House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading

On 15 October 2024, the House of Commons voted on a Conservative reasoned amendment (a procedural motion to reject a Bill at its second reading stage without allowing it to proceed further) to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The amendment sought to block the Bill, which would end the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. The amendment was defeated by 453 votes to 105, allowing the Bill to proceed. The Bill, if passed, would remove the remaining 92 hereditary peers from the Lords, completing a process begun by the Blair government in 1999. That earlier reform expelled most hereditary peers but left 92 as a temporary compromise. This legislation targets that remaining group. The change would affect the composition of one of Parliament's two chambers and alter how laws are scrutinised and amended, removing members who sit by virtue of inherited title rather than appointment or election. The vote divided sharply along party lines. All 100 voting Conservatives backed the amendment to block the Bill, joined by all 5 Reform UK MPs and 2 independents. Every voting Labour, Labour and Co-operative, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru, Green, SDLP and TUV member opposed the amendment, supporting the Bill's progression. There were no Conservative votes against their own amendment and no government-side rebellions. The Bill continued through Parliament, with related divisions in November 2024 showing similarly large government majorities defeating Conservative attempts to amend it at committee stage.