Number of Life Peers
| Prime Minister | Party | Tenure | Peers | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Macmillan | Conservative | 1957–1963 | 48 | 9.6* |
| Alec Douglas-Home | Conservative | 1963–1964 | 14 | 14.0 |
| Harold Wilson | Labour | 1964–1970 | 123 | 20.5** |
| Edward Heath | Conservative | 1970–1974 | 56 | 14.0 |
| Harold Wilson | Labour | 1974–1976 | 80 | 40.0** |
| James Callaghan | Labour | 1976–1979 | 57 | 19.0 |
| Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | 1979–1990 | 200 | 18.2 |
| John Major | Conservative | 1990–1997 | 141 | 20.1 |
| Tony Blair | Labour | 1997–2007 | 357 | 35.7 |
| Gordon Brown | Labour | 2007–2010 | 34 | 11.3 |
| David Cameron | Conservative | 2010- | 121 | 60.5 |
| Total | 1,231 | 20.2 | ||
| * ** |
||||
The Appellate Jurisdiction Act originally provided for the appointment of two Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, who would continue to serve while holding judicial office, though in 1887, they were permitted to continue to sit in the House of Lords for life, under the style and dignity of baron. The number of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary was increased from time to time — to three in 1882, to four in 1891, to six in 1913, to seven in 1919, to nine in 1947, to 11 in 1968 and to 12 in 1994. These provisions were repealed by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which created the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The rate of creation of life peerages under the Life Peerages Act has not shown a consistent pattern. Current prime minister David Cameron has been creating life peerages at the highest rate. Conservative Prime Ministers have created on average 20 life peers per year in office, Labour Prime Ministers an average of 27.2 per year. In absolute terms, Labour (in 24 years) created 1.2 times the number of life peerages created by the Conservatives (in 29 years). - On the other hand, Conservative Prime Ministers (especially Macmillan) created the vast majority of the about 50 hereditary peerages still created since 1958.
In 1999, there were 172 Conservative and 160 Labour life peers in the House of Lords, and by 4 January 2010, there were 141 Conservative and 207 Labour life peers in the House of Lords. The hereditary element of the House of Lords, however, was much less balanced. In 1999, for example, immediately before most hereditary peers were removed by the House of Lords Act, there were 350 Conservative hereditary peers, compared with 19 Labour peers and 23 Liberal Democrat peers.
Read more about this topic: Life Peer (United Kingdom)
Famous quotes containing the words number of, number, life and/or peers:
“It seems to me that there must be an ecological limit to the number of paper pushers the earth can sustain, and that human civilization will collapse when the number of, say, tax lawyers exceeds the world’s total population of farmers, weavers, fisherpersons, and pediatric nurses.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“The Oregon [matter] and the annexation of Texas are now all- important to the security and future peace and prosperity of our union, and I hope there are a sufficient number of pure American democrats to carry into effect the annexation of Texas and [extension of] our laws over Oregon. No temporizing policy or all is lost.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“each new victim treads unfalteringly
The never altered circuit of his fate,
Bringing twelve peers as witness
Both to his starry rise and starry fall.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)