HL Deb 10 June 2002 vol 636 cc1-2WA
Lord Jacobs

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (a) how many life peers there are in each of the three parties and on the Cross Benches;
  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 10 years; and
  3. (c) on the same basis as in (b) above, what approximately would the number be in each of the next 10 years if the retirement age were:
    1. (i) 85 years;
    2. (ii) 80 years;
    3. (iii) 75 years;
    4. (iv) 70 years. [HL4382]

The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)

On 9 May 2002, the number of life peers in each category was as follows:

Survival of life peers by party
01.07.02 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 01.07.12
No retirement
Conservative 171.0 165.0 158.0 152.0 146.0 140.0 133.0 127.0 121.0 115.0 110.0
Labour 188.0 182.0 177.0 172.0 166.0 161.0 156.0 151.0 146.0 140.0 135.0
Lib Dem 60.0 59.0 58.0 56.0 54.0 53.0 52.0 50.0 49.0 48.0 46.0
Other 157.0 149.0 142.0 135.0 129.0 122.0 116.0 110.0 104.0 99.0 93.0
Total 576.0 555.0 535.0 515.0 495.0 476.0 457.0 438.0 420.0 402.0 384.0
Retirement at age 85
Conservative 159.0 151.0 143.0 135.0 129.0 122.0 115.0 110.0 104.0 96.0 88.0
Labour 175.0 171.0 166.0 161.0 156.0 152.0 145.0 139.0 132.0 127.0 122.0
Lib Dem 59.0 58.0 56.0 54.0 51.0 49.0 48.0 47.0 46.0 44.0 43.0
Other 139.0 133.0 126.0 116.0 108.0 102.0 97.0 91.0 86.0 81.0 75.0
Total 532.0 513.0 491.0 466.0 444.0 425.0 405.0 387.0 368.0 348.0 328.0
Retirement at age 80
Conservative 140.0 132.0 126.0 120.0 110.0 101.0 95.0 90.0 82.0 75.0 68.0
Labour 169.0 161.0 154.0 147.0 141.0 136.0 130.0 126.0 120.0 113.0 105.0
Lib Dem 53.0 52.0 51.0 50.0 48.0 47.0 45.0 43.0 42.0 40.0 38.0
Other 116.0 111.0 105.0 99.0 94.0 88.0 82.0 75.0 70.0 65.0 58.0
Total 478.0 456.0 436.0 416.0 393.0 372.0 352.0 334.0 314.0 293.0 269.0
Retirement at age 75
Conservative 110.0 104.0 99.0 91.0 83.0 75.0 67.0 61.0 57.0 52.0 46.0
Labour 147.0 141.0 136.0 130.0 123.0 115.0 107.0 100.0 95.0 88.0 81.0
Lib Dem 51.0 48.0 47.0 45.0 43.0 41.0 40.0 39.0 36.0 33.0 30.0
Other 97.0 91.0 84.0 78.0 72.0 65.0 57.0 52.0 46.0 40.0 36.0
Total 405.0 384.0 366.0 344.0 321.0 296.0 271.0 252.0 234.0 213.0 193.0
Retirement at age 70
Conservative 81.0 72.0 65.0 60.0 55.0 49.0 43.0 40.0 36.0 30.0 23.0
Labour 121.0 113.0 106.0 101.0 94.0 87.0 81.0 74.0 63.0 52.0 45.0
Lib Dem 44.0 42.0 41.0 39.0 35.0 31.0 29.0 28.0 27.0 24.0 21.0
Other 68.0 62.0 56.0 49.0 43.0 39.0 34.0 29.0 26.0 22.0 18.0
Total 314.0 289.0 268.0 249.0 227.0 206.0 187.0 171.0 152.0 128.0 107.0

  • Conservative: 171
  • Labour: 188
  • Liberal Democrat: 60
  • Cross Bench and other: 157.

This excludes those peers who have taken leave of absence (source: House of Lords Information Office). On the same basis, the total strengths of the parties, which include the elected hereditary peers, were:

  • Conservative: 220
  • Labour: 192
  • Liberal Democrat: 65
  • Cross Bench and other: 189.

The changes to the strength of life peers, as requested in parts (b) and (c) of the noble Lord's Question, are set out in the attached table. These are based on calculations done by the Government Actuary's Department. The figures shown are for the mid-point of each year and have been rounded to the nearest whole number. They are only approximate figures; given the small size of the numbers involved, the statistical fluctuations will be large, especially when the figures are disaggregated among parties. Applying the same calculation to the figures including the elected hereditary peers would be meaningless since under present legislation the hereditary peers are automatically replaced when they die.