Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords

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Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords are peers who do not belong to any parliamentary group in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. They do not take a political party's whip, nor affiliate to the crossbench group, nor are they Lords Spiritual (active Church of England bishops). Formerly, the law lords were also a separate affiliation, but their successors (justices of the Supreme Court), if peers, are disqualified from sitting in the Lords until they no longer hold a judicial position. [1]

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Most non-party Lords Temporal are crossbenchers. Peers may also be required to sit as non-affiliated while they hold certain senior positions within the Lords (e.g. the senior deputy speaker), as a means to preserve the neutrality of their official roles. Some members become non-affiliated after resigning or being expelled from a party, either through a political disagreement or after a scandal such as the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal. Others have had no party allegiance and chose this designation rather than joining the crossbench. [2]

Although a member who is elected Lord Speaker must withdraw from any party affiliation, [3] he is not considered to be a non-affiliated peer.

Non-affiliated members

The UK Parliament website lists the following non-affiliated members of the House of Lords, including those not currently eligible to sit in the Lords: [4]

MemberPrevious affiliationReason for change
Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare ConservativeExpelled following imprisonment for perjury[ citation needed ]
Lord Ashton of Hyde Conservative
Lord Austin of Dudley LabourJoined Lords without party affiliation
Lord Black of Crossharbour ConservativeUnaffiliated following conviction in the US of one count of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice, for which he served 37 months in prison[ citation needed ]
Lord Boswell of Aynho ConservativePrincipal Deputy Chairman of Committees (2012–present)
Lord Boyd of Duncansby noneCurrently ineligible as a Senator of the College of Justice
Lord Brennan Labour
Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill noneCurrently ineligible as Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales
Lord Carter of Barnes Labour
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen Conservative
Lord Cooper of Windrush ConservativeSuspended from party whip after expressing support for Liberal Democrats in 2019 European Parliament elections
Lord Darzi of Denham LabourResigned from party whip in July 2019 in protest of the party's response to antisemitism complaints [5]
Lord Davies of Abersoch Labour
Lord Elis-Thomas Plaid Cymru
Lord Faulks Conservative
Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee Democratic Unionist PartyJoined Lords without party affiliation
Baroness Fox of Buckley BrexitJoined Lords without party affiliation
Lord Gadhia Conservative
Lord Gardiner of Kimble Conservative Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords (2021–present)
Lord Grade of Yarmouth ConservativeChairman of Ofcom
Lord Hanningfield ConservativeBriefly suspended from the House following criminal conviction for false accounting[ citation needed ]
Lord Heseltine ConservativeSuspended from party whip after expressing support for Liberal Democrats in 2019 European Parliament elections
Baroness Hoey LabourJoined Lords without party affiliation
Lord Inglewood ConservativeExcepted hereditary peer elected to Lords by Conservative hereditary peers
Lord Kalms ConservativeExpelled after supporting UKIP in 2009 European elections
Lord Lupton Conservative
Baroness McGregor-Smith Conservative
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate LabourFollowing return from suspension from the House in connection with lobbying scandal[ citation needed ]
Lord Moore of Etchingham noneJoined Lords without party affiliation
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay Liberal DemocratResigned from party whip in protest of party leadership [6]
Lord Paddick Liberal DemocratWithdrew from Liberal Democrat whip during his advisory role with the Metropolitan Police [7]
Lord Patel of Bradford Labour
Lord Paul LabourFollowing return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal[ citation needed ]
Lord Pearson of Rannoch UKIPResigned from party whip in protest of party leadership during Brexit negotiations
Lord Prior of Brampton Conservative
Lord Ranger of Northwood ConservativeResigned party whip after finding of bullying and harassment [8]
Lord Rosenfield noneJoined Lords without party affiliation
Lord Smith of Finsbury Labour
Lord Stone of Blackheath LabourSuspended from party whip due to misconduct [9]
Lord Taylor of Warwick ConservativeFollowing return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal and imprisonment for false accounting[ citation needed ]
Lord Truscott LabourResigned from party whip following the "cash for influence" allegations of 2009[ citation needed ]
Lord Tyrie ConservativeEntered the House without affiliation due to his role as Chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority
Baroness Uddin LabourFollowing return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal[ citation needed ]
Baroness Vadera Labour
Lord Verdirame noneJoined Lords without party affiliation
Lord Willoughby de Broke UKIPExcepted hereditary peer elected to Lords by Conservative hereditary peers

Also previously switched affiliation to UK Independence Party

Independent members

There are other peers who list themselves as Independent within the House of Lords:

MemberPrevious affiliationDesignationNotes
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass Ulster Unionist PartyIndependent Ulster UnionistResigned from party whip following homophobic remarks [10]

Currently suspended from the Lords

Lord Owen CrossbenchIndependent Social DemocratLeft the Crossbench following a donation to Labour [11]
Lord Stevens of Ludgate UKIPConservative IndependentExpelled from Conservative whip in 2004 for supporting UKIP, [12] sat as Conservative Independent until 2012

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Ineligible Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
  2. ↑ "The party system". UK Parliament. MPs and Members of the Lords do not have to belong to a political party. Instead, MPs can sit as Independents and Lords can sit as Crossbenchers or Independents.
  3. ↑ "The Lord Speaker". UK Parliament.
  4. ↑ "Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
  5. ↑ "Three Labour peers quit over handling of antisemitism cases". The Guardian. 9 July 2019.
  6. ↑ "Oakeshott quits Lib Dems with Clegg 'disaster' warning". BBC News. 28 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Lord Paddick to join the Metropolitan Police as a Non Executive Advisor". libdemvoice.org. 10 October 2023.
  8. ↑ Brown, Faye (17 May 2024). "Kulveer Ranger: Tory peer resigns whip after foul-mouthed drunken outburst at parliament bar". Sky News. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Labour peer suspended over sexual harassment and transphobia". The Guardian. 23 October 2019.
  10. ↑ ""Party distances itself from Maginnis gay marriage remarks"". BBC News. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  11. ↑ Eaton, George (2 March 2014). "David Owen joins Miliband's big tent with donation to Labour of more than £7,500". New Statesman. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "Former Conservative peer Lord Stevens to join UK Independence Party". BBC News. BBC. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
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