House Of Lords Reforms

House of lords, the second chamber in Parliament. There are currently 75 bicameral legislatures all over the world, whose constitutions were influenced by United Kingdom. In United Kingdom, House of Lords be considered as the symbol of undemocratic, there is a long discussion about reform of House of Lords. This essay will describe Hose of lords reform, past and future.

Reform of the House of lords is the core issues of government’s program of constitutional change. In 1997 general election, Tony Blair who was the leader of labour, he claim that labour party would seek reform of House of Lords and make it more democratic. As an initial self-contained reform, not dependent on further reform in the future, the right of hereditary peers to

In the second stage of reform (since 2001), reform of house of lords makes slow progress in Parliament. Main political parties unable to reach agreement on a reform bills for reform, only Lord Chancellor had been abolished.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the idea of Reform the hereditary system were started to appear, however until 1990s. In 1997 the Labour party win the election. In 1999 there were over 1,200 Lords, including 647 hereditary peers. Of the hereditary peers 310 were Conservative and only 19 were Labour (there were also 226 hereditary peers who were Cross-benchers). Altogether there were 484 Conservatives peers, 335 Cross-benchers, 193 Labour and 72 Liberal Democrats (Lowe & Owen). In order to reduce the antagonism of reform，Tony Blair make terms with Viscount Cranborne (then leader of Conservative), allowing 92 hereditary remain in House of lords in the transition period, the condition is Conservative can not oppose the reform bills of House of lords. In 1999, with the passage of the 1999 House of Lords Act (changed the composition of the Lords): (a) Removed hereditary peers with the exception of the