Politics Panther · Paper 2 · Parliament

House of Lords reform · Overview

Composition, functions, reform proposals and the elected-vs-appointed argument.

1. Spec sections this topic covers

Topic on the spec2 · sourced from Edexcel A-Level Politics 9PL0

The selection of members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, including the different types of Peers.
The main functions of the House of Commons and House of Lords and the extent to which these functions are fulfilled.

The different stages a bill must go through to become law.
The interaction between the Commons and the Lords during the legislative process, including the Salisbury Convention.

Composition (~800 peers): hereditary peers (88 remaining post-1999 Act, due to be removed under 2024 Hereditary Peers Bill), life peers (majority since 1958 Life Peerages Act), 26 bishops (Lords Spiritual), crossbenchers (~180, no party whip).
Functions: revising chamber (amendments to legislation), scrutiny (committees, e.g. Constitution Committee), delaying power (Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 limit Lords to 1-year delay on most bills), expertise (former judges, doctors, generals, peers ennobled for service).
Conventions: Salisbury Convention (Lords does not block manifesto bills), financial privilege (Commons supremacy on money bills).
Reform timeline: 1911, 1949, 1958 (life peers), 1999 (most hereditaries removed), 2012 (Clegg reform plan abandoned), 2024 (Hereditary Peers Bill - removes the 88 remaining hereditary).
Live debates: elected Lords (Coalition 2012, abandoned), wholly appointed (status quo), partly elected, abolition. Major recent contributions: Lords block on Rwanda Bill (2024), Lords amendments to Pension Schemes Bill (2026).

Lords reform questions usually ask whether the Lords is effective OR whether the chamber should be elected.
Strongest essays balance the democratic-legitimacy argument (elected) against the expertise / revising-chamber argument (appointed).
AO2 win: explain WHY the 2012 elected-Lords plan failed (Conservative backbench rebellion + Labour opposition to programme motion).

Drawn from the Panther question bank. The Notes page in this pack covers the content needed to answer these.

Year	QID	Question
2024	P2-2024-Q1a	Using the source, evaluate the view that there should be an elected House of Lords.
2023	P2-2023-Q2a	Evaluate the view that when it comes to fulfilling their respective functions, the House of Lords can be seen as more successful than the House of Commons.
2023 Mock	P2-2023M-Q1a	Using the source, evaluate the view that Parliament is largely effective at challenging the work of the Government.
2022	P2-2022-Q1a	Using the source, evaluate the view that Parliament is largely ineffective in shaping government legislation.
2021	P2-2021-Q1a	Using the source, evaluate the view that the roles and membership of the House of Lords require reform.
2019	P2-2019-Q2b	Evaluate the view that although the House of Lords has less power than the House of Commons, in practice it exerts more influence on government decisions.