2.1 - Commons and Lords: membership and roles

Parliament and elected MPs

The UK Parliament makes national legislation, but it is a different institution from the government that proposes and administers policy.

The House of Commons is the chamber directly elected by voters. There are 650 constituencies, each electing one Member of Parliament (MP) using first past the post: the candidate receiving the most votes wins, even without an absolute majority of votes cast. A vacancy can be filled through a by-election. The Commons has 650 seats, although vacancies and MPs who do not take their seats mean that 650 people do not necessarily vote in a division. Parliament's membership information confirms the 650 MPs elected in 2024; membership rules were checked on 2 October 2026.

An MP represents a constituency, deals with constituents' problems and participates in national decisions. MPs also belong to parties or sit as independents. A party's whips organise its parliamentary business and seek voting loyalty. Consequently, constituency representation, personal judgement and party commitments can pull an MP in different directions. An MP concerned about a local hospital may press a minister for help while supporting the government's overall health policy.

Elections give MPs a democratic mandate and the possibility of removal at a subsequent election. That does not make every Commons decision the direct preference of a majority of citizens. First past the post can produce a seat majority from a smaller share of national votes; party discipline can also restrict MPs' independence. A sound judgement distinguishes electoral accountability from perfect representation.

Life peers and political affiliations

Most members of the House of Lords enter through appointment rather than election by the public.

The House of Lords is Parliament's second chamber. A life peerage gives its holder a title for life; that title and its associated parliamentary membership do not pass to the holder's children. The Life Peerages Act 1958 made this a major route into the Lords and permitted women to receive these peerages. Life peers are part of the Lords Temporal, the secular membership.

The monarch creates life peers on the prime minister's advice. Political nominations include governing-party nominees, people recommended by other party leaders and honours nominations. The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) recommends some non-party members and checks nominations for propriety. It does not independently select every peer or determine the chamber's overall size. This leaves a tension: appointment can recruit expertise, but prime ministerial influence and political patronage can weaken public confidence. The Lords Library's account of HOLAC, checked 2 October 2026, distinguishes its recommendation and vetting roles.

Do not confuse the legal route into the House with a member's political affiliation. A life peer can sit on a party's benches, as a Crossbencher, or without affiliation. Crossbenchers do not take a party whip and form a recognised non-party group; non-affiliated members are outside that group as well as the parties. Neither label is a separate hereditary or life peerage category. Independent status can make it easier to judge an amendment on its merits, but it does not guarantee neutrality or expert knowledge about every subject.

The earlier Law Lords, formally Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, were senior judges appointed for judicial work. That parliamentary judicial function ended when the Supreme Court opened on 1 October 2009. Its serving justices cannot sit or vote in the Lords; former Law Lords could return after retirement. Becoming a Supreme Court justice today does not itself confer a Lords seat. Parliament's Law Lords history prevents an outdated claim that the second chamber remains the UK's highest appeal court.

Bishops and hereditary reform

Understanding the Lords requires separating present membership rules from arrangements that have recently ended.

The Lords Spiritual are Church of England archbishops and bishops, with up to 26 places. Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester have places attached to their sees. The other 21 normally depend on episcopal seniority, modified by legislation giving eligible women bishops priority when a vacancy occurs. The 2025 extension continues that priority until May 2030. Membership through a bishopric ends when its holder leaves that office; a subsequent life peerage is a different route. These reserved religious places can bring experience of communities, but they do not represent all religions or citizens equally. The enacted 2025 extension's explanatory notes explain these selection rules.

A hereditary peer inherits a peerage title. Historically that title could entitle its holder to parliamentary membership. The House of Lords Act 1999 removed that entitlement for most hereditary peers, retaining an exception for 92: 90 selected through internal elections and two royal office holders, the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain. Vacancies among the elected exception were filled through internal by-elections, not a public national election.