ABSTRACT
Reform of the House of Lords, at the time of writing, has receded as an immediate prospect, given a Conservative Government that does not see it as a ‘priority’; but it remains perennially discussed. This chapter considers the constitutional role of the House of Lords. It is important to understand the significance of the last major reform of the House—the removal of nearly all of the 750 hereditary peers in 1999. The first part of the reform of the House of Lords came with the removal of most hereditary peers from the House of Lords. The Lords accept a number of self-imposed informal constraints that have developed into conventions designed to avoid accusations that they are thwarting the will of the people. The work of the House in considering public Bills constitutes its single most time-consuming task, reflecting the fact that such scrutiny is generally regarded as the Lords’ most important role.
