House of Lords Appointments Commission
Encyclopedia
The House of Lords Appointments Commission is a non-partisan, non-statutory, independent body in the United Kingdom
. It has three roles:
The Commission was established in May 2000 to assist the transitional arrangements for reform of the House of Lords. The role of the Prime Minister
in making non-partisan recommendations to the Queen
for creation of life peerages was transferred to the Commission, in order to ensure greater transparency in the process. It was also given oversight of all other appointments to the Lords, including partisan nominations.
The Commission has made recommendations for appointment on 12 occasions since its establishment in 2000, with a total of 57 people being recommended for peerages. All of these individuals went on to be nominated as and created life peers. Upon taking their seats, every one of them joined the Crossbenches
.
The fact that the type of people considered by the Commission for peers were to be neither aristocratic
nor members of the "political class" led some in the British media to describe those it was to appoint as "people's peers". This term has never been a formal classification.
The purpose of the reform was to make the process more open and those making appointments more accountable. Upon the establishment of the Commission the Prime Minister Tony Blair
said it would ensure a House of Lords that was "more representative of our diverse society"; suitable candidates would be sought "in a wider field than up to now".
described them as "the metropolitan elite".
for working peerages led to the "Cash for Peerages
" scandal.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It has three roles:
- to recommend people for appointment as non-party-political life peers;
- to vetVettingVetting is a process of examination and evaluation, generally referring to performing a background check on someone before offering him or her employment, conferring an award, etc...
all nominations for membership of the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, including those nominated by the UK political partiesPolitical PartiesPolitical Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
, to ensure the highest standards of propriety; - to scrutinise certain candidates added to the Honours Lists, such as those nominated for political services as well as anyone added at a late stage.
The Commission was established in May 2000 to assist the transitional arrangements for reform of the House of Lords. The role of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in making non-partisan recommendations to the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
for creation of life peerages was transferred to the Commission, in order to ensure greater transparency in the process. It was also given oversight of all other appointments to the Lords, including partisan nominations.
Members
The Commission has non-partisan members as well as representatives from the House of Lords of the three largest political parties. The members of the Commission are—- The Lord Jay of Ewelme GCMGMichael Jay, Baron Jay of EwelmeMichael Hastings Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme, GCMG is a former British diplomat and is currently Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.-Education:...
, Chairman - The Baroness Campbell of Surbiton DBE, Non-party political member
- Dr John Low CBEJohn Menzies LowJohn Menzies Low, CBE, CEng, is the Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation and an independent member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Low is also the Chairman of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations...
, Non-party political member - Professor Dame Joan Higgins DBEJoan HigginsDame Joan Margaret Higgins, DBE is a British academic and educator.Higgins graduated in Social Administration from the University of York in 1971 and has held academic posts at the University of Portsmouth, University of Southampton and University of Manchester Dame Joan Margaret Higgins, DBE is a...
, Non-party political member - The Rt Hon The Lord Howard of Lympne CH QCMichael HowardMichael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
, member nominated by the ConservativesConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... - The Lord Hart of ChiltonGarry Hart, Baron Hart of ChiltonGarry Hart, Baron Hart of Chilton , is a British Labour politician. From 1998 to 2007, he was Expert and then Special Adviser to the Lord Chancellor, first Lord Irvine of Lairg and then Lord Falconer of Thoroton....
, member nominated by LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... - The Baroness Scott of Needham MarketRosalind Scott, Baroness Scott of Needham MarketRosalind Carol "Ros" Scott, Baroness Scott of Needham Market is a British politician who is a member of the House of Lords. Baroness Scott was president of Liberal Democrats between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2010 and was succeeded by Tim Farron-Early life and education:The daughter of...
, member nominated by the Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
.
"People's peers"
The Commission makes recommendations for the appointment of non-partisan life peers. It has established for itself seven criteria upon which to base its decisions, seeking to recommend people with—- a record of significant achievement within their chosen way of life;
- the ability to make an effective and significant contribution to the work of the House of Lords;
- the time available to ensure they can make a contribution;
- some understanding of the constitutional framework, including the place of the House of Lords;
- integrity and independence;
- a commitment to the highest standards of public life; and
- independence from any political party.
The Commission has made recommendations for appointment on 12 occasions since its establishment in 2000, with a total of 57 people being recommended for peerages. All of these individuals went on to be nominated as and created life peers. Upon taking their seats, every one of them joined the Crossbenches
Cross-bencher
A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and Australian Senate. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opposition benches, where crossbenchers sit in the chamber; compare...
.
The fact that the type of people considered by the Commission for peers were to be neither aristocratic
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
nor members of the "political class" led some in the British media to describe those it was to appoint as "people's peers". This term has never been a formal classification.
The purpose of the reform was to make the process more open and those making appointments more accountable. Upon the establishment of the Commission the Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
said it would ensure a House of Lords that was "more representative of our diverse society"; suitable candidates would be sought "in a wider field than up to now".
Criticism
Following the first set of appointments in April 2001, it was pointed out that those chosen included several knights as well as leading academics and scientists, having much the same establishment background as would have been made peers anyway. Labour MP Diane AbbottDiane Abbott
Diane Julie Abbott is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, when she became the first black woman to be elected to the House of Commons...
described them as "the metropolitan elite".
Appointments
The 57 people recommended for appointment as life peers by the Commission since its establishment are listed below, by date of recommendation.26 April 2001
- Victor Adebowale CBEVictor Adebowale, Baron AdebowaleVictor Olufemi Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, CBE is the Chief Executive of the social care enterprise Turning Point and was one of the first to become a People's Peer. In 2000 he received the CBE in the New Year’s Honour List for services to the New Deal, the unemployed, and homeless young people...
- Richard Best OBERichard Best, Baron BestRichard Stuart Best, Baron Best, OBE is a British social housing leader and member of the House of Lords.The son of late Walter Best DL and Frances Chignell, Best was educated at Shrewsbury School and the University of Nottingham. He married Ima Akpan in 1970, divorcing in 1976, then Belinda Stemp...
- Amir Bhatia OBEAmir Bhatia, Baron BhatiaAmirali Alibhai "Amir" Bhatia, Baron Bhatia, OBE is a British businessman and politician.An Ismaili Muslim born in East Africa, Bhatia was educated in schools in Tanzania and India. He is married to Nurnamu Amersi and has three daughters. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1972.Bhatia was Chairman...
- Sir John BrowneJohn Browne, Baron Browne of MadingleyEdmund John Philip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, FRS FREng is President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was group Chief Executive of BP until his resignation on 1 May 2007...
- Professor Michael Chan MBEMichael Chan, Baron ChanMichael Chew Koon Chan, Baron Chan, MBE was a Singaporean-British physician and politician, of Chinese descent....
- Sir Paul Condon QPMPaul Condon, Baron CondonPaul Leslie Condon, Baron Condon, QPM, DL, FRSA is a retired British police officer. He was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1993 to 2000.-Education:...
- Professor Ilora FinlayIlora Finlay, Baroness Finlay of LlandaffIlora Gillian Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, is a Welsh doctor, professor of palliative medicine, and an Independent Crossbench member of the House of Lords.She is a past president of the Royal Society of Medicine. She is a...
- Professor Susan Greenfield CBESusan GreenfieldSusan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, CBE is a British scientist, writer, broadcaster, and member of the House of Lords. Greenfield, whose specialty is the physiology of the brain, has worked to research and bring attention to Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.Greenfield is...
- Sir David Hannay GCMG CHDavid Hannay, Baron Hannay of ChiswickDavid Hugh Alexander Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick, GCMG, CH is a British diplomat.He is married to Gillian Hannay and has four sons and eight grandchildren....
- Valerie HowarthValerie Howarth, Baroness Howarth of BrecklandValerie Georgina Howarth, Baroness Howarth of Breckland, is a British politician and a member of the House of Lords.In 2001, she was created a life peer with the title Baroness Howarth of Breckland, of Parson Cross in the County of South Yorkshire. She is one of the board members of the Children...
- Lady Howe of Aberavon CBEElspeth Howe, Baroness Howe of IdlicoteElspeth Rosamund Morton Howe, Baroness Howe of Idlicote CBE is a British Crossbencher life peer who has served in many capacities in public life. As the wife of Geoffrey Howe, she can also be known as Lady Howe of Aberavon.She is the daughter of the writer Philip Morton Shand by his fourth wife...
- Sir Robert May OM ACRobert May, Baron May of OxfordRobert McCredie May, Baron May of Oxford, OM, AC, PRS is an Australian scientist who has been Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, President of the Royal Society, and a Professor at Sydney and Princeton. He now holds joint professorships at Oxford, and Imperial College London...
- Sir Claus Moser KCB CBEClaus Moser, Baron MoserClaus Adolf Moser, Baron Moser, KCB, CBE is a British statistician who has made major contributions in both academia and the Civil Service...
- Sir Herman OuseleyHerman Ouseley, Baron OuseleyHerman George Ouseley, Baron Ouseley is a British parliamentarian, who has run public authorities, including local councils and is an adviser and reviewer of public services organisations. Lord Ouseley holds an expertise in equality and diverity matters and is the Chairperson of several charitable...
- Sir Stewart Sutherland KTStewart Sutherland, Baron Sutherland of HoundwoodStewart Ross Sutherland, Baron Sutherland of Houndwood, is a British academic and public servant and one of the UK's most distinguished philosophers of religion.He was educated at Robert Gordon's College...
1 May 2004
- Professor Sir Alec BroersAlec Broers, Baron BroersAlec Nigel Broers, Baron Broers, is an Anglo-Australian electrical engineer.Broers was born in Calcutta, India and educated at Geelong Grammar School and Melbourne University in Australia, and then University of Cambridge in England.He then worked in the research and development laboratories of...
- Nicola ChapmanNicola Chapman, Baroness ChapmanNicola Jane Chapman, Baroness Chapman was a British peer and disability rights activist.She was appointed to the House of Lords in 2004 as Baroness Chapman, of Leeds in the County of West Yorkshire and was the first person with a congenital disability – Osteogenesis imperfecta – to be...
- Sir Ewen CameronEwen Cameron, Baron Cameron of DillingtonEwen James Hanning Cameron, Baron Cameron of Dillington, is a landowner and cross-bench member of the House of Lords....
- Dr Frances D'Souza CMG PCFrances D'Souza, Baroness D'SouzaFrances Gertrude Claire D'Souza, Baroness D'Souza, CMG, PC is a British scientist and life peer in the House of Lords. She is currently Lord Speaker, having taken office on 1 September 2011.-Biography:...
- Professor Elaine MurphyElaine Murphy, Baroness MurphyElaine Murphy, Baroness Murphy is a British politician and a member of the House of Lords.After qualifying as a doctor and later teaching as an academic in the National Health Service for 25 years, she spent a period as a Health Service general manager between 1984 and 1990 which included the post...
- Professor Lola Young OBE
- Dr Diljit Rana MBEDiljit Rana, Baron RanaDiljit Singh Rana, Baron Rana, MBE is a British politician and member of the House of Lords. He is married to Lady Shruti Rana.In June 2004, he was created a life peer as Baron Rana, of Malone in the County of Antrim.-Life:...
22 March 2005
- Dame Rennie Fritchie DBERennie Fritchie, Baroness FritchieIrene Tordoff "Rennie" Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie, DBE is a British civil servant.Educated at Ribston Hall Grammar School for Girls in Gloucester, she has had a long career specialising in training and development...
- General Sir David Ramsbotham GCB CBEDavid Ramsbotham, Baron RamsbothamGeneral David John Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham GCB CBE is a retired British Army officer, who later served as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons...
22 July 2005
- Dame Ruth Deech DBERuth Deech, Baroness DeechRuth Lynn Deech, Baroness Deech, DBE is a British academic, lawyer and bioethicist, most noted for chairing the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority , from 1994 to 2002...
- Michael Hastings CBEMichael Hastings, Baron Hastings of ScarisbrickMichael John Hastings, Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE is KPMG’s Global Head of Citizenship and Diversity. He was previously the BBC’s first Head of Corporate Social Responsibility having been the BBC’s Head of Public Affairs...
- Professor Sir Martin Rees OMMartin Rees, Baron Rees of LudlowMartin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004...
- Adair TurnerAdair Turner, Baron Turner of EcchinswellJonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell is a British businessman, academic and chairman of both the Financial Services Authority and the Committee on Climate Change. He was formerly chairman of the Pensions Commission...
- Jo ValentineJo Valentine, Baroness ValentineJosephine Clare Valentine, Baroness Valentine, known as Jo Valentine is a member of the British House of Lords.Valentine was educated at St Paul's Girls' School and St Hugh's College, Oxford, where she read Maths and Philosophy....
3 May 2006
- Professor Colin Low CBEColin Low, Baron Low of DalstonColin Mackenzie Low, Baron Low of Dalston, CBE is a British politician, law scholar and member of the House of Lords....
- Sir David Rowe-BeddoeDavid Rowe-Beddoe, Baron Rowe-BeddoeDavid Sydney Rowe-Beddoe, Baron Rowe-Beddoe is a British politician, a life peer and a crossbench member of the House of Lords.-Early life:David Rowe-Beddoe is the son of Sydney Rowe-Beddoe and Dolan Evans....
- Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss GBEElizabeth Butler-Sloss, Baroness Butler-SlossAnne Elizabeth Oldfield Butler-Sloss, Baroness Butler-Sloss, GBE, PC is a retired English judge. She was the first female Lord Justice of Appeal and, until 2004, was the highest-ranking female judge in the United Kingdom. Until June 2007, she chaired the inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess...
- Sir Geoffrey Dear QPMGeoffrey Dear, Baron DearGeoffrey James Dear, Baron Dear, QPM, DL is a retired British police officer. He was described by the broadcaster Sir Robin Day as "the best known and most respected police officer of his generation"....
- Professor Kamlesh Patel OBEKamlesh Patel, Baron Patel of BradfordKamlesh Kumar Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, OBE is a British politician and member of the House of Lords.In 2006, he was made a life peer with the title Baron Patel of Bradford, of Bradford in the County of West Yorkshire....
- Karan Bilimoria CBEKaran Bilimoria, Baron BilimoriaKaran Faridoon Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria CBE is an entrepreneur and a life peer. He is best known as one of the two founders and chairman of Cobra Beer.-Early life:Bilimoria was born in Hyderabad, India of Parsi Zoroastrian descent....
- Molly MeacherMolly Meacher, Baroness MeacherMolly Christine Meacher, Baroness Meacher, , known from 2000 to 2006 as Lady Layard, is a British social worker.Meacher was educated at the Berkhamsted School for Girls, the University of York, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1970, and the University of London, where she...
15 February 2007
- Professor Paul Bew
- Dame Jane Campbell DBE
- Jean CoussinsJean Coussins, Baroness CoussinsJean Elizabeth Coussins, Baroness Coussins , is an adviser on corporate responsibility, a member of the Better Regulation Commission, and a parliamentarian...
- Khalid Hameed CBEKhalid Hameed, Baron HameedKhalid Hameed, Baron Hameed, CBE DL, is currently the Chairman of Alpha Hospital Group, as well as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the London International Hospital. Prior to this, he was the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Cromwell Hospital in London. He hails from...
- Professor Sir John Krebs
- Andrew Mawson OBEAndrew Mawson, Baron MawsonAndrew Mawson, Baron Mawson, OBE is a social entrepreneur.Andrew Mawson was brought up in Bradford, Yorkshire. He trained for Christian ministry at the Northern Baptist College in Manchester under Principal Michael H Taylor...
18 October 2007
- Professor Haleh Afshar OBEHaleh AfsharHaleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar OBE is a British professor and a life peer in the House of Lords. She is a prominent Muslim feminist, and characterises herself as a Socialist and a Shi'a Muslim...
- Professor Sir Nicholas SternNicholas SternNicholas Herbert Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, Kt, FBA is a British economist and academic. He is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics , and 2010 Professor of Collège de...
18 April 2008
- The Hon. Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller DCBEliza Manningham-BullerElizabeth Lydia "Eliza" Manningham-Buller, Baroness Manningham-Buller, DCB was Director General of MI5, the British internal Security Service, from October 2002 until her retirement on 20 April 2007, aged 58....
- Sir John Mogg KCMG
- Sir Robert SmithRobert Smith (BBC)Robert Haldane Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin is a Scottish businessman, most notably known as a former Governor of the British Broadcasting Corporation before the advent of the BBC Trust. He is the present Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland.-Early life & past career:Smith was...
13 July 2009
- Rabbi Sir Jonathan SacksJonathan SacksJonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks, Kt is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His Hebrew name is Yaakov Zvi...
- Dame Nuala O'Loan DBENuala O'LoanNuala Patricia O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan, DBE is a noted public figure in Northern Ireland. She was the first Police Ombudsman in between 1999 and 2007. In July 2009, it was announced that she was to be appointed to the House of Lords. Consequently, she was raised to the peerage as Baroness O'Loan,...
5 February 2010
- Sir Michael Bichard KCBMichael BichardMichael George Bichard, Baron Bichard, KCB, is a former public servant in the United Kingdom, first in local and then as a civil servant in central government. He currently serves as the Director of the Institute for Government and as Chair of the Design Council...
- Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson DBETanni Grey-ThompsonCarys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, DBE is a Welsh athlete and TV presenter.Grey-Thompson was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. She is considered to be one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK...
- Tony Hall CBE
- Professor Ajay Kakkar
5 October 2010
- Professor Peter HennessyPeter HennessyPeter John Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, FBA is an English historian of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary, University of London.-Early life:...
- Professor Sheila Hollins
5 September 2011
- Dr Indarjit Singh CBE
- Sir Donald Curry CBEDonald Curry, Baron Curry of KirkharleDonald Thomas Younger Curry, Baron Curry of Kirkharle, Kt, CBE, is a British farmer and businessman who is the current chair of NFU Mutual and non-executive chair of the Better Regulation Executive, and a member of the House of Lords On the recommendation of the House of Lords Appointments...
"Cash for Peerages"
In March 2006 the Commission's objections to some of those proposed by Prime Minister Tony BlairTony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
for working peerages led to the "Cash for Peerages
Cash for Peerages
Cash for Honours is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and the award of life peerages...
" scandal.