House of Lords Reform Bill

Page 3, line 7, leave out “conspicuous merit” and insert “special experience and expertise in a specific area”

Page 5, line 16, at end insert—

“(5) Nothing in this part shall disqualify an hereditary peer from being proposed to the Commission under section 4.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Period of service

(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), members of the House of Lords appointed under Part 1 of this Act shall retire at the end of the session in which they reach a period of service of 20 years.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), all other members of the House of Lords shall retire in accordance with the following—

(a) At the end of the calendar year in which this Act is passed all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1973 shall retire.

(b) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1977 shall retire.

(c) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1979 shall retire.

(d) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1983 shall retire.

(e) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1987 shall retire.

(f) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1993 shall retire.

(g) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1996 shall retire.

(h) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1997 shall retire.

(i) At the end of the next following calendar year all members with a period of service commencing prior to 31st December 1998 shall retire and new members appointed after 31st December 1998 will be for a period of service of up to 20 years.

(3) Subsection (4) applies where a member of the House of Lords (“M”) is, in the view of the Lord Speaker, playing an exceptional role in the House.

(4) Any member, other than M, may make an application to the Lord Speaker who may, upon application, extend M’s membership of the House for a period not exceeding five years.”