House of Lords

====2010–present====
[[File:Lord Judge (51111275854).jpg|thumb|The House of Lords paid tribute to [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], 12 April 2021]]
The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreed, after the 2010 general election, to outline clearly a provision for a wholly or mainly elected second chamber, elected by proportional representation. These proposals sparked a debate on 29 June 2010. As an interim measure, appointment of new peers would reflect the shares of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election.

Detailed proposals for Lords reform, including a draft House of Lords Reform Bill, were published on 17 May 2011. These included a 300-member hybrid house, of whom 80% would be elected. A further 20% would be appointed, and reserve space would be included for some Church of England archbishops and bishops. Under the proposals, members would also serve single non-renewable terms of 15&nbsp;years. Former MPs would be allowed to stand for election to the Upper House, but members of the Upper House would not be immediately allowed to become MPs.

The details of the proposal were:<ref>{{cite report |date=May 2011 |title=House of Lords Reform Draft Bill |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229020/8077.pdf |publisher=HM Government |pages=7–9 |access-date=18 January 2016}}</ref>
* The upper chamber shall continue to be known as the House of Lords for legislative purposes.
* The reformed House of Lords should have 300 members of whom 240 are "Elected Members" and 60 appointed "Independent Members". Up to 12 Church of England archbishops and bishops may sit in the house as ''ex officio'' "Lords Spiritual".
* Elected Members will serve a single, non-renewable term of 15&nbsp;years.
* Elections to the reformed Lords should take place at the same time as elections to the House of Commons.
* Elected Members should be elected using the [[Single Transferable Vote]] system of proportional representation.
* Twenty Independent Members (a third) shall take their seats within the reformed house at the same time as elected members do so, and for the same 15-year term.
* Independent Members will be appointed by the King after being proposed by the Prime Minister acting on advice of an Appointments Commission.
* There will no longer be a link between the peerage system and membership of the upper house.
* The current powers of the House of Lords would not change and the House of Commons shall retain its status as the primary House of Parliament.

The proposals were considered by a Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform made up of both MPs and Peers, which issued its final report on 23 April 2012, making the following suggestions:<ref>{{cite web |title=House of Lords reform |url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/lords-history/lords-reform/}}</ref>
* The reformed House of Lords should have 450 members.
* Party groupings, including the Crossbenchers, should choose which of their members are retained in the transition period, with the percentage of members allotted to each group based on their share of the peers with high attendance during a given period.
* Up to 12 Lords Spiritual should be retained in a reformed House of Lords.

Deputy Prime Minister [[Nick Clegg]] introduced the [[House of Lords Reform Bill 2012]] on 27 June 2012<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmagenda/ob120627.htm|title=Order of Business|date=27 June 2012|website=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]|access-date=2 June 2023}}</ref> which built on proposals published on 17 May 2011.<ref name="House of Lords reform proposals">{{cite web |url=http://www.dpm.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/proposals-reformed-house-lords-published |title=Proposals for a reformed House of Lords published |publisher=Deputy Prime Minister |date=17 May 2011}}</ref> However, this Bill was abandoned<ref>Farrington, Conor. "Does It Matter If the House of Lords isn't Reformed? Perspectives from a Symposium at Trinity Hall, Cambridge". ''The Political Quarterly'', vol. 83, no. 3 (July–September 2012), p. 599.</ref> by the Government on 6 August 2012, following opposition from within the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].

=====House of Lords Reform Act 2014=====
A [[private member's bill]] to introduce some reforms was introduced by [[Dan Byles]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Dan Byles: House of Lords Reform Private Members Bill |url=http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/79493/dan_byles_house_of_lords_reform_private_members_bill.html |work=PoliticsHome |date=4 June 2013 |access-date=23 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827112631/http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/79493/dan_byles_house_of_lords_reform_private_members_bill.html |archive-date=27 August 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[House of Lords Reform Act 2014]] received [[Royal Assent#United Kingdom|Royal Assent]] in 2014.<ref name="services.parliament.uk">{{cite web |title=House of Lords Reform Act 2014 |url=http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2013-14/houselordsreform.html |work=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament of the UK]] |date=14 May 2014 |access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> Under the new law:

*All peers can retire or resign from the chamber (prior to this only hereditary peers could disclaim their peerages).
*Peers can be disqualified for non-attendance.
*Peers can be removed for receiving prison sentences of a year or more.<ref name="services.parliament.uk"/>

=====House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015=====
The [[House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015]] authorised the House to expel or suspend members.

=====Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015=====
{{Main|Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015}}
{{See also|Women in the House of Lords}}
This Act made provision to preferentially admit female bishops of the Church of England to the Lords Spiritual over male ones in the 10 years following its commencement (2015 to 2025). This came as a consequence of the Church of England deciding in 2014 to begin to [[Ordination of women in the Anglican Communion#Church of England|ordain women as bishops]].

In 2015, [[Rachel Treweek]], [[Bishop of Gloucester]], became the first woman to sit as a [[Lord Spiritual]] in the House of Lords due to the Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/23-october/news/uk/rachel-treweek-becomes-first-woman-bishop-to-enter-house-of-lords |title=Rachel Treweek becomes first woman bishop to enter House of Lords |work=[[Church Times]] |date=26 October 2015 |access-date=30 October 2015}}</ref> As of 2023, six women bishops sit as Lords Spiritual, five of them having been accelerated due to this Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://members.parliament.uk/members/Lords?SearchText=&PartyId=3&Gender=Female&MembershipStatus=0&PolicyInterestId=&Experience=&ShowAdvanced=true|title=Current Female Bishops in the House of Lords |access-date=4 October 2023}}</ref>