Lords Committee Urges 80-Year Retirement Age and 20% Attendance Rule for 774-Member House
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 15
Lords Committee Urges 80-Year Retirement Age and 20% Attendance Rule for 774-Member House
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 15
Summary
An upper-house reform committee recommended forcing House of Lords members to retire at 80 and removing peers who attend fewer than 20% of sitting days.
The plan would phase in the age cap to avoid a mass exit: the limit would start at 85 in July 2029 and fall by one year annually until reaching 80 in 2034.
Attendance rules would tighten sharply from the current minimum of one appearance per session to 20% of sitting days, averaged over two sessions, with emergencies and compassionate absences taken into account.
Labour pledged both changes in its 2024 manifesto and said it will consider the recommendations before issuing a formal response later this year.
The proposals target long-running concerns over the Lords' size—currently 774 members—with a briefing estimating 301 life peers will be over 80 by July 2029.