Lord Elton Portrait

Lord Elton

Conservative - Excepted Hereditary

Became Member: 13th May 1973

Left House: 29th October 2020 (Retired)


Lord Elton is not a member of any APPGs
2 Former APPG memberships
Explosive Weapons, Norway
Ecclesiastical Committee (Joint Committee)
9th Jul 2015 - 29th Oct 2020
Ecclesiastical Committee (Joint Committee)
24th Jan 2002 - 30th Mar 2015
Procedure and Privileges Committee
15th Jun 2005 - 12th Nov 2009
Constitution Committee
19th Nov 2002 - 8th Nov 2006
Conventions (Joint Committee)
22nd May 2006 - 31st Oct 2006
House of Lords Offices Committee
23rd Nov 1999 - 7th Nov 2002
Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
23rd Nov 1993 - 17th Oct 1996
House of Lords Offices Committee
3rd Dec 1990 - 5th Nov 1993
Procedure and Privileges Committee
6th Dec 1988 - 22nd Oct 1991
House of Lords Offices Committee
18th Nov 1982 - 15th May 1987


Division Voting information

Lord Elton has voted in 840 divisions, and 22 times against the majority of their Party.

15 Jun 2020 - Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 43 Conservative Aye votes vs 125 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 112 Noes - 388
17 Jul 2019 - Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 21 Conservative No votes vs 42 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 182 Noes - 37
17 Jul 2019 - Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 24 Conservative Aye votes vs 35 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 39 Noes - 138
15 Nov 2018 - Privileges and Conduct - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 24 Conservative Aye votes vs 36 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 101 Noes - 78
20 Mar 2017 - Digital Economy Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 5 Conservative Aye votes vs 164 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 46 Noes - 176
21 Mar 2016 - Immigration Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 6 Conservative Aye votes vs 148 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 111 Noes - 148
28 Jul 2014 - Leader of the House of Lords - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 21 Conservative Aye votes vs 22 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 177 Noes - 29
29 Oct 2013 - Care Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 7 Conservative Aye votes vs 114 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 96 Noes - 271
10 Jul 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 37 Conservative Aye votes vs 47 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 89 Noes - 267
8 Jul 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 50 Conservative Aye votes vs 63 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 119 Noes - 314
8 Jul 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 50 Conservative Aye votes vs 50 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 103 Noes - 278
8 Jul 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 8 Conservative Aye votes vs 25 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 15 Noes - 84
4 Jun 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 65 Conservative Aye votes vs 79 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 148 Noes - 390
24 Apr 2013 - Procedure of the House - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 20 Conservative Aye votes vs 157 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 209 Noes - 243
24 Apr 2012 - Protection of Freedoms Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 21 Conservative Aye votes vs 101 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 89 Noes - 190
26 Mar 2012 - Procedure of the House - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 48 Conservative No votes vs 71 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 319 Noes - 96
23 Nov 2011 - Public Bodies Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Conservative Aye votes vs 151 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 233 Noes - 236
28 Mar 2011 - Public Bodies Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 5 Conservative Aye votes vs 103 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 225 Noes - 162
16 Feb 2011 - Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 27 Conservative Aye votes vs 118 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 277 Noes - 215
26 Oct 2009 - Coroners and Justice Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 12 Conservative Aye votes vs 36 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 113 Noes - 155
29 Oct 2008 - Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 19 Conservative Aye votes vs 21 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 39 Noes - 202
19 Oct 2006 - Education and Inspections Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Elton voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative Aye votes vs 71 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 43 Noes - 188
View All Lord Elton Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Conservative)
Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
(30 debate interactions)
Lord McNally (Liberal Democrat)
(24 debate interactions)
Lord Nash (Conservative)
(23 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department for Education
(61 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(52 debate contributions)
Home Office
(42 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(42 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Lord Elton's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Elton, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


1 Bill introduced by Lord Elton


A Bill to restrict membership of the House of Lords by virtue of a peerage; to make related provision about disqualifications for voting at elections to, and for membership of, the House of Commons; and for connected purposes.

Lords - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading : House Of Lords
Friday 21st October 2016
(Read Debate)

Lord Elton has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 5 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
1st Sep 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the terms of the recently awarded contract to supply optometry services to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for a three-year period.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency published an advertisement relating to this contract in the Official Journal of the European Union. This document outlined to prospective bidders the duration of the contract and the categories required for service delivery. Due to the detail and length, I have placed copies of this advertisement as well as copies of the Contract Award Notice, the terms and conditions of the contract and the specifications of the contract in the Libraries of the House.

Baroness Kramer
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Treasury and Economy)
1st Sep 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their policy for the award of contracts for the provision of optometry and other services to their agencies includes a requirement to assess and compare the net tax revenue that would be provided by each competing bidder; and, if not, why not.

All Government agencies are subject to European regulations covering both competition and awarding public contracts. Additionally, they apply the Government’s principles of transparency in communicating commercial opportunities, which includes actions to stimulate and attract opportunities for small and medium enterprises.

Standard tender documentation for commercial contracts incorporates a pre-qualification questionnaire that requests information from bidders as part of the Government’s policy, to check compliance with company tax laws. The information requested is proportionate with the value of the contract to be awarded.

In line with Government policy all new procurement tenders and contract awards are published via the Government’s central record system known as ‘Contracts Finder’. It would not be possible to quantify prospectively the net tax revenue likely to be generated by each competing bidder.

Earl Howe
Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
1st Sep 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish their criteria for the award of contracts for the provision of optometry services to their agencies.

All Government agencies are subject to European regulations covering both competition and awarding public contracts. Additionally, they apply the Government’s principles of transparency in communicating commercial opportunities, which includes actions to stimulate and attract opportunities for small and medium enterprises.

Standard tender documentation for commercial contracts incorporates a pre-qualification questionnaire that requests information from bidders as part of the Government’s policy, to check compliance with company tax laws. The information requested is proportionate with the value of the contract to be awarded.

In line with Government policy all new procurement tenders and contract awards are published via the Government’s central record system known as ‘Contracts Finder’. It would not be possible to quantify prospectively the net tax revenue likely to be generated by each competing bidder.

Earl Howe
Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
1st Sep 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the optometry services provided under contract to their agencies operate in a market in which there are sufficient independent providers to maintain the stimulus of fair commercial competition.

All Government agencies are subject to European regulations covering both competition and awarding public contracts. Additionally, they apply the Government’s principles of transparency in communicating commercial opportunities, which includes actions to stimulate and attract opportunities for small and medium enterprises.

Standard tender documentation for commercial contracts incorporates a pre-qualification questionnaire that requests information from bidders as part of the Government’s policy, to check compliance with company tax laws. The information requested is proportionate with the value of the contract to be awarded.

In line with Government policy all new procurement tenders and contract awards are published via the Government’s central record system known as ‘Contracts Finder’. It would not be possible to quantify prospectively the net tax revenue likely to be generated by each competing bidder.

Earl Howe
Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
1st Sep 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish their criteria for the award of contracts for the provision of audiology services to their agencies.

There are no national criteria for awarding contracts for the provision of audiology services with the exception of a small number of specialised services which are commissioned nationally by NHS England. The specifications, setting out what providers must have in place to deliver specialised audiology services, can be found on the NHS England website at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-d/d09

The national contract for the provision of hearing aids is managed through the NHS Supply Chain and provides for the assessment of patients by National Health Service audiology professionals, as well as the provision and fitting of digital hearing aids. This contract ran from 2010 until 2014, and has subsequently been extended to July 2016. It is currently under review to determine the options for re-procurement after 2016. More information can be found at the NHS Supply Chain website at the following link:

www.supplychain.nhs.uk/product-news/contract-launch-briefs/2014/july/hearing-aids-and-accessories/

Earl Howe
Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords