Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords
Members of the House of Lords are said to be non-affiliated if they do not belong any to any parliamentary group. That is, they do not take a political party's whip, nor affiliate to the [| crossbench] group, nor the Lords Spiritual (bishops). Formerly the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary were also a separate affiliation, but their successors the Justices of the Supreme Court are now disqualified from the Lords while in office and, as with all ineligible members, are listed as "Other" rather than "Non-affiliated".[1]
Most non-party "lords temporal" are crossbenchers. Members with senior official roles are counted as non-affiliated while they hold this role to preserve their neutrality; they may (re-)affiliate to a group at the end of their term of office. (The Lord Chamberlain and Earl Marshal are not counted, as they are on leave of absence.[2]) 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 choose this designation rather than joining the crossbench.
The UK Parliament website lists 18 "Non affiliated Members" of the House of Lords,[2][3] excluding those on leave of absence:[1]
| Member | Notes |
|---|---|
| Lord Ahmed | Antisemitism allegation |
| Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare | Imprisonment for perjury |
| Lord Bhatia | Expenses scandal |
| Lord Boswell of Aynho | Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees |
| Lord Collins of Mapesbury | |
| Baroness D'Souza | Lord Speaker |
| Baroness Ford | |
| Lord Hanningfield | Expenses scandal |
| Lord Jacobs | Disagreement with Liberal Democrat taxation policy |
| Lord Kalms | Voted for another party in election |
| Lord Maginnis of Drumglass | Anti-gay remarks |
| Lord Paul | Expenses scandal |
| Lord Sewel | Chairman of Committees |
| Lord Smith of Finsbury | Need to be seen to be non-political when heading Environment Agency |
| Lord Taylor of Warwick | False accounting |
| Lord Truscott | 'Cash for influence' allegations |
| Baroness Uddin | Expenses scandal |
| Baroness Young of Old Scone | Need to be seen to be non-political when heading Environment Agency |
There are also several listed with an "Independent" party designation:[2][3]
| Member | Designation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Rooker | Labour Independent | Resigned whip when appointed head of the Food Standards Agency |
| Lord Stoddart of Swindon | Independent Labour | |
| Baroness Tonge | Independent Liberal Democrat | Resigned the whip in 2012 after Israeli Apartheid Week comments |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Ineligible members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
- ^ a b c "Lords by party and type of peerage". UK Parliament.
- ^ a b "Members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
