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The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory
non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
with oversight of some aspects of the
Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...
. It has two roles: to recommend at least two people a year for appointment as non-party-political
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
s who sit on the crossbenches; and to vet for propriety most other nominations for membership of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, including those nominated by the UK
political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
, nominations put forward by the Prime Minister for ministerial appointment in the House of Lords, for public service, and nominations in the honours lists (including resignation and dissolution honours lists). The commission does not vet for propriety the appointments of
Lords Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who sit in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. Up to 26 of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not including retired bish ...
(
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
bishops), or the excepted hereditary peers who sit in the House of Lords by virtue of 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 ...
. The commission was established in May 2000 to assist the transitional arrangements for
reform of the House of Lords The reform of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, has been a topic of discussion in UK politics for more than a century. Multiple governments have attempted reform, beginning with the introduction of th ...
. The role of the
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
in making non-partisan recommendations to the monarch for creation of life peerages was partially transferred to the commission, in order to ensure greater transparency in the process. It was also given oversight of all other appointments to the Lords, including partisan nominations.


Members

The Commission has non-partisan members as well as representatives from the House of Lords of the three largest political parties: * Chair: The Baroness Deech (Chair since November 2023) * Non-party political members: ** The Lord Chartres (member since June 2019) ** Dame Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle (member since June 2019) ** Sir Hugh Robertson (member since December 2023) **Wayne Reynolds (member since December 2023) * Members nominated by the three major parties: **
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
: The Baroness Noakes ** Labour: The Baroness Taylor of Bolton (member since September 2022) ** Liberal Democrats: The Baroness Parminter


"People's peers"

The Commission makes recommendations for the appointment of non-partisan life peers. It has established for itself seven criteria upon which to base its decisions, seeking to recommend people with * a record of significant achievement within their chosen way of life; * the ability to make an effective and significant contribution to the work of the House of Lords; * the time available to ensure they can make a contribution; * some understanding of the constitutional framework, including the place of the House of Lords; * integrity and independence; * a commitment to the highest standards of public life; and * independence from any political party. The Commission has made recommendations for appointment on 16 occasions since its establishment in 2000, with a total of 67 people being recommended for peerages. All of these individuals went on to be nominated as and created life peers. Upon taking their seats, every one of them joined the crossbenches. The fact that the type of people considered by the Commission for peers were to be neither
aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
nor members of the "political class" led some in the British media to describe those it was to appoint as "people's peers". This term has never been a formal classification. The purpose of the reform was to make the process more open and those making appointments more accountable. Upon the establishment of the Commission, the Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
said it would ensure a House of Lords that was "more representative of our diverse society"; suitable candidates would be sought "in a wider field than up to now". Following the first set of appointments in April 2001, it was, however, pointed out that those chosen included several knights as well as leading academics and scientists, having much the same establishment background that would have been made peers anyway. The Labour MP
Diane Abbott Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been serving as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987 Unit ...
described them as "the metropolitan elite".


Appointments

The people recommended for appointment as life peers by the Commission since its establishment are listed below, by date of recommendation.


26 April 2001

* Victor Adebowale CBE * Richard Best OBE * Amir Bhatia OBE * Sir John Browne * Michael Chan MBE * Sir Paul Condon QPM * Ilora Finlay * Susan Greenfield CBE * Sir David Hannay GCMG CH * Valerie Howarth * Lady Howe of Aberavon CBE * Sir Robert May AC * Sir Claus Moser KCB CBE * Sir Herman Ouseley * Sir Stewart Sutherland


1 May 2004

* Sir Alec Broers * Nicola Chapman * Sir Ewen Cameron * Frances D'Souza CMG * Elaine Murphy * Lola Young OBE * Diljit Rana MBE


22 March 2005

* Dame Rennie Fritchie DBE * General Sir David Ramsbotham GCB CBE


22 July 2005

* Dame Ruth Deech DBE * Michael Hastings CBE * Sir Martin Rees *
Adair Turner Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell (born 5 October 1955) is a British businessman and academic who was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession, serving from September ...
* Jo Valentine


3 May 2006

* Colin Low CBE * Sir David Rowe-Beddoe * Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss GBE * Sir Geoffrey Dear QPM * Kamlesh Patel OBE * Karan Bilimoria CBE * Molly Meacher


15 February 2007

*
Paul Bew Paul Anthony Elliott Bew, Baron Bew (born 22 January 1950), is a British historian from Northern Ireland and a life peer. He has worked at Queen's University Belfast since 1979, and is currently Professor of Irish Politics, a position he has he ...
* Dame Jane Campbell DBE * Jean Coussins * Khalid Hameed CBE * Sir John Krebs * Andrew Mawson OBE


18 October 2007

* Haleh Afshar OBE * Sir Nicholas Stern


18 April 2008

* The Hon. Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller DCB * Sir John Mogg KCMG * Sir Robert Smith


29 September 2008

* Susan Campbell CBE * David Pannick QC


13 July 2009

* Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks * Dame Nuala O'Loan DBE


5 February 2010

* Sir Michael Bichard KCB * Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE * Tony Hall CBE * Ajay Kakkar


5 October 2010

*
Peter Hennessy Peter John Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, (born 28 March 1947) is an English historian and academic specialising in the history of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary Univ ...
* Sheila Hollins


5 September 2011

* Indarjit Singh CBE * Sir Donald Curry CBE


17 May 2012

* Beeban Kidron OBE * Alexander Trees


27 February 2013

* Martha Lane Fox CBE * Michael Berkeley CBE


13 October 2015

* John Bird MBE * Dame Julia King DBE * Robert Mair CBE * Mary Watkins


8 June 2018

* Sir David Anderson KBE QC *
Rosie Boycott Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott, Baroness Boycott (born 13 May 1951) is a British journalist and feminist. Early life The daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Le Sueur Boycott, Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott was born in Saint Helier, Jersey. S ...
* Deborah Bull CBE


24 February 2021

* Dame Sue Black DBE * Sir Amyas Morse KCB


17 May 2022

* Shaista Gohir OBE * Katherine Willis CBE


7 May 2024

* Alexandra Freeman * Lionel Tarassenko CBE


Objections to prime ministers' nominations

In March 2006, the Commission objected to several men proposed for working peerages by Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
, who had loaned large amounts of money to Blair's Labour Party. This led to the "
Cash-for-Honours scandal The Cash-for-Honours scandal (also known as Cash for Peerages, Loans for Lordships, Loans for Honours or Loans for Peerages) was a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations an ...
". In 2020, the Commission objected to the nomination of Peter Cruddas for a peerage by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
. Cruddas had donated over £1,000,000 to Johnson's Conservative Party. Johnson nonetheless decided that the appointment should proceed, becoming the first ever prime minister to overrule an advice of the Commission. It was reported in 2023 that eight nominations for life peerages in Boris Johnson's resignation honours were blocked by the commission.


See also

*
Lords Reform The reform of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, has been a topic of discussion in UK politics for more than a century. Multiple governments have attempted reform, beginning with the introduction of the ...


References


External links


House of Lords Appointments Commission
{{Cabinet Office Westminster system
Appointments Commission Appointment may refer to: Law *The prerogative power of a government official or executive to select persons to fill an honorary position or employment in the government (political appointments, poets laureate) *Power of appointment, the legal a ...
Cabinet Office (United Kingdom) 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government *