Lords that the then joint office holders (the 1st Earl of Ancaster, the 4th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and the Earl Carrington, later Marquess of Lincolnshire) had to agree on a deputy to exercise the office, subject to the approval of the Sovereign. Should there be no such agreement, the Sovereign should appoint a deputy until an agreement be reached.[3]
In 1912 an agreement was reached. The office, or right to appoint the person to exercise the office, would thereafter rotate among the three joint office holders and their heirs after them, changing at the start of each successive reign. Cholmondeley and his heirs would serve in every other reign; Ancaster and Carrington would each serve once in four reigns.[4]
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Elected by the whole House
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Sitting
Deceased
Resigned
Pursuant to section 1 of House of Lords Reform Act 2014
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Elected by the Conservative hereditary peers
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Sitting Conservative peers
Deceased Conservative peers
Resigned Conservative peers
Pursuant to section 1 of House of Lords Reform Act 2014
Removed Conservative peers
Pursuant to section 2 of House of Lords Reform Act 2014
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Elected by the Crossbencher hereditary peers
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Sitting Crossbench peers
Deceased Crossbench peers
Resigned Crossbench peers
Pursuant to section 1 of House of Lords Reform Act 2014
Removed Crossbench peers
Pursuant to section 2 of House of Lords Reform Act 2014
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Elected by the Labour hereditary peers
Sitting Labour peers
Deceased Labour peers
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Elected by the Liberal Democrats hereditary peers
Sitting Liberal Democrats peers
Deceased Liberal Democrats peers
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Current party composition
As of June 2025[update], the party affiliations of the elected hereditary peers are as follows:[15]
- Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Strathcarron were elected by Conservative hereditary peers but now sit as non-affiliated peers.
- Lord Inglewood, Earl Peel, and Duke of Wellington were elected by Conservative hereditary peers but now sit as Crossbenchers.
- Number includes Lord Carrington, who would otherwise be an ex officio member by virtue of holding the office of Lord Great Chamberlain.
- Earl of Oxford and Asquith was elected by the whole House as a Liberal Democrat but now sits as a Crossbencher.
- One additional hereditary peer is an ex officio member of the Lords: Duke of Norfolk (Earl Marshal).
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See also
References
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