HL Deb 23 June 1980 vol 410 c1465WA
Lord BROCKWAY

asked the Leader of the House:

To state the present composition of the House of Lords, particularising the number of Hereditary Peers, Life Peers, Bishops, Judges and Woman Peers, and the number of members of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Parties and of the Cross-Benches.

The LORD PRESIDENT of the COUNCIL (Lord Soames)

The information requested is as follows:

Lords Temporal
Peers by succession 766 (19 women)
Hereditary Peers of first creation 42
Life Peers under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 17
Life Peers under the Life Peerages Act 1958 319 (41 women)
Lords Spiritual
Archbishops and Bishops 26
Total 1,170

In addition 15 Peers have disclaimed their title for life.

Of the 1,170 Members of the House, 80 Peers (of whom seven are minors) are without Writs of Summons; of Peers with Writs of Summons, 179 are on Leave of Absence from the House.

There are at present 25 Lords of Appeal, of whom 10 are Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.

The membership of the political parties within the House is a matter for those political parties.