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 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 are described as "Ineligible" 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 Great Chamberlain is not counted, as he is 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.[3]

List of Non-affiliated Members

The UK Parliament website lists the following "Non-affiliated" members of the House of Lords,[2][4] excluding those on leave of absence or suspended:[1]

Member Previous affiliation Reason for change
Lord Adonis Labour Chairman-designate of National Infrastructure Commission
Lord Ahmed Labour Resigned following allegation of antisemitism
Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare Conservative Expelled following imprisonment for perjury
Lord Boswell of Aynho Conservative Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees (2012–present)
Lord Collins of Mapesbury Law lord Returned to the House following retirement from Supreme Court
Lord Davies of Abersoch Labour
Lord Eatwell Labour
Lord Elis-Thomas Plaid Cymru
Lord Filkin Labour
Lord Fowler Conservative Lord Speaker (2016–present)
Lord Hanningfield Conservative Briefly suspended from the House following criminal conviction for false accounting.
Lord Kalms Conservative Expelled after supporting UKIP in 2009 European elections
Lord Laird Ulster Unionist Resigned following allegations of lobbying activities in breach of parliamentary rules.
Lord McFall of Alcluith Labour Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords (2016–present)
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Labour Following return from suspension from the House in connection with lobbying scandal
Lord Mitchell Labour
Duke of Norfolk Crossbench
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay Liberal Democrat Following leave of absence in connection with a dispute regarding Nick Clegg's role as party leader
Lord O'Neill of Gatley Conservative
Lord Paul Labour Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal
Lord Smith of Finsbury Labour Chair, Environment Agency (2008–2014)
Lord Sugar Labour Resigned over party's attitude to business[5]
Lord Taylor of Warwick Conservative Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal and imprisonment for false accounting
Baroness Tonge Liberal Democrat Resigned the whip in 2012 after Israeli Apartheid Week comments
Baroness Uddin Labour Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal

List of Independent Members

There are other members listed with an "Independent" designation within the House of Lords:[2][4]

Member Designation Notes
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass Independent Ulster Unionist Resigned whip following anti-gay remarks
Lord Owen Independent Social Democrat Left Crossbenches following donation to Labour
Lord Stoddart of Swindon Independent Labour Expelled after supporting Socialist Alliance candidate in the 2001 general election
Lord Truscott Independent Labour Resigned following "cash for influence" allegations of 2009

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Ineligible members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lords by party and type of peerage". UK Parliament.
  3. ↑ "The party system". UK Parliament. MPs and Members of the Lords do not have to belong to a political party. Instead, MPs can sit as Independents and Lords can sit as Crossbenchers or Independents.
  4. 1 2 "Members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
  5. ↑ Lord Sugar: 'Disillusioned' peer quits Labour Party, bbc.co.uk, 11 May 2015; accessed 11 May 2015.
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