United Kingdom
House of Lords
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Parliamentary system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Bicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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Yes
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
- Parliament name
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UK Parliament
- Chamber name
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House of Lords
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Structure & status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
View field in the data dictionary -
Upper chamber
IPU membership
- Affiliation periods
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from 1889
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IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
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Twelve Plus Group
Speaker
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Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
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Lord Speaker
- Speaker
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Lord McFall of Alcluith (Male)
Date of birth: 04 Oct 1944 -
Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Speaker
View field in the data dictionary -
01 May 2021
- Additional information
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Sworn in on 1 May 2021.
Speaker terms
Click for historical data
Secretary general
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Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
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Clerk of the Parliaments
- Secretary General
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Simon Burton (Male)
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Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Secretary general
View field in the data dictionary -
02 Apr 2021
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Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
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2 April 2021 -
Members
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Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
View field in the data dictionary -
800
Notes:
There is no restriction on the number of members. In practice, the upper limit has been around 800 members.
Appointed members: 676 life peers appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister. Other: 90 hereditary peers and 25 archbishops and bishops
- Principal mode of designation of members
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Appointed
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Appointed members
Appointed, for example, by the Head of State.
View field in the data dictionary -
662
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Other members
For example, ex-officio members of parliament, such as Cabinet members, members of the royal family, Attorney General, Speaker if appointed from outside parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
114
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Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
785
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Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
557
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Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
228
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Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
29.0%
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Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
View field in the data dictionary -
1,450
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Population (in thousands)
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
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Click for historical data
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Inhabitants per parliamentarian
Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
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Click for historical data
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
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Average age of all members
Average age of members, for which data is available, at the time of the last election or renewal.
View field in the data dictionary -
70.0(2019-12)
Number of members, by age (2019-12)
| 18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 54 | 153 | 221 | 115 | 9 | 569 |
| Female | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 65 | 71 | 25 | 2 | 216 |
| Totals per age interval | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 93 | 218 | 292 | 140 | 11 | 785 |
| Total <= 45: 15 | Total >= 46: 770 | ||||||||||
| Age at the last election or renewal | Overall | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| 0.6% | 0% | 0.3% | |
| 1.9% | 1% | 0.8% |
Reserved seats and quotas
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There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
View field in the data dictionary -
Yes
- Other groups
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Notes: 26 bishops in the Church of England, 92 heredity peers.
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Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote gender-balanced representation in parliament
View field in the data dictionary -
No
Sources: Cf. The Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847 and The House of Lords Act 1999.
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Youth quota
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
No
Links to additional information
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Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
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List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
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Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
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Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.
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No information available