ABSTRACT
The House of Lords or the Upper House, emerged out of the Anglo-Saxon Witangemot and the Norman Curia Regis as gatherings which advised the King. The Lords has three main functions: constitutional, deliberative and legislative. It also performs the role of revising and amending legislations having loopholes or ambiguities. The Lords has its own array of select committees and can create more as its members think fit. The most important is the European Union (EU) Committee, which monitors draft EU laws through seven sub-committees, containing co-opted members. The Upper House has the power of veto over any proposal to extend the life of a parliament beyond the present five-year limit. The Lords takes some pressure off the Lower House by introducing many non-controversial bills, especially those concerning local government. The chapter also presents a brief note on the reform of the House of Lords.
