British peers are members of a formal nobility whose titles fall into five ranks and who, since the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, sit in the House of Lords almost exclusively as appointed life peers rather than by inheritance.1Legislation.gov.uk. House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 The peerage grew out of medieval feudalism, when landowners owed the Crown military service in exchange for titles and territory. That warrior class slowly turned into a body of advisors and legislators, and the modern chamber now consists of roughly 729 life peers, 26 bishops, and no hereditary peers sitting by right of inheritance.2UK Parliament. Lords Membership
The Five Ranks of the Peerage
Every British peerage sits in one of five ranks. From highest to lowest they are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.3Debrett’s. Ranks and Privileges of the Peerage The female equivalents are duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess, and baroness. In everyday use, peers below the rank of duke are usually addressed simply as “Lord” or “Lady,” regardless of their exact rank. The hierarchy comes into play mainly in ceremonies and the formal order of precedence, where a marquess outranks an earl even if the earl’s title is much older.
Earl is one of the oldest English titles, predating the Norman Conquest. The word “countess” comes from continental Europe, where the equivalent male rank was “count.” Viscount originally described a deputy to an earl or count and remained the rarest rank for much of British history. Baron is both the lowest rank and the most common one, largely because nearly all modern life peerages are baronies.
Hereditary Peers Versus Life Peers
The most important distinction inside the peerage is between titles that pass down a family and titles that end with the person who holds them.
Hereditary peerages were the original form. When a hereditary peer dies, the title passes to the next eligible relative under the rules in the original grant, almost always favoring the eldest male line. Life peerages cannot be inherited. The Life Peerages Act 1958 created the modern mechanism, allowing the monarch to confer a barony for life on any person, including women.4Legislation.gov.uk. Life Peerages Act 1958 That opened the House of Lords to people chosen for professional achievement rather than descent.
Life peers now dominate the chamber. As of 2026, there are 729 life peers out of roughly 752 members.2UK Parliament. Lords Membership The rest are the 26 Lords Spiritual, bishops of the Church of England who serve by virtue of their office rather than through a peerage.5UK Parliament. Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords Explained Five bishops hold automatic seats: the archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester. The other episcopal seats go to the longest-serving diocesan bishops.
Hereditary titles still exist and still pass down through families. What changed in 2026 is that holding one no longer brings a seat in Parliament.
How Someone Becomes a Peer
The monarch is the sole source of titles of honor, but the real decisions are made elsewhere. In practice, the King appoints new peers on the advice of the Prime Minister.6UK Parliament. How Members Are Appointed
Political appointments follow specific channels. When a Parliament ends before a general election, parties nominate departing MPs through dissolution honours. When a Prime Minister leaves office, they can put forward names through resignation honours. These lists have a long history of controversy, since they allow outgoing leaders to reward allies with permanent titles.
Non-political peers follow a different path. The House of Lords Appointments Commission, an independent body established in 2000, leads the nomination process for crossbench (non-party) peers and vets all life peer nominations for propriety.6UK Parliament. How Members Are Appointed Candidates must be British, Irish, or Commonwealth citizens with UK residency. Once the Prime Minister approves a name, the King issues Letters Patent, the formal legal document that creates the peerage and specifies the title.
What Peers Do in the House of Lords
The House of Lords functions primarily as a revising chamber. When the House of Commons passes a bill, peers scrutinize it line by line and often propose technical amendments to tighten the language or close loopholes. A bill moves through several stages in the Lords: a second reading debate on the overall purpose, a committee stage where every clause can be amended, a report stage for further changes, and a third reading for final adjustments.7UK Parliament. Making Laws – House of Lords Stages Unlike the Commons, there is no time limit on Lords debates, and any member can take part in committee stage, which usually happens on the floor of the chamber.
Crossbench peers are one of the chamber’s most distinctive features. They sit without party affiliation and are expected to operate outside a party-political framework.8House of Lords Appointments Commission. Guidance for Applying to Become a Crossbench Peer Because peers face no elections, they can take positions that would be politically dangerous for an MP. Specialized select committees also let peers with relevant professional backgrounds examine complex questions in depth, from artificial intelligence regulation to post-legislative review of older statutes.
Pay and Allowances
Members of the House of Lords do not receive a salary. For the 2025/2026 financial year, peers who attend a sitting day can claim a flat-rate allowance of either £185 or £371, tax-free.9UK Parliament. House of Lords Expenses They can also claim nothing. Peers who hold ministerial or other salaried office in the House are not entitled to the attendance allowance. Travel expenses for parliamentary duties are reimbursed within set limits.
How the Reforms of 1999 and 2026 Changed the Chamber
For most of British history, every hereditary peer had the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords. That ended in 1999. The House of Lords Act 1999 removed all hereditary peers from the chamber, with one compromise: 92 could remain on a temporary basis, elected by their fellow hereditary peers.10Legislation.gov.uk. House of Lords Act 1999 The statute set the cap at 90 elected peers plus two who held the ancient ceremonial offices of Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain. When one of the 90 died, a by-election filled the vacancy among the surviving hereditary peers.
That arrangement lasted over a quarter-century. The by-election system grew increasingly awkward, with some contests decided by a handful of voters. In July 2024, the House amended its own rules to pause by-elections while legislation to finish the reform moved through Parliament.11UK Parliament. Hereditary By-Elections – Results
The final step came with the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026.1Legislation.gov.uk. House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 The Act deleted the 1999 exception that had kept 92 hereditary peers in the chamber. Section 1 came into force on 29 April 2026, ending the connection between inherited titles and parliamentary membership. The Act also abolished the House of Lords’ jurisdiction over claims to hereditary peerages.
How Peers Leave the House of Lords
Before 2014, a life peer had no way to leave the House of Lords voluntarily. The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 created three exit routes: voluntary retirement, removal for non-attendance, and expulsion for serious criminal convictions.12Legislation.gov.uk. House of Lords Reform Act 2014
Retirement is straightforward. A peer gives written notice to the Clerk of the Parliaments, specifying the date it takes effect. The resignation is permanent and cannot be reversed, but the peer keeps their title and remains eligible to stand for the House of Commons. As of early 2026, over 220 peers have retired or resigned under this provision.
Non-attendance triggers automatic removal. If a peer does not attend the House at all during a parliamentary session, and does not hold leave of absence, the Lord Speaker certifies the absence and the peer loses their seat at the start of the next session. Sessions shorter than six months do not count.
The most serious exit is expulsion for criminal conduct. A peer convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to more than twelve months in prison, where the sentence is not suspended, automatically ceases to be a member.13Legislation.gov.uk. House of Lords Reform Act 2014 – Explanatory Notes Suspended sentences do not trigger removal.