SocietyPreview

National

House of Lords

Governs United Kingdom · Part of Parliament of the United Kingdom

Official website (parliament.uk) Report a problem with this page

Source: members-api.parliament.uk, checked
What it can't do

Hereditary peers were removed from the House of Lords on 29 April 2026 under the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 (Royal Assent 18 March 2026). Some former hereditary peers have since returned as life peers. The Lords can delay but not block most Commons bills.

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026; Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949

Who sits on it

Sourced · checked

Sources for who sits on it

Report a problem

What it can do

  • Revise legislation and delay Commons bills

    The Lords may amend and delay most bills but cannot, in the end, block a Commons bill passed in two successive sessions (Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949).

Sourced · checked

Sources for what it can do

Report a problem

Sources

  • members-api.parliament.uk · checked UK Parliament Members API, Members/Search House=1 and House=2 IsCurrentMember=true, read 2026-10-12: current MPs and Lords with constituency, party, membership start date. MPs whose membership began before 2024-07-04 get the 2024 general election date as the start of this term. Disqualified peers (2) excluded; peers on leave of absence or suspended are kept and marked in the term note. For: House of Lords, Lord Spiritual
  • en.wikipedia.org · checked Wikipedia, House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, read 2026-10-12: Royal Assent 18 March 2026, hereditary peers removed 29 April 2026. Fallback: legislation.gov.uk not read; cross-checked against the Members API, which lists no hereditary peers. For: What it can't do, Life Peer
  • legislation.gov.uk · checked legislation.gov.uk Acts cited in each power description, from general knowledge of the statutes, not re-read 2026-10-12. For: Revise legislation and delay Commons bills
  • members-api.parliament.uk · checked UK Parliament Members API (Speaker party flag; Lord Speaker party flag), read 2026-10-12: Sir Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker (start 2024-07-09 = first sitting of the Parliament, per Wikipedia Next UK general election); Lord Forsyth of Drumlean as Lord Speaker, start date not verified. For: Lord Speaker

Know an official source for something on this page? Please tell us.

We're still adding some details for this area. Report something missing.

Send feedback

Your message will be shown publicly on the feedback page. Your contact details stay private.