After 900 years: Now the British hereditary lords are disappearing
Their posts go back almost 1,000 years. But now it's over. With a new law, the last inherited seats in the British House of Lords are being phased out.
- I think the general public will miss us, says Charles Courtenay, who states that his family has had their seat for 900 years.
It was the members of the House of Lords themselves who recently hammered out the law that means that the last inherited seats will disappear. This means that dukes, earls and viscounts are not allowed to pass on their seats to the next generation.
Inherited seats in parliament have long been criticized as being outdated, but it was Prime Minister Tony Blair who, with a landslide victory in the 1997 election, was able to begin to tear down the old traditions. The resulting law meant that the House of Lords shrank from over 1,300 seats around the turn of the millennium to just under 700 at the time.
Delayed until now
But nobles are not easily moved. In order to get the law through, Blair's Labour agreed to the compromise that a number – currently 92 – of inherited seats would remain until the reforms were completed. And it has been delayed until now, even though many agree with the current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said in 2022:
– I would be surprised if anyone could make even a half-decent argument for inherited peerages.
But there are those who have persistently tried, including Charles Courtenay, better known as the Earl of Devon. He now holds the seat in the House of Lords that has been in the family since the time of Empress Matilda in the 12th century.
The Battle of Waterloo
Courtenay believes that the hereditary lords receive undeservedly harsh criticism compared to, for example, other members, who are also not elected.
– During an interesting debate about the hereditary seats, someone said: “How did they actually get in here, the hereditary lords?”, he told The Guardian.
– And I happened to be sitting next to the Duke of Wellington. It is quite clear how he got in – there is a picture of him on the wall there, during the Battle of Waterloo.
He refers to the fact that the then Duke of Wellington led the victorious march against Napoleon in 1815, and believes that this merit is no worse than the sprawling reasons for which members are appointed today.
– Like, how did the others get in here? We don’t really know.
300-year perspective
Courtenay argues that with titles, jobs and in many cases properties that have been passed down for tens of generations, it becomes easier to think long-term.
– I think we have longer time horizons than the rest of the House of Lords. We can look at things 100, 200, 300 years ahead.
He takes the environment as an example.
– One problem is that everyone looks at it in terms of returns, political cycles. Everything is about five, ten years. But what about future generations? How do we get that into our politics?
“Titles from bygone centuries”
The Earl, whose title roughly corresponds to a Swedish count, is rebuffed by Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds, the Labour Minister with the traditional title of Paymaster General (roughly Grand Treasurer).
– Our Parliament should be a place where talent is recognized and merit is counted, he says, according to the AP news agency.
– It should never be a gathering place for the old boys, or a place where titles from centuries gone by trump the will of the people.
Women were only allowed into the House of Lords in the 1950s and 1960s. Today they make up about a third of the members. However, none of the hereditary lords are women. The minority element is also extremely small.
The Earl of Devon agrees that the group is anachronistically composed, but believes that the fault is that the government has not changed the laws and rules for who is allowed in.
– We are only white guys because we are not allowed to be white girls.
Traditions live on
Regardless of gender and regardless of ethnicity, time is now up for his almost 900-year-old job. Or? The new law has a temporary loophole. All hereditary seats in the House of Lords will be removed when the current parliamentary session ends in May. But sources tell British media that the hereditary lords' resistance has been appeased with a promise that a smaller number of them will be appointed for life before then.
Instead, they will receive "regular" House of Lords seats. These are not inherited. But conservative Britons can take comfort in the fact that the centuries-old traditions are still alive with this generation, at least.
FACTS
British House of Lords
The House of Lords, in English called the House of Lords, is one half of the British parliament.
Its roots go back to the 11th century when the King of England convened the Magnum Concilium (“Great Council”).
A few centuries later, parliament was divided into an upper house for the wealthy nobility, and a lower house for representatives of provinces and cities. The upper house was for a long time the most powerful, but now almost all political power lies with the lower house.
The building in London where they meet, the Palace of Westminster, is almost as old, that is, close to 1,000 years old. However, it has burned down and been rebuilt and expanded extensively over the centuries.
The number of members of the House of Lords varies, but is very large in an international perspective. The only parliament that is larger in the world is the National People’s Congress in China.
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