House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

Lord Ashton of Hyde Excerpts

3rd reading
Monday 21st July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness the Leader of the House for coming up with and discussing this elegant solution, and for moving Amendment 1 and speaking to the consequential amendments, all of which I fully endorse. They will be much more comprehensive than my original amendment as soon as the detail has been addressed in the Standing Orders, and there will be a resolution to the problem that faced all parties and groups in the House. In her speech, she acknowledged and took into account the views of the House. By using Standing Orders to supply those details, the House will be given a chance to take a view on their merits, and they can be changed relatively easily if necessary—for example, if the power of attorney regime changes in the future.

I also thank the noble and learned Lords, Lord Garnier and Lord Keen, the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis, and the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, for their assistance and advice. In thanking the Leader, I note, as I am sure has not escaped her notice, that the only Back-Bench amendment to the historic House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill subsequently adopted by the Government was initiated by a hereditary Peer—not an important fact, I admit, but perhaps a footnote to a footnote in history.

[Lord Pannick (CB)]

My Lords, I added my name to Amendment 1 because it provides the best solution to a sensitive problem. There is, at present, uncertainty as to whether noble Lords who lack capacity can resign from the House. A legislative provision is required to remove this uncertainty, but the risk with legislation on this complex topic is that it may fail to capture all the relevant criteria and would then be very difficult to amend. The neat solution adopted by Amendment 1 is to provide statutory authority for Standing Orders of this House to regulate the matter. The complexity of the issue remains, but it can be addressed in detail in the drafting of the Standing Orders and with the assistance of the expertise in this House—you can never have too many lawyers. I am very grateful to the noble Baroness the Leader of the House for responding speedily and effectively, with the considerable assistance of the Bill team, on this important issue raised at earlier stages, as he has said, by the noble Lord, Lord Ashton of Hyde.