HL Deb 13 April 2000 vol 612 c66WA
Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Following the recent announcement of the creation of new life peers, whether they will tabulate by party or group (Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Cross-Bench) the percentage of former hereditaries of the party or group now sitting as life peers as against the former total of hereditary peers of that party or group; and whether they will indicate whether the manifesto commitment to the abolition of hereditary rights to sit and vote in the House of Lords has now been abandoned in relation to the Labour peerage. [HL1879]

Baroness Jay of Paddington

The Government remain committed to ending the right of all hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

The Government have consistently made clear that hereditary peers excluded from the House under the provisions of the House of Lords Act 1999 would be eligible to receive life peerages and that we fully expected that some of those excluded peers would be nominated for life peerages.

Party leaders can nominate whosoever they wish to receive a life peerage. The Prime Minister has made a commitment not to refuse the nominations of other party leaders that the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee has passed.

Former hereditary peers now sitting us life peers1 As a percentage of present number of peers1 As a percentage of the hereditary peers before the passing of the House of Lords Act 19992
Conservative 93 3.8 2.9
Labour 7 3.5 36.8
Lib Dem 2 3.2 8.7
Cross-Bench 1 0.6 0.4
1 Including those announced on 31 March 2000 and assuming those peers that have yet to take their seats do so according to expected party groupings.
2 As at the end of the last parliamentary Session.
3 Includes the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres and Viscount Younger of Leckie. Both had been awarded life peerages before inheriting their hereditary titles. Following the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999 they now sit as life peers.