House of Lords: Relevance

Baroness Twycross Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the relevance of the Second Chamber to contemporary Britain and Northern Ireland.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)]

The Government value the role played by the House of Lords as a revising Chamber. Through the expertise and experience of the Members of your Lordships’ House, and by holding the Government to account, this House improves legislation and delivers better outcomes for the UK public. We will, and are, taking forward long overdue reforms to your Lordships’ House; these changes will ensure that the second Chamber can continue to perform its vital scrutiny role with maximum effectiveness and public confidence going forward.

[Lord Mann (Lab)]

We know what we are, but we know not what we may be. AI will usurp the revising Chamber; that much is obvious. Is our future to be merely the hallucinators? The hereditaries flew their perch with barely a murmur, but what of us? Will we waltz into oblivion or quickstep into a brave new world?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

Of all the questions I thought my noble friend would come up with as a supplementary, I was not anticipating one on AI. I am not convinced by my noble friend’s arguments about AI. Clearly, AI will have a wide range of purposes and will enable us to do our jobs better in so many ways. However, I believe that, with a modernised House of Lords, we will continue to have a purpose for many years.

[Viscount Hailsham (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the failure of the House of Commons to debate many clauses of the Bills brought before it demonstrates the relevance of this place?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

My Lords, how those in the Commons scrutinise legislation is a matter for them, not for us. They have their procedures; we have ours. The two Houses are not and have never been a carbon copy of each other, which is probably where one of their strengths lies.

[Lord Weir of Ballyholme (DUP)]

My Lords, I hope I am not hallucinating at this particular point. What examination have the Government done during their reforms to the composition of the House of Lords of whether there will be a disproportionate or differential impact on the countries and regions of the United Kingdom in its membership? If the Government come to the conclusion that there will be a disproportionate impact, what plans do they have to restore geographical balance to the House?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The Government are clear that we should have regional and national representation as part of whatever form your Lordships’ House takes going forward. We want to reform the appointments process—that is a manifesto commitment—to ensure the quality of new appointments, and seek to improve the national and regional balance of the second Chamber. As we work through potential reforms, this will remain a commitment from the Government.

[Lord Pack (LD)]

Does the Minister agree that an excellent way of reinforcing the relevance and reputation of this House in contemporary and modern Britain would be to finally deliver on the promise made in the Parliament Act 1911 and make this a democratic Chamber?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I am not clear that that would necessarily solve all the problems, and there are a number of arguments against that as well. At the moment, our focus as a Government is on considering the recommendations of the Retirement and Participation Committee. The overall objective is a smaller Chamber that better represents the UK’s regions and nations.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, in order for us to fulfil our scrutiny function fully, when will the Government increase the number of appointments through the House of Lords Appointments Commission? These applicants are very carefully scrutinised to ensure that they are able to fill any gaps there are in the knowledge in the Chamber in looking at legislation.

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The House of Lords Appointments Commission plays a vital role in vetting and nominating Cross-Benchers to the Lords. In our manifesto we committed to reform the process of appointments to the House of Lords. We have already strengthened transparency in the appointments system and will continue to work with the House of Lords Appointments Commission as part of our process of reform.

[Baroness Finn (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that much of our legitimacy in the eyes of the public flows from our effectiveness as a scrutinising Chamber? Indeed, many regard this House as the finest scrutinising Chamber in the world. Does she agree that proposed changes should always be motivated by a desire to improve effective scrutiny?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

Absolutely; I wholeheartedly agree with the noble Baroness. I have a list of the activity of the House of Lords: from 17 July 2024 to 29 April this year, apparently your Lordships spent 2,624 hours scrutinising legislation, which speaks to the role of your Lordships’ House in scrutinising legislation.

[Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am privileged to sit on the Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee, which is not only relevant to the people of Northern Ireland and its businesses and consumers but is the only body that carries out that function. It is important that we allow that relevance to become known, not just in Northern Ireland but across the UK. How can the Minister increase the knowledge of what happens here, not just in this Chamber but in committees across the House?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

On one level, this has to be a matter for the House itself. One of the ways we can all make sure that people are clear on what we do as an institution is by sharing that knowledge. I know that a huge number of noble Lords take part in the Learn with the Lords programme. Promoting what people do across the House is hugely important. I understand that 330 Members of your Lordships’ House sit on committees. I was surprised by that figure, and if I am surprised by how much work goes on behind the scenes on committees then I think we all have a role in promoting the work of our incredible committees.

[Baroness Hayman (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister said—I think I heard her correctly—that the Government’s policy was to have a smaller House and to improve the appointments process. In that context, and if the Government really want to achieve that, is it therefore their policy to constrain the unconstrained prerogative of the Prime Minister to appoint as many Peers as possible to this House without the full scrutiny of the Appointments Commission?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

We are committed to reform, and we have already taken steps to modernise the House of Lords via the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act. It is a long-standing precedent across the political spectrum that Governments recommend new Peers to the sovereign. Retirements and other departures mean that new Peers will be needed to ensure that the Lords has appropriate expertise. In the first instance, we intend to respond later this year to the report by the committee of the House that made recommendations.

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

My Lords, I may not regard myself as contemporary, but, coming from Scotland, I am a proud member of the United Kingdom, with British citizenship, and I am privileged to be in this House. Very recently, I have seen at first hand the manifestation of the expertise to which the Minister has been referring. The 97 year-old noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, delivered a crucial amendment to the Armed Forces Bill that was accepted by the Government, and my venerable noble friend Lord Young of Cookham, who is in his mid-80s, has brought unrelenting pressure on the Government in respect of housing issues and child trust funds. Does that not suggest to the Minister that the Government should be very careful about interfering with the unique equilibrium which enables this Chamber to do the excellent job it does?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The Government’s manifesto committed to a mandatory retirement age, and clearly that was a large part of the consideration of the committee that was made up of Members of your Lordships’ House and which reported to it earlier this year. Although we have incredible examples of what Members of your Lordships’ House who are over the age of 80 do, that does not necessarily mean that we should not take forward reform. The Government will respond to the committee’s proposals in due course, as I made clear, and I look forward to future debates with Members from across your Lordships’ House.