On this day: The House of Lords removes almost all hereditary peers

The House of Lords Act received royal assent on 11 November 1999, ending hereditary peers’ automatic right to sit and vote in Parliament. The change removed nearly all hereditary members and reshaped the Lords, though it was presented as a first, limited reform rather than a full redesign of the upper house.

Before the Act, 1,213 members were eligible to attend: 759 hereditary peers, 545 life peers and 26 Church of England bishops. The reform followed ten months of debate and fulfilled Labour’s 1997 manifesto pledge to end the hereditary principle; it built on earlier changes, including the 1911 Parliament Act and the 1958 introduction of life peerages. The article also connects the 1999 change with later efforts to complete a second stage of reform.