Matt Purvis

Lord Speaker announces Lord Mandelson has retired from the House of Lords effective 4 February 2026.

A life peerage cannot be relinquished. However, the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 enables a life peer to resign from being a member of the House.

The House of Lords has the power (since 2015) to expel a member. It does not have the power to remove a member's title. That can only be done by primary legislation.

"It would be better to update those procedures so that they apply to all Members of the House of Lords, instead of having to introduce complex hybrid Bills for each individual peer who has brought the other place into disrepute" NB: This wouldn't remove someone's peerage (3/3)

PM "is calling on all political parties—including the Conservatives, as the largest party in the House of Lords—to work with the Government to modernise the disciplinary procedures to allow for the removal of peers who have brought the House of Lords into disrepute" (2/3)

Govt said yesterday "The Prime Minister believes, as do the Government, that Peter Mandelson should not retain his membership of the House of Lords or use his title. As the House already knows, the Government do not have the power to remove peerages without legislation..." (1/3)

Can peerages be removed? lordslibrary.parliament.uk/peerages-can-t…

It has been suggested that the Parliament Acts could be used to pass the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill if it does not complete all its House of Lords stages before the end of the 2024–26 parliamentary session. This briefing explores the issue lordslibrary.parliament.uk/private-member…

📖 It’s Libraries Week 2025! 📖 Did you know the House of Lords Library provides impartial research to support members in their work scrutinising draft laws and the work of the government?

Our profile of the first life peers - written in 2018 to mark 60 years - can be found here lordslibrary.parliament.uk/research-brief…

Baroness Elliot would become the first woman to propose the loyal address to the Queen and the first woman to pilot a private member’s bill through the House of Lords, sponsoring Margaret Thatcher's private member’s bill, the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Bill.

In 1958, Katharine Elliot was included on Harold Macmillan’s list of nominees for a life peerage. The title Baroness Elliot of Harwood was conferred on her by letters patent dated 26 September 1958. She was introduced in the House of Lords on 22 October 1958.

On this day in 1958, Baroness Elliot became the first female peer to speak in the House of Lords.

Lord (Alan) Howarth, Tory disillusioned by Thatcherite ‘harshness’ who switched to Labour – obituary telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/202…

Reading PD James’ memoir Time to be Earnest - this is her thoughts in 1998 on the future of literature.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch has left the government