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The Right Honourable the Lords' Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled
Crowned portcullis in Pantone 7427 C

Flag of the House of Lords
Flag of the House of Lords
Type
Type
Leadership
Lord Speaker
The Lord McFall of Alcluith
Since 1 May 2021
Senior Deputy Speaker
The Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Since 11 May 2021
Leader of the House
The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, Conservative
Since 14 July 2016
Government Chief Whip
The Lord Ashton of Hyde, Conservative
Since 26 July 2019
Opposition Chief Whip
The Lord Kennedy of Southwark, Labour
Since 1 June 2021
Structure
Seats
  • 777
House of Lords composition.svg
Political groups
     Lord Speaker (1)
Lords Spiritual
     Archbishops and Bishops (26)
Lords Temporal
HM Government
     Conservative Party   (243)
HM Most Loyal Opposition
     Labour Party   (178)
Other groups
     Liberal Democrats   (96)
     Democratic Unionist Party   (4)
     Green Party   (1)
     Ulster Unionist Party   (2)
     Plaid Cymru   (1)
     Non-affiliated (41)
Crossbench
     Crossbenchers   (183)
Salary No annual salary, but tax-free daily allowance and expenses paid.
Meeting place
Wood-panelled room with high ceiling containing comfortable red padded benches and large gold throne.
House of Lords Chamber
Palace of Westminster
City of Westminster
London, England
United Kingdom


The House of Lords, formally The Right Honourable the Lords' Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster located in London, England.

The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have been approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends bills from the Commons. While it is unable to prevent bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the more powerful House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process. While members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, high-ranking officials such as cabinet ministers are usually drawn from the Commons. The House of Lords does not control the term of the prime minister or of the government. Only the lower house may force the prime minister to resign or call elections.

While the House of Commons has a defined number of members, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. Currently, it has 777 sitting members. The House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament in the world to be larger than its lower house, and is the second-largest legislative chamber in the world behind the Chinese National People's Congress.

The Queen's Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. In addition to its role as the upper house, until the establishment of the Supreme Court in 2009, the House of Lords, through the Law Lords, acted as the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom judicial system. The House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual.

Crossbenchers

Many members of the House of Lords sit as Crossbenchers. This means they do not support either the government or opposition parties, but instead are independent of party politics. They got their name because the benches where they sit are placed across the aisle which separates the government and opposition supporters.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cámara de los Lores para niños

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