A
BILL
TO
Provide for the Standing Orders of the House of Lords to designate certain
members of the House of Lords as elected peers.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Standing Orders of the House of Lords (“Standing Orders”) shall provide that
a number of those persons who are members of the House of Lords by virtue
of a life peerage conferred under the Life Peerages Act 1958 before the coming
5into force of this Act (“life peers”) shall be elected by the House, on the basis of
their commitment to the work of the House, to work in and represent the
House with the designation of an “elected life peer”.
(1) At any one time no more than 121 people shall be elected life peers.
(2)
10Standing Orders shall make provision that the elected life peers shall consist of
the following categories—
(a)
66 elected by life peers who are Labour members of the House of Lords
on the date this Act comes into force;
(b)
22 elected by life peers who are Conservative members of the House of
15Lords on the date this Act comes into force;
(c)
8 elected by life peers who are Liberal Democrat members of the House
of Lords on the date this Act comes into force; and
(d)
25 elected by life peers who are Crossbench members of the House of
Lords on the date this Act comes into force.
(1)
An elected life peer shall be so designated for a period of five years (or until an
Act of Parliament provides to the contrary).
Membership of the House of Lords (Elections) BillPage 2
(2)
Standing Orders shall make provision for filling vacancies arising among
elected life peers.
(3)
A person may be elected under this Act by or in accordance with Standing
Orders made in anticipation of the enactment or commencement of this
5section.
(4)
Any question whether a person is elected under this Act shall be decided by
the Clerk of the Parliaments, whose certificate shall be conclusive.
(1) Section 1 of the Life Peerages Act 1958 is amended as follows.
(2)
10In paragraph (b) of subsection 2, for “subsection 4” substitute “subsections (4)
and (5)”.
(3) After subsection (4) insert—
“(5)
The entitlements set out in subsection (2)(b) apply whether or not the
person is designated as an elected life peer under the Membership of
15the House of Lords (Elections) Act 2012.”
Standing Orders shall be amended to provide that hereditary peers who are
members of the House of Lords by virtue of being elected in accordance with
the provisions of section 2 of the House of Lords Act 1999 shall work in and
20represent the House with the designation of an “elected hereditary peer”.
(1) This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
(2)
This Act shall come into force at the end of the Session of Parliament in which
it is passed.
(3)
25This Act may be cited as the Membership of the House of Lords (Elections) Act
2012.