The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
s by the
Sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
.
Background
This Act was made during the
Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", ...
was Prime Minister.
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...
had ascended to the throne just over five years before the Act. The
Conservatives tried to introduce life peerages to modernise the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
, give it more legitimacy, and respond to a decline in its numbers and attendance. The
Labour Party opposed the Life Peerages Bill on Second Reading:
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. An economics lecturer and wartime civil servant ...
made an impassioned speech against the proposals, arguing for a far more fundamental reform such as total dismantling of the Lords or a wholly elected house.
[
]
Summary
Prior to the Life Peerages Act 1958, membership in the House of Lords was strictly male and overwhelmingly based on possession of a hereditary title. There existed a few exceptions to the hereditary principle, such as for the Lords Spiritual
The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...
. The Act made it possible for life peers of both sexes to be members of the Lords. Life peers are either barons (a title in existence since the Middle Ages; holders are usually known as ''Lord'' for all but the most formal documents) or baronesses (where female; conventionally they choose to be known as "Lady X" or "Baroness X" as preferred) and are members of the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
for life, but their titles and membership in the House of Lords cannot be inherited by their children. Judicial life peers already sat in the House under the terms of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. The Life Peerages Act greatly increased the ability of Prime Ministers to change the composition of the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
by permitting the creation of groups of life peers rather than hereditary peerages. This gradually diminished the numerical dominance of hereditary peers.
The Act allowed for the creation of female peers entitled to sit in the House of Lords. The first such women peers were four: Barbara Wootton
Barbara Wootton, Baroness Wootton of Abinger, CH (14 April 1897 – 11 July 1988) was a British sociologist and criminologist. She was the first of four women to be appointed as a life peer, entitled to serve in the House of Lords, under the L ...
and Stella Isaacs
Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading, Baroness Swanborough, GBE (6 January 1894 – 22 May 1971), née Stella Charnaud, was an English philanthropist who is best remembered as the founder and chairman of the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS), no ...
, who were sworn in on 21 October 1958, and Katharine Elliot and Irene Curzon
Mary Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale, Baroness Ravensdale of Kedleston, (20 January 1896 – 9 February 1966), was an English noblewoman, socialite and philanthropist.
The eldest child of George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston ...
, who took office the next day.
A life peer is created by the sovereign by Letters Patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...
under the Great Seal on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Before the Act was enacted, former Prime Ministers were usually created hereditary Viscounts or Earls in recognition of their public service in high office, as were the Viceroys of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
and exceptional military or front bench
In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...
figures, for example the former Secretary of State for India and earlier for Air, Viscount Stansgate. The last Prime Minister and the last non-royal to be created an Earl was coincidentally one of the 1958 Act's proponents, Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", ...
, on Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
's advice, in the 1980s. Since her time, only members of the Royal Family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...
have been granted new hereditary peerages.
Historic approval and 1999 adjustment of House composition
In 1999, during the debate which secured the removal of the constitutional functions of most hereditary peers, the Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Geoff Hoon stated:
After this agreed with a question from fellow Labour MP, Mark Fisher which stated:
See also
*Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
* Peerages in the United Kingdom
*Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5 c. 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two Houses of Pa ...
* Peerage Act 1963 – act that permitted disclaimer (renunciation, unless later claimed) of peerages
**For example, (14th) Earl of Home (before and after Alec Douglas-Home) or (2nd) Viscount Stansgate (before and after Tony Benn).
* House of Lords Act 1999 – act that restricted the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords to only 92, elected among all hereditary peers
*List of related life peers
This is a list of people with peerages of the United Kingdom created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (whose life peerages are created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876) who are closely related to one an ...
Further reading
Digital Reproduction of the Original Act on the Parliamentary Archives catalogue
Notes and references
;Notes
;References
External links
*
UK Parliament website about the Life Peerages Act
{{UK legislation
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1958
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Constitutional laws of the United Kingdom
Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the House of Lords
Harold Macmillan