The British parliament has approved changes to the law that will end the centuries-old system of hereditary positions in the upper house of parliament, the House of Lords, Reuters writes.
The House of Lords approved the new bill on the 10th of March, thus concluding a reform that began more than 25 years ago. The implementation of the reform was one of the main promises of the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led Labour government to modernize the upper house of parliament.
The leader of the House of Lords, Angel Smith, pointed out that the Lords have taken an important role in the country’s bicameral parliament, but no one should be in the House of Lords just because they have inherited a title. She added that the approval of the bill is a significant step in the changes to the upper house, and further changes will soon follow.
Before the latest changes, there were still 92 hereditary members. This number was a temporary compromise, adopted when the then Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1999 removed more than 600 members from the House of Lords who had inherited their seats.
At the time, he called the hereditary system a relic of the past.
The House of Lords, which currently sits in the Palace of Westminster, has around 800 members, most of whom are appointed for life. This is done by the Prime Minister, in conjunction with the leadership of the Church of England, on the advice of political parties or an independent commission.
Critics have long called for an overhaul of the peerage system, arguing that the hereditary nature of the title has encouraged cronyism (the favoritism of long-time friends, particularly in appointing them to senior positions regardless of their qualifications) and has led to the largest parliamentary supernumerary in the world, larger than the 650-member House of Commons.
The House of Lords can amend bills but cannot block their passage, and changes to laws can be challenged by the elected House of Commons.
Read also: Populists are gaining popularity; the question remains: can they lead?