# The House of Lords Explained: What It Does and Why It Exists

> The House of Lords is the UK's unelected second chamber. Here is what it actually does, how peers get there and why it has survived so long despite widespread criticism.

*Section: Politics — By James Whittaker (SME Finance Writer) — Published December 2, 2025 — 1 min read*

Canonical URL: https://dailyjunction.org/politics/uk-house-of-lords-explained
Tags: house of lords, uk politics, parliament, constitution, reform

## Key takeaways

- The Lords has around 780 members — the largest legislature in the world after China's National People's Congress
- It can delay legislation but cannot permanently block it — the Salisbury-Addison convention limits Lords ability to reject manifesto commitments
- Most peers are life peers appointed by the Prime Minister, typically following political patronage
- Reform proposals have been debated for over a century with limited implementation

## What the Lords does

The House of Lords is the upper chamber of the UK Parliament. It scrutinises and amends legislation passed by the House of Commons, provides a check on executive power, and produces detailed reports through its committee system that often inform policy. It can delay legislation and send it back to the Commons with amendments — a process that can be repeated (ping-pong) until agreement is reached.

## What the Lords cannot do

The Lords cannot permanently block legislation that the Commons supports. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the Commons can ultimately bypass the Lords entirely for most legislation if the Lords refuses to pass it in successive sessions. The Salisbury-Addison convention holds that the Lords should not block legislation that was in the governing party's election manifesto.

## Who is in the Lords

The Lords has three main categories of peer. Life peers (the majority, around 650): appointed by the monarch on the Prime Minister's recommendation, they hold their peerage for life but it does not pass to their children. Bishops: the 26 Lords Spiritual — the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishops of York and 24 other Church of England bishops — sit by virtue of their office. Hereditary peers: as a result of the 1999 House of Lords Act, only 92 elected hereditary peers remain (pending further reform).

## The reform question

Lords reform has been debated for over a century. The 1999 reforms removed most hereditary peers, leaving a predominantly appointed chamber. Proposals for a fully or mainly elected upper chamber have been made repeatedly but have not been implemented, partly because of disagreement on the model and partly because reform requires the Commons to agree to create a chamber that might more legitimately challenge it.

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## Sources

- [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com)
- [Institute for Government](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk)

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Daily Junction — https://dailyjunction.org/politics/uk-house-of-lords-explained