Nigel Farage urges PM to appoint Reform peers to House of Lords

Farage Asks Prime Minister for Lords Appointments

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has written to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, urging him not to appoint peers to the House of Lords. Farage stated in his letter that it was unfair that parties with fewer Members of Parliament (MPs) were represented in the upper chamber. Reform UK has four MPs serving in the House of Commons and controls ten councils in England, but currently has no peers in the Lords.

The Prime Minister makes political appointments to the Lords at his own discretion. While there is no constitutional requirement to do so, it is customary for the government of the day to allow opposition parties to nominate individuals for a peerage.

A spokesperson for Downing Street said, "The procedure for naming Lords follows established protocols and is guided by the House of Lords Appointments Commission and other relevant departments. While political parties may make representations regarding peerage nominations, governance decisions are made in accordance with long-standing procedures."

Sources familiar with the process stated that while the main opposition party is traditionally allowed the opportunity to nominate certain peers, there are no set rules and the decision is ultimately up to the Prime Minister. The House of Lords Appointments Commission does not advise which parties should nominate peers but vets those whose names are submitted.

When asked about Farage's letter, Defence Secretary John Healey told LBC that it was "the same Nigel Farage who called for the abolition of the House of Lords" who now wants to fill it with "his cronies."

The Role of the House of Lords

The House of Lords is a part of the UK Parliament. It scrutinises the government's work and is independent of the House of Commons, where MPs sit. Members of the Lords are called peers. They scrutinise government policy and can recommend changes to or amend legislation. There are currently more than 800 peers. Once in the House of Lords, peers can change their political party. For example, Lord Pearson of Rannoch served as a Conservative peer from 1990 to 2004, but then joined the UK Independence Party in 2004.

In his letter, Farage stated that Reform UK received over "£44 million and one million votes at the general election in July 2024." He added, "We have since won a large number of seats in local government, led the national opinion polls for many months, and secured the sole by-election of this Parliament."

Farage said he favoured reforming the Lords, but that "the time has come to address the political inequalities in the upper house." He pointed out that the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) have 13 peers between them. He also noted that the Liberal Democrats have 76 peers, despite winning fewer votes than Reform in the previous election. The Lib Dems now have 72 seats in the Commons, making them the third-largest party after Labour and the Conservatives.

"None of this holds water any longer," Farage wrote, referring to Britain's political conventions. He called his request to appoint peers "modest," but did not specify who he would nominate if given the opportunity.

Reform UK made significant gains in the May local elections and won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by just six votes. Farage later announced that Reform UK was now the main opposition party after its success.

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed 30 new Labour peers, including his former chief of staff, Sue Gray. Six new peers were chosen by the Conservatives, while the Liberal Democrats announced two. Last year, MPs endorsed measures to exclude hereditary peers from the House of Lords.