House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill Committee: New Clause 7

What happened: The House of Commons voted on 12 November 2024 on a Conservative-proposed new clause to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill that would have required a public referendum before the abolition of hereditary peers could take effect. The amendment was defeated by 355 votes to 93, meaning the Bill will continue its passage without any requirement for a public vote before removing hereditary peers from the Lords.

Why it matters: The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill aims to complete a process begun in 1999 by removing the remaining 92 hereditary peers who were retained as a compromise at that time from sitting and voting in the upper chamber. Had this new clause passed, the government would have been obliged to hold a national referendum before the change could come into force, introducing a significant procedural hurdle that could have delayed or blocked reform entirely. The change affects the composition of an unelected legislative chamber and, by extension, the balance of scrutiny power over legislation passed by the elected Commons.

The politics: The vote produced an unusual cross-party alignment in favour of the referendum requirement, with the Liberal Democrats voting solidly for it (67 votes) alongside the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Greens, and the DUP, though for differing reasons. Labour and Labour-Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against. The Liberal Democrat support is particularly striking given that party's longstanding position favouring an elected upper chamber, suggesting their vote reflected a desire for a broader democratic mandate for constitutional change rather than defence of the hereditary principle itself. This was one of several Conservative amendments considered on the same day, including Amendment 25 and New Clause 1, both of which were also defeated by comparable margins.