Representative Peer - Hereditary "representative Peers"

Hereditary "representative Peers"

During the passage of the House of Lords Bill in 1999, controversy surrounding House of Lords reform remained, and the Bill was conceived as a first stage of Lords reform. The "Weatherill" amendment —so called since it was proposed by former House of Commons Speaker Bernard Weatherill— provided for a number of Hereditary Peers to remain as members of the House of Lords, during the first stage of Lords reform. It could then be reviewed during the next stage of the reform, when the system of appointed Life Peerages came under examination. In exchange for the House not delaying the passage of the Bill into law, the Government agreed to this amendment, and it then became part of the House of Lords Act 1999, and 92 hereditary peers were allowed to remain.

The ninety-two peers are made up of three separate groups. Fifteen 'office-holders' comprise Deputy Speakers and Deputy Chairmen, and are elected by the House, while seventy-five party and Crossbench members are elected by their own party or group. In addition, there are two royal appointments: the Lord Great Chamberlain, currently the Marquess of Cholmondeley, is appointed as the Queen's representative in Parliament, while the Earl Marshal, an office held since 1672 by the Dukes of Norfolk, is responsible for ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament.