UK ends centuries-old hereditary seats in parliament upper chamber

Britain scores a win for equality

Parliament’s vote to end a centuries-old tradition of inherited seats in the House of Lords reflects a country eager to curb divisions and disparities.

UK ends centuries-old hereditary seats in parliament upper chamber

Britain's parliament has approved legislation to remove the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords, ending a centuries-old system of aristocratic seats in the upper ‌chamber that the government says should not be secured by birth. The House of Lords passed the Hereditary Peers ‌Bill on Tuesday evening, fulfilling a ⁠reform ​launched more than 25 years ago and a ​key manifesto pledge ‌from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour governme…

Hereditary peers to lose their seats in the House of Lords as bill passes

Hereditary peers are set to lose their seats in the House of Lords, after the passage of a bill that will end their role in the chamber after hundreds of years, fulfilling a key pledge in the Labour Party manifesto. In what marks a historic moment, Lords Leader Baroness Smith said the “historic legislation” realised Labour’s manifesto pledge to remove the right of all hereditary peers to sit and vote in the upper house. “This has never been abou…

No Nobles Day: Britain's Parliament boots its last hereditary Lords after 700 years

Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the change put an end to "an archaic and undemocratic principle." The removed aristocrats are 92 of the House of Lords' 800 members.

Lords a-leaving: Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years

Britain is ending the centuries-old tradition of hereditary aristocrats sitting in Parliament’s House of Lords.

Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years

Britain is ending the centuries-old tradition of hereditary aristocrats sitting in Parliament’s House of Lords