Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords
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) are disqualified from sitting in the Lords until they no longer hold a judicial position.[1]
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]
| Member | Previous affiliation | Reason for change |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare | Conservative | Expelled following imprisonment for perjury |
| Baroness Ashton of Upholland | Labour | |
| Lord Austin of Dudley | Labour | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Lord Bhatia | Crossbench | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal |
| Lord Black of Crossharbour | Conservative | Unaffiliated 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 |
| Lord Boswell of Aynho | Conservative | Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees (2012–present) |
| Lord Boyd of Duncansby | none | Currently ineligible as a Senator of the College of Justice |
| Lord Brennan | Labour | |
| Lord Carter of Barnes | Labour | |
| Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen | Conservative | |
| Lord Cooper of Windrush | Conservative | Suspended from party whip after expressing support for Liberal Democrats in 2019 European Parliament elections |
| Lord Darzi of Denham | Labour | Resigned 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 Party | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Baroness Fox of Buckley | Brexit | Joined 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 | Conservative | Chairman of Ofcom |
| Lord Hanningfield | Conservative | Briefly suspended from the House following criminal conviction for false accounting |
| Lord Heseltine | Conservative | Suspended from party whip after expressing support for Liberal Democrats in 2019 European Parliament elections |
| Baroness Hoey | Labour | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Lord Inglewood | Conservative | Excepted hereditary peer elected to Lords by Conservative hereditary peers |
| Lord Kalms | Conservative | Expelled after supporting UKIP in 2009 European elections |
| Lord Lupton | Conservative | |
| Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate | Labour | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with lobbying scandal |
| Lord Mann | Labour | |
| Lord Moore of Etchingham | none | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay | Liberal Democrat | Resigned from party whip in protest of party leadership[6] |
| Lord Paddick | Liberal Democrat | Withdrew from Liberal Democrat whip during his advisory role with the Metropolitan Police[7] |
| Lord Patel of Bradford | Labour | |
| Lord Paul | Labour | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal |
| Lord Pearson of Rannoch | UKIP | Resigned from party whip in protest of party leadership during Brexit negotiations |
| Lord Prior of Brampton | Conservative | |
| Lord Rosenfield | none | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Earl of Shrewsbury | Conservative | Following return from suspension from the House for misconduct.[8] |
| Lord Smith of Finsbury | Labour | |
| Lord Stone of Blackheath | Labour | Suspended from party whip due to misconduct[9] |
| Lord Taylor of Warwick | Conservative | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal and imprisonment for false accounting |
| Lord Truscott | Labour | Resigned from party whip following the "cash for influence" allegations of 2009 |
| Lord Tyrie | Conservative | Entered the House without affiliation due to his role as Chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority |
| Baroness Uddin | Labour | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal |
| Baroness Vadera | Labour | |
| Lord Verdirame | none | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Lord Willoughby de Broke | UKIP | Excepted 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:
| Member | Previous affiliation | Designation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Maginnis of Drumglass | Ulster Unionist Party | Independent Ulster Unionist | Resigned from party whip following homophobic remarks[10]
Currently suspended from the Lords |
| Lord Owen | Crossbench | Independent Social Democrat | Left the Crossbench following a donation to Labour[11] |
| Lord Stevens of Ludgate | UKIP | Conservative Independent | Expelled from Conservative whip in 2004 for supporting UKIP,[12] sat as Conservative Independent until 2012 |
See also
References
- "Ineligible Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
- "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.
- "The Lord Speaker". UK Parliament.
- "Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
- "Three Labour peers quit over handling of antisemitism cases". The Guardian. 9 July 2019.
- "Oakeshott quits Lib Dems with Clegg 'disaster' warning". BBC News. 28 May 2014.
- "Lord Paddick to join the Metropolitan Police as a Non Executive Advisor". libdemvoice.org. 10 October 2023.
- "The conduct of the Earl of Shrewsbury and the conduct of Baroness Goudie". Conduct Committee, House of Lords, UK Parliament. 16 December 2022.
- "Labour peer suspended over sexual harassment and transphobia". The Guardian. 23 October 2019.
- ""Party distances itself from Maginnis gay marriage remarks"". BBC News. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- 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.
- "Former Conservative peer Lord Stevens to join UK Independence Party". BBC News. BBC. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.