What is the House of Lords?
The House of Lords is the upper chamber of the UK Parliament. Its members are appointed rather than elected.
How are members of the House of Lords appointed?
Members of the House of Lords are appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Most members are appointed as Life Peers, meaning they can serve in the Lords for the rest of their lives.
The Prime Minister nominates people for political peerages. Too often, this has resulted in the appointment of political allies and party donors. 24% of the political party nominees for peerages between 2013 and 2023 have made political donations, totalling £58 million (Transparency International).
The independent House of Lords Appointments Commission recommends some non-party-political Life Peers, who sit as Crossbenchers.
There are also Lords Spiritual. These are 26 senior members of the Church of England, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, who sit in the House because of their positions in the Church.
Until recently, 92 hereditary peers, who inherited their titles due to their ancestors’ wealth or actions, sat in the House of Lords. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 removed their right to sit in the Lords as hereditary peers.
What does the House of Lords do?
Shape new laws: The House of Lords plays a part in scrutinising bills and suggesting amendments. Before most bills can become law, they must pass through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Hold the government to account: Members can challenge the government's decisions and actions by asking ministers questions and raising concerns in debates.
Examine public policy: Members investigate policy issues through select committees, which gather evidence and publish reports.
How big is the House of Lords?
There are almost 800 members of the House of Lords (November 2026, UK Parliament). This makes it the second-largest legislative chamber in the world, rivalled only by China’s National People's Congress.
There is no limit on the number of peers who can be appointed to the House of Lords.
Sir Keir Starmer appointed 148 peers as Prime Minister. His average appointment rate of 72.6 a year was the fastest of any Prime Minister. David Cameron was second, averaging 39.7 appointments a year (House of Lords data dashboard: Peerage creations).
Which political parties have members in the House of Lords?
There are 10 different political parties represented in the House of Lords.
No party has a majority in the chamber. The Conservatives are the largest party, followed by the Labour Party. There are no Reform UK or SNP peers in the House of Lords, despite them being represented in the House of Commons.
Almost 200 peers sit as Crossbenchers or non-affiliated members, meaning they do not belong to a political party.
→ Find the latest figures on party membership in the House of Lords on Parliament’s website.
Does the House of Lords represent the UK population?
The House is unrepresentative of the UK population in a number of ways:
Gender: There is a significant gender imbalance in the chamber: 64% of members are men and 36% are women (October 2026, UK Parliament).
Age: The average age of members is 70 years-old (June 2026, UK Parliament).
Religion: Christianity is the only religion guaranteed representation in the chamber, with 26 seats reserved for the Lords Spiritual of the Church of England. There are no official statistics on the religious beliefs of peers as a whole.
Profession: Peers come from a range of professional backgrounds, but professional politicians are significantly overrepresented. More than a fifth have previously served as MPs. (Lords Library - Who is in the House of Lords?).
Ethnicity: The House of Lords has been criticised for lacking ethnic diversity. There are no official, up-to-date figures on ethnicity, but available estimates suggest representation has improved. Around 6% of peers in 2018 came from an ethnic minority background, an increase from an estimated 3% of peers in 2000. (Lords Library: How ethnically and religiously diverse is the House of Lords?)
How much do members of the House of Lords get paid?
Most members of the House of Lords do not receive a formal salary. Members can choose to claim a daily attendance allowance of £371, or the reduced allowance of £185. They can also claim travel costs.
The daily attendance allowance is tax free because membership of the Lords is not considered an office or employment.
What could replace the House of Lords?
There are numerous proposals for replacing the House of Lords. These include:
A fully elected chamber: Replace the current House of Lords with a second chamber whose members are 100% elected by the public.
A hybrid chamber: Create a second chamber with a mix of elected and appointed members. A proposal put forward by the Coalition Government in 2011 suggested 80% elected members and 20% independently appointed members, to retain some non-party-political expertise. Proposals for a reformed House of Lords published - GOV.UK
A House of Citizens: Replace peers with ordinary members of the public selected at random. The aim would be to create a chamber that better reflects the wider population.
Abolish the second chamber: Scrap the House of Lords altogether and move to a unicameral parliamentary system, where the House of Commons is the UK's only legislative chamber.
What is Unlock Democracy's view on the House of Lords?
Unlock Democracy believes the current House of Lords has no place in a modern democracy. As an unelected body, it lacks the democratic legitimacy it needs to challenge and scrutinise legislation.
The government must now honour the Labour Party manifesto commitment to start a public consultation on the future of the House of Lords.
Unlock Democracy would like to see the Lords replaced by either a wholly elected second chamber, or a second chamber that is mostly elected, with some seats reserved for independently-appointed experts.