What does the pledge mean? 

Most members of the House of Lords are life peers, meaning they may sit in the House of Lords for their lifetime, but their peerage cannot be passed on to an heir. Twenty six Church of England archbishops and bishops are also entitled to sit in the House.

Before the end of the 2024-26 parliamentary session, approximately 10% of House of Lords members were hereditary peers who inherited their peerage through their family. The right to sit in the House of Lords was removed for most hereditary peers in 1999. However, as part of a compromise struck at that time, 92 seats for hereditary peers were retained.

As part of plans to reform the House of Lords, Labour pledged in its manifesto to introduce legislation “to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords”; that is, removing the 92 seats retained for hereditary peers following the House of Lords Act 1999.

What progress has been made?

We’re rating this pledge as “achieved” as the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act passed into law on 18 March 2026, and took effect when the 2024-26 parliamentary session ended on 29 April 2026.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 5 September 2024.

The Act repeals the section of the House of Lords Act 1999 which enabled 92 hereditary peers to continue to sit in the House of Lords when the remaining hereditary peers were excluded from the House. It also abolishes the jurisdiction of the House of Lords in relation to claims to hereditary peerages (currently the House of Lords plays a role in adjudicating disputed peerage claims).

As part of a deal to ensure progression of the legislation through the House of Lords, the government reportedly agreed to allow 15 Conservative and some crossbench hereditary peers to be granted life peerages to remain in the Lords.