While peers may also serve as government ministers, they are typically only selected to serve as junior ministers. In this capacity, as a body independent from the pressures of the political process, the House of Lords is said to act as a "revising chamber" focusing on legislative detail, while occasionally asking the House of Commons to reconsider its plans. While it is unable to prevent bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it may delay the enactment of bills for up to one year. Peers may also seek to introduce legislation or propose amendments to bills. It scrutinises legislation, holds the government to account, and considers and reports upon public policy. Īs the upper house of Parliament, the House of Lords has many similar functions to the House of Commons. Since 2014, membership may be voluntarily relinquished or terminated upon expulsion. The House of Lords also includes up to 26 archbishops and bishops of the Church of England, known as Lords Spiritual. No members directly inherit their seats any longer. Hereditary membership was abolished in 1999, save for 92 excepted hereditary peers: 90 elected through internal by-elections, plus the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain as members ex officio. Most members are appointed for life, on either a political or non-political basis. In contrast to the House of Commons, membership of the Lords is not generally acquired by election. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This figure excludes 34 peers who are on leave of absence or otherwise disqualified or suspended from sitting. ^ The number of members of the House of Lords is not fixed.^ The Lords Spiritual sit on the Government benches and are so depicted in the diagram above.
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