Add your name: End the male super-majority in the House of Lords

Women make up just over a third of MPs in the Commons and the state of gender quality is even more dire in the Lords, where women account for around just 28 per cent of peers.

Leaving the membership of the House of Lords up to political patronage, the Church of England and 92 all-male hereditary peers has failed to create a chamber that represents the country. An elected second chamber could have equality baked in from the start.

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Background

Men make up 72% of the House of Lords

Prime ministers have consistently failed to use their powers of patronage to appoint women to the House of Lords. The first female peer was not able to sit in the Lords until 1958 and on the current pace of change we may not see a gender-balance upper chamber until well after 2050.

Bringing in an elected second chamber with a proportional electoral system could allow for gender balance to be baked in as a legal requirement. The current approach has failed, it's time for a fairly elected second chamber where voters decide who joins and leaves.