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Peerage |
| Hereditary Peer Life Peer Representative Peer |
| Privilege of Peerage History of the Peerage |
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were individuals elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to represent them in the British House of Lords. Members of the Peerage of England, Peerage of Great Britain and Peerage of the United Kingdom all had the right to sit in the House of Lords; they did not elect a limited group of representatives. Representative peers were introduced in 1707, when England and Scotland were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain. At the time, there were 168 English and 154 Scottish peers, though the English population was significantly higher than the Scottish population. The English peers feared that the House of Lords would be swamped by the Scottish element, and consequently arranged for the election of a small number of representative peers to represent Scotland. A similar arrangement was adopted when Great Britain and Ireland merged into the United Kingdom in 1801.
Scotland was allowed to elect sixteen representative peers, whilst Ireland could elect twenty-eight. Those chosen by Scotland sat only for one Parliament; after each dissolution, new Scottish representative peers were elected. Irish representative peers, on the other hand, sat for life. Elections for Irish representative peers ceased when the Irish Free State left the Kingdom in 1922. Elections for Scottish representative peers ended in 1963, when all Scottish peers obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords, whether representative peers or not.
Under the Act of Union of 1707, the peers of Scotland were entitled to elect sixteen representative peers. Each representative peer served for the duration of one Parliament (a maximum of seven years), but could be re-elected during future Parliaments. Upon the summons of a new Parliament following the dissolution of a previous one, the Sovereign would issue a proclamation summoning Scottish peers to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The elections were held in the Great Gallery, the large room that was decorated by eighty-nine of Jacob de Wet 's portraits of real and legendary Scottish monarchs, from Fergus I to Charles II. The Lord Clerk Register would read aloud the Peerage Roll, and each peer would indicate his presence when called. The Roll was then re-read, with each peer responding by publicly announcing his votes. The same procedure was used whenever a vacancy arose.
The block votingBloc voting (or block voting (also called Plurality-at-large) refers to a class of voting systems which can be used to elect several representatives from a single constituency. In first past the post bloc voting, each voter places n Xs on the ballot paper system was used, with each peer casting as many votes as there were seats to be filled. The system, however, permitted the party with the greatest number of peers, normally the Conservatives, to procure a disproportionate number of seats, with opposing parties sometimes being entirely unrepresented. The Lord Clerk Register was responsible for tallying the votes. The return issued by the Lord Clerk Register was sufficient evidence to admit the representative peers to Parliament; unlike other peers, Scottish representatives did not receive writs of summons.
The position and rights of Scottish peers in relation to the House of Lords was unclear during most of the eighteenth century. In 1711Events 24 February The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Friderich Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage. John Shore invents the tuning fork Alexander Pope publishes An Essay on Criticism Ongoing events Great Northern War ( 1700-, James Douglas, 4th Duke of HamiltonJames Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton ( 1658- 1712), eldest son of William Douglas, Duke of Hamilton and of Duchess Anne, succeeded his mother, who resigned the dukedom to him in 1698, and at the accession of Queen Anne he was regarded as leader of the Scot, a peer of Scotland, was created Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain. When he sought to sit in the House of Lords, he was denied admittance, the Lords ruling that a peer of Scotland could not sit in the House of Lords unless he was a representative peer, even if he also held a British peerage dignity. They reasoned that the Act of Union 1707 had established the number of Scotsmen in the House of Lords at no more and no less than sixteen. In 1782Events January 7 The first American commercial bank opens ( Bank of North America). January 15 Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the United States Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage February 5 Span, however, the House of Lords reversed the decision, holding that the Crown could admit anyone it pleases to the House of Lords, whether a Scottish peer or not, subject only to qualifications such as age and citizenship.
Under the Peerage Act 1963The Peerage Act 1963 is a significant act in the history of the British Peerage. It allowed the disclaiming of peerages, and permitted female and Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords. Background The Act resulted largely from the protests of one man, all Scottish peers procured the right to sit in the House of Lords, ending elections for representative peers. Scottish as well as British and English hereditary peerThe Peerage in the United Kingdom includes several hereditary peers as well as life peers. Hereditary peers hold titles that may be inherited; even peers who were granted, rather than inherited, hereditary titles are hereditary peers. Formerly, most of ths lost their automatic right to sit in the Upper House with the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999The House of Lords Act 1999 an Act of Parliament passed by the British Parliament, was a major constitutional enactment as it completely reformed one of the chambers of Parliament, the House of Lords. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several. When the House of Lords Bill underwent debate, the question arose as to whether or not the proposal would violate the Treaty of Union. In suggesting that the Bill did indeed violate the Articles of Union, it was submitted that, prior to Union, the Parliament of Scotland was entitled to impose conditions, and that one fundamental condition was a guarantee of representation of Scotland in both Houses of Parliament. It was implied, furthermore, that the Peerage Act of 1963 did not violate the requirement of Scottish representation, set out in the Article XXII of the Treaty of Union, by allowing all Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords: as long as a minimum of sixteen seats were reserved for Scotland, the principles of the Article would be upheld. It was further argued that the only way to rescind the requirement of Article XXII would be to dissolve the Union between England and Scotland, which, of course, the House of Lords Bill did not seek to do.
Counsel for the Government, however, held a different view. Firstly, it was noted that the Peerage Act 1963 explicitly repealed the portions of the Articles of Union relating to elections of representative peers, and that no parliamentary commentators had raised doubts as to the validity of those repeals. As Article XXII had been (at least purportedly) repealed, there was nothing specific in the Treaty that the bill transgressed. It was further asserted by the Government that Article XXII could be repealed because it had not been "entrenched." (Examples of "entrenched" provisions are numerous: England and Scotland were united "forever," the Court of Session was to remain "in all time coming within Scotland as it is now constituted," and the establishment of the Church of Scotland was "effectually and unalterably secured.") Article XXII, however, did not include any words of entrenchment, and, it was argued, was open to amendment.
It was further pointed out by the Government that, even if the election of Scottish peers were entrenched, Parliament could amend the provision under the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty. Though the position of the Church of Scotland was "unalterably" secured, the Universities (Scotland) Act 1853 repealed the requirement that professors declare their faith before assuming a position. In Ireland, meanwhile, the Church of Ireland was entirely disestablished in 18691869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). Events March 1 North German Confederation issues 10 gr and 30gr value stamps, printed on goldbeater's skin May 10 Transcontinental Railroad completed at Promontory, Utah. May 15 Wo, though the Articles of Union with Ireland had clearly "entrenched" the establishment of that body. In 1922, the Union with Ireland was dissolved, though Great Britain and Ireland were united "forever." It was therefore suggested that Parliament could, if it pleased, repeal an Article of Union as well amend as any underlying principle.
The Privileges Committee unanimously found that the Articles of Union would not be breached by the House of Lords Bill if it were enacted. The bill did receive Royal Assent, and from 2000, hereditary peers have not had the automatic right to sit in Parliament. Scotland, however, does not remain entirely unrepresented, as a significant number of life peers are from that part of the United Kingdom.
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