| 1. | Who is the oldest member of the House of Lords? |
| | The Rt Hon the Lord Shawcross, GBE QC (born 4/2/1902). |
| | | | |
| 2. | Who is the longest serving member of the House of Lords who is still active? |
| | The Rt Hon the Earl Jellicoe, KBE DSO MC FRS, Father of the House (took seat 1939, attended 94 times in Session 1998-9, born 4/4/1918). |
| | | | |
| 3. | Who is the youngest member? |
| | The Lord Freyberg (born 15/12/1970). |
| | |
| 4. | What is the average age of all peers? |
| | 68 years. (This figure applies to the current calendar year.) |
| | | | |
| 5. | How many days does the House of Lords sit in a session? |
| | | | |
| | 194
142
142
136
79 (ElectionYear)
228
154 |
| | | | |
| 6. | How many current members of the House of Lords were once MPs? |
| | 158 (Conservatives 79, Labour 53, Liberal Democrats 14, Crossbenchers 9, other 3) (updated weekly). |
| | | | |
| 7. | How many women members are there in the House of Lords? |
| | 105 (100 Life and 5 elected Hereditary). (Updated weekly.) |
| | | | |
| 8. | Who was the first female life peer created? |
| | The Baroness Wootton of Abinger (created under the Life Peerages Act 1958, died 11/7/88, Labour). |
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| 9. | Who was the first female hereditary peer to take her seat? |
| | The Baroness Strange of Knokin in 1963 (Baroness Strange is still a member as an elected Hereditary peer under the House of Lords Act 1999). |
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| 10. | Who was the first female Leader of the House of Lords? |
| | The Rt Hon the Baroness Young (Conservative) Sept 1981 - May 1983. |
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| 11. | Who was the first female Chief Whip? |
| | Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe (Labour) Nov 1973 – Nov 1982 (she died on 6/11/97). |
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| 12. | Which 3 Members of the House of Lords asked the most written and oral questions in the last session? |
| | Written Questions
The Lord Kennet (no longer a member of the House), 393 written questions (1998-99 Session).
The Lord Lester of Herne Hill, 178 written questions (1998-99 Session).
The Countess of Mar, 148 written questions (1998-99 Session).
Oral Questions
The Lord Moynihan, 61 oral questions (1998-99 Session).
The Lord Avebury, 51 oral questions (1998-99 Session).
The Baroness Gardner of Parkes, 51 oral questions (1998-99 Session).
(The above information is updated at the end of each session.) |
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| 13. | When was the last all-night sitting? |
| | June 1988. From 2.30pm Tuesday 28th June until 8.47am Wednesday 29th June on the Education Reform Bill. |
| 14. | How many times has the Government been defeated in the House of Lords? |
|
|
Session |
Number of Defeats |
|
|
|
|
Labour |
|
|
1974-75 |
Figures not kept |
|
1975-76 |
126 |
|
1976-77 |
25 |
|
1977-78 |
78 |
|
1978-79 |
11 |
|
|
|
|
Conservative |
|
|
1979-80 |
15 |
|
1980-81 |
18 |
|
1981-82 |
7 |
|
1982-83 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Conservative |
|
|
1983-84 |
20 |
|
1984-85 |
17 |
|
1985-86 |
22 |
|
1986-87 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
Conservative |
|
|
1987-88 |
17 |
|
1988-89 |
12 |
|
1989-90 |
20 |
|
1990-91 |
17 |
|
1991-92 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
Conservative |
|
|
1992-93 |
19 |
|
1993-94 |
16 |
|
1994-95 |
7 |
|
1995-96 |
10 |
|
1996-97 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
Labour |
|
|
1997-98 |
39 |
|
1998-99 |
31 |
|
1999-2000 |
10 (as at 7.4.2000) |
|
|
|
|
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