This is a list of members of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
, the
upper house
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
.
Current sitting members
Lords Spiritual
26 bishops of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
sit in the House of Lords: the
Archbishops of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
and of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, the Bishops of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
and of
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, and the next 21 most senior
diocesan bishops (with the exception of the
Bishop in Europe
The Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, commonly known as the Bishop in Europe, is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese in Europe in the Province of Canterbury.
Overview
The diocese provides the ministry of Anglican chaplains, not onl ...
and the
Bishop of Sodor and Man
The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Cathedral Church of St German where t ...
). Under the
Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, female bishops take precedence over men until May 2025 to become new Lords Spiritual for the 21 seats allocated by seniority.
Lords Temporal
Lords Temporal include
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
s,
excepted hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999 and remaining
law life peers.
;Note:
Current non-sitting members
There are also peers who remain members of the House, but are currently ineligible to sit and vote.
Peers on leave of absence
Under section 23 of the Standing Orders of the House of Lords, peers may obtain a
leave of absence
The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...
for the remainder of a Parliament. The following peers are currently on a leave of absence.
Peers disqualified
Under section 137(3) of the
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law L ...
, holders of certain judicial offices who are peers are disqualified from sitting and voting in the House of Lords while in office. The following peers are currently subject to this provision.
Peer suspended
The following peer is currently suspended from the House under section 12 of the Standing Orders, in implementation of section 1 of the
House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...
.
Ceased to be members
Apart from retired Lords Spiritual and
the surviving hereditary peers excluded under the
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...
, including
the Marquess of Cholmondeley who was exempt from the 1999 Act by virtue of his position as
Lord Great Chamberlain until the
accession of Charles III in September 2022, there are a number of living peers who have permanently ceased to be members of the House.
Resigned
Under section 1 of the
House of Lords Reform Act 2014
The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign – actions previousl ...
, peers may permanently retire or otherwise resign their membership of the House. The following peers have exercised that right and are still living:
Removed for non-attendance
Under section 2 of the
House of Lords Reform Act 2014
The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign – actions previousl ...
, peers who fail to attend any sittings of the House during a whole
parliamentary session
A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...
cease to be members of the House at the start of the next session. The following peers have been subject to this provision since the Act came into force and are still living:
Resigned under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
Under section 41 of the
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (c. 25), or CRAG Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on UK constitutional law which affected the civil service and the ratification of treaties, and made other significant cha ...
, peers are automatically and compulsorily treated as
domiciled in the United Kingdom for tax purposes. Section 42 allowed peers who did not wish to comply with the provision to choose within three months of the act coming into force to give notice with the same effect as to resign and retire from the House of Lords. The following peers opted to exercise that right and are still living:
Recently deceased
The following life peers and elected hereditary peers have died since December 2021:
See also
*
List of life peerages
*
List of hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999
*
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
United Kingdom Parliament Alphabetical List of Members of the House of Lords
Lists of British people
*