§ Lord Dean of Beswickasked the Leader of the House:
How many life peers have been created since the 1979 general election; and how many have taken the Whip of each of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Richard)Excluding life peers created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 (as amended) and peers holding writs in acceleration, 362 life peers have been created since 3 May 1979. They can be divided as follows:
- 165 Conservative peers
- 98 Labour peers
- 23 Liberal or Liberal Democrat peers
- 1 SDP peer
- 71 Cross-Bench peers
- 4 other
This reflects the Whip each took on their entry to the House of Lords, if any, and is based on information supplied by the various Whips' offices.