House of Lords: Relevance

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[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.

--- Later in debate ---

[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.