Ministers offer Tories more peers to end hereditary bill standoff

Ministers are offering to create more members of the House of Lords than usual later this year, in a compromise that could allow some hereditary peers to keep their seats.

The Conservatives have been given the chance to create a higher number of life peerages than in the previous two years, as ministers seek to pass a law to abolish the remaining hereditary peers.

Lords sources said talks had been held, with one suggesting the number of life peerages offered would depend on how many Tory members of the upper house agree to retire.

The offer comes as ministers try to pass the bill before the end of the parliamentary session in the spring, after its passage was delayed amid opposition.

Baroness Smith, the leader of the House of Lords, is expected to put forward the compromise when the bill returns to the Lords for further scrutiny on Tuesday next week, as first reported by the Telegraph.

In December 2025, 34 new peers were announced, including 25 Labour, five Liberal Democrats, and three Conservative.

The number of extra peerages that would be set aside for the Conservatives is not yet known.

Any hereditary peers that lose their titles once the bill has passed would have to apply for a life peerage, in the same way as everyone else.

The Conservatives and other parties can put forward candidates to be nominated as peers through "political lists".

Once approved by the prime minister, appointments to the Lords are formalised by the King.

The majority of hereditary peers, who inherit their titles through their families, were abolished in 1999 under the last Labour government.

But following a compromise deal with the Conservatives at the time, 92 were left in place.

In its 2024 election manifesto, Labour pledged to introduce legislation that would remove the right of the remaining hereditary peers to "sit and vote in the House of Lords".

Ministers want to bring the number of Labour peers into line with the Conservatives, who currently have the most members in the Lords. There are currently 280 Conservative peers, versus 227 Labour peers.

"Despite our two lists and the ministerial appointments, we are still a fair number behind the Tories," a source said. "It's about rebalancing things."

A bill to abolish the remaining 92 seats reserved for hereditary peers was introduced in September 2024.

MPs have backed the plans, but its progress through the Lords has been slow, with Conservative peers tabling a large number of amendments and talking at length in the chamber.

In an interview with the Telegraph last year, Lord True, the Conservative shadow leader in the House of Lords, warned the government that if its "purge" of the hereditary peers went ahead, it would face "very aggressive procedural action".

A spokesperson for the Conservatives in the Lords said: "We are aware that the next stage of the Hereditary Peers Bill has been scheduled for Tuesday March 10.

"As happens with all legislation, discussions are held between the opposition and the government on how we will make progress."

A government spokesman said: "This government is committed to removing the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, in line with its manifesto commitment.

"We will announce further steps on this in due course."