Member

One striking feature of the period since the introduction of life peerages in 1958 is the upward trend in the number of life Members. For example, there are 200 more life Peers in the House today compared with the year 2000. Over the past 25 years, we have been recruiting at an average rate of 30 per year, while the departure rate has been not much over 20 a year. Furthermore, the appointments have often been disproportionately directed towards the Government of the day. Following changes in government, a new Government rapidly increase their own number to match or overtake their main rival, leading to the observed increase in the number of life Peers.