life peerage

Under the Life Peerages Act of 1958, membership of the UK House of Lords can be conferred on a man or woman for life. Life peers have exactly the same privileges and voting rights as hereditary peers, the only difference being that the peerage is not passed on to the peer's heir.

The House of Lords Act 1999 expelled all bar 92 of the hereditary peers, leaving a house dominated by life peers. Plans to replace these by elected or appointed peers had run into serious trouble by 2002, suggesting that life peers may remain as a long-term feature of the UK parliament.