BRIDGWATER’S Member of Parliament, Sir Ashley Fox, has expressed his opposition to legislation that will remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords.

Ashley Fox was one of several Conservative MPs to attend the Second Reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill on October 15, 2024. The Bill, which has the backing of the Labour government, seeks to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

Introducing the Bill, Cabinet Office Minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds reflected: “The continued presence of hereditary peers in our legislature is indefensible in a modern democracy.”

Speaking in the House of Commons, Ashley Fox MP, said: “I support reform of the House of Lords, but I want that reform to lead to a better upper Chamber. This Bill does the opposite.”

Fox raised his concern that, in 1999, the Labour Party sought to remove all hereditary peers from the House of Lords.

He added: “Twenty-five years later, the House of Lords is unreformed. Despite winning majorities in 2001 and 2005, the last Labour Government did nothing to bring forward stage two of House of Lords reform.” 

In response to Fox, Dr. Jeevun Sandher (Labour, Loughborough) said: “The step before us today is a simple one, and one that I think that no Member of this House can disagree with. It is that no son should have a place in the Lords, by right, because their father gives it to them. That is what is before us, and surely the hon. Gentleman can agree with that.”

92 hereditary peers currently remain in the House of Lords – a consequence of the Weatherill amendment. 42 of the peers are Conservative, 4 are Labour.

Ashley Fox MP continued: “I would vote in favour of the removal of the hereditary peers as part of a package, but not so that the Government can remove them and then do nothing, which is what they did 25 years ago.”

“This is a bad Bill. It weakens the upper House, it reduces scrutiny of the Executive, and it gives more patronage to the Prime Minister. That is why I cannot support it.”

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill passed its Second Reading and will now progress to the Committee Stage in the House of Commons.