HL Deb 05 December 2002 vol 641 cc126-7WA
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Chancellor on 10 June (WA 1–2):

  1. (a) how many life peers there are in each of the three parties and on the Cross-Benches; and
  2. (b) if no further life peers are created, what statistically would the number in each party be likely to be in each of the next 30 years. [HL97]

The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)

The number of life peers in each of the parties on 7 October was:

  • Conservative 168
  • Labour 187
  • Liberal Democrat 60
  • Cross-Bench 1441

1includes nine "other" peers not affiliated to any major grouping.

SourceHouse of Lords Information Office website.

Survival of life peers by party
07.10.02 01.07.03 01.07.04 01.07.05 01.07.06 01.07.07 01.07.08 01.07.09 01.07.10 01.07.11
Conservative 168 165 158 152 146 140 133 127 121 115
Labour 187 182 177 172 166 161 156 151 146 140
Lib Dem 60 59 58 56 54 53 52 50 49 48
Other 154 149 142 135 129 122 110 110 104 99
Total 569 555 535 515 495 476 457 438 420 402

01.07.13 01.07.14 01.07.15 01.07.16 01.07.17 01.07.18 01.07.19 01.07.20 01.07.21 01.07.22
Conservative 104 98 92 87 82 77 72 67 62 58
Labour 130 125 120 115 110 105 99 95 90 85
Lib Dem 44 43 42 40 39 37 36 34 33 31
Other 88 83 78 73 68 64 60 55 51 47
Total 366 349 332 315 299 283 267 251 236 221

01.07.23 01.07.24 01.07.25 01.07.26 01.07.27 01.07.28 01.07.29 01.07.30 01.07.31 01.07.32
Conservative 53 49 45 42 38 34 31 28 25 22
Labour 80 75 70 65 61 56 52 48 44 40
Lib Dem 30 29 27 25 24 23 21 20 18 17
Other 44 40 37 34 30 28 25 22 20 18
Total 207 193 179 166 153 141 129 118 107 97

Lord Monson

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Chancellor on 24 July (WA 73), whether they will make it clear to all persons recommended for the grant of a life peerage that the peerage so granted may be time-limited if Recommendation 103 in the report of the Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords is implemented. [HL165]

The Lord Chancellor

The Government have asked a Joint Committee of both Houses to look at the options for House of Lords reform. The Government are not seeking to influence the debate on the Joint Committee's deliberations, which will be the subject of a free vote in both Houses. It would not be appropriate in those circumstances for the Government to comment on an issue of detail based on a hypothetical situation.