House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill Committee: New Clause 1

What happened: On 12 November 2024, the House of Commons voted on New Clause 1 during the Committee stage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The new clause would have required broader democratic reforms to the House of Lords to accompany the removal of hereditary peers. The amendment was defeated by 378 votes to 41.

Why it matters: The bill as introduced has a narrow purpose: to end the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, removing the last remaining link between inherited titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber. New Clause 1 sought to widen that scope by attaching conditions or requirements for further democratic reform. Its defeat means the bill remains tightly focused on abolishing hereditary peerages, without any accompanying commitment to wider structural change such as an elected element or changes to appointment processes. The vote confirms that the Lords will continue to operate as an appointed chamber, at least for the foreseeable future.

The politics: Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against the new clause, reflecting the government's position that broader reform should not be bundled into this bill. Support came from a cross-party group of smaller parties including the SNP (9 votes), Plaid Cymru (4), the Greens (4), and the SDLP (2), alongside 17 Conservative MPs. The Conservatives were split almost evenly, with 17 in favour and 17 against. Reform UK and the DUP both opposed the clause. The vote sits within a cluster of similar amendment defeats on the same day, including Amendment 25 (Ayes 98, Noes 376) and New Clause 20 (Ayes 98, Noes 375), suggesting a consistent pattern of the government holding its majority against any attempt to expand the bill's scope.