House of Lords

==Current composition==
{{Main|List of members of the House of Lords}}
[[File:House-of-lords-diagram.jpg|upright=1.6|thumb|right]]
There are currently {{HOL|TOTAL}} sitting members of the House of Lords,<ref name="lords_composition"/> of which 667 are life peers (as of 2 October 2023) <ref name="parliament.uk"/> and 228 are women (see:[[Women in the House of Lords]]). An additional {{HOL|INEL}} Lords are ineligible to participate, including two peers who are constitutionally disqualified as members of the Judiciary.<ref name="lords_ineligible">{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/-ineligible-lords/|title=Ineligible members of the House of Lords|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom}}</ref>

The House of Lords Act 1999 allocated 75 of the 92 hereditary peers to the parties based on the proportion of hereditary peers that belonged to that party in 1999:<ref name="standing_orders1"/>
* Conservative Party: 42 peers
* Labour Party: 2 peers
* Liberal Democrats: 3 peers
* Crossbenchers: 28 peers

Of the initial 42 hereditary peers elected as Conservatives, one, [[David Verney, 21st Baron Willoughby de Broke|David Verney, 21st Lord Willoughby de Broke]], defected to [[United Kingdom Independence Party|UKIP]], though he left the party in 2018.<ref name="lords_composition"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/|title=Lists of Members of the House of Lords|publisher=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]|access-date=21 June 2012|quote=Willoughby de Broke, Lord UK Independence Party}}</ref>

Fifteen hereditary peers are elected by the whole House, and the remaining hereditary peers are the two royal office-holders, the [[Earl Marshal]] and the [[Lord Great Chamberlain]].<ref name="lords_composition"/>

A report in 2007 stated that many members of the Lords (particularly the life peers) do not attend regularly; the average daily attendance was around 408.<ref>{{cite book|title=The House of Lords: Reform|url=http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm70/7027/7027.pdf|access-date=25 May 2008|date=February 2007|publisher=[[The Stationery Office]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-10-170272-0|oclc=83593847|page=44|quote=taking the 2005–2006 session, the average attendance was around 408, or 56% of members.}}</ref>

While the number of hereditary peers is limited to 92, and that of Lords spiritual to 26, there is no maximum limit to the number of life peers who may be members of the House of Lords at any time.<ref name="Mason">{{Cite news |last=Mason |first=Rowena |last2=editor |first2=Rowena Mason Whitehall |date=2024-03-08 |title=Sunak’s record on appointing female peers from party worst since Major, analysis finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/08/rishi-sunak-female-peers-party-unlock-democracy-report |access-date=2024-04-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

=== Gender imbalance ===
Although female representation in the Lords has risen each decade since 1960, the pace has slowed in recent years, with the number of women peers rising 1% since 2020. A report by the Unlock Democracy think tank found that if every woman ever made a peer was still alive and sitting in the House of Lords today, men would still outnumber women by nearly two to one. The report singled out [[Rishi Sunak]]’s female appointment rates to the House of Lords, at 17% of his party's appointments as compared with 37.5% of Tory peers appointed under Truss, 20.9% by appointed under Johnson, 46.2% under May, and 30% under Cameron; the report also states that appointment rates under Labour were scarcely higher.<ref name="Mason"/>