Labour's Peerage Appointments Escalate Concerns Over Lords Reform and Membership Size
Labour has appointed 96 unelected peers since July 2024, surpassing the totals of the four most recent Conservative prime ministers. On Wednesday, 34 new life peerages were announced, predominantly Labour supporters. This expansion has raised criticism that the surge in Labour appointments has fueled an "ermine arms race," complicating efforts toward reforming the House of Lords.
Although Labour had previously pledged reforms such as removing hereditary peers, altering appointment processes, setting a retirement age, and replacing the Lords altogether, progress has largely stalled beyond the hereditary-peers bill. Currently, the Lords comprises 282 Conservative peers and 209 Labour peers, with the government having lost over 100 divisions since 2024.
Since the Blair era, the membership of the Lords has increased from around 666 to approximately 850. Without intervention, there is concern that Parliament's membership could exceed 1,500, overtaking the 650 members of the House of Commons. Editorial opinion advocates for capping the size of the Lords at or below the Commons' 650 MPs, or potentially lower, through reforms that limit prime ministerial appointments.
Meg Russell of the UCL Constitution Unit supports imposing such caps and warns that without measures to control the Lords' size, figures like Nigel Farage could potentially flood the chamber with their own appointees, further complicating the political balance and reform efforts.
