Prior to 2009, life peers of baronial rank could also be so created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 for senior judges (referred to as Law Lords).
Women, however, were excluded from sitting in the House of Lords, so it was unclear whether or not a life peerage would entitle a man to do the same.
The Government introduced a bill to authorise the creation of two life peerages carrying seats in the House of Lords for judges who had held office for at least five years.
The Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 permitted the creation of life peerages with the rank of baron for senior judges in the House of Lords.
[1] The practice of appointing life peers under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 ended with the creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009.
A peer created under the Life Peerages Act has the right to sit in the House of Lords, provided that they are at least 21 years of age, are not suffering punishment upon conviction for treason, and are a citizen of the United Kingdom, or of a member of the Commonwealth of Nations,[3] and are a resident in the UK for tax purposes.
[5] They do not form a formal class, but represent the various political parties and are expected to regularly attend the House of Lords.
The Prime Minister may determine the number of peers each party may propose; they may also choose to amend these recommendations, but by convention do not do so.
Formerly, nominations on merit alone were made by the Prime Minister, but this function was partially transferred to a new, non-statutory House of Lords Appointments Commission in 2000.
Creations may be made for individuals on retirement from important public offices, such as Prime Minister, Speaker of the House of Commons or Archbishop of Canterbury or York.
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who had renounced his hereditary title of the 14th Earl of Home on becoming Prime Minister, was the first former occupant of the office to receive a life barony.
Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher all took life peerages following their retirement from the House of Commons.
Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss have yet to receive a peerage.
While David Lloyd George also waited a similar period for his earldom, most offers have been made and accepted shortly after retirement such as the Earls of Oxford and Asquith, Baldwin, Attlee and Avon.
Life peerages have generally been granted to Speakers of the House of Commons upon retirement since 1971, who sit as crossbenchers.
Unusually, Bercow was nominated for a peerage by then-Leader of the Opposition and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
This generally includes Chiefs of Defence Staff, Secretaries of the Cabinet, and Heads of the Diplomatic Service.
After the House of Lords Act 1999 passed, several hereditary peers of the first creation, who had not inherited their titles but would still be excluded from the House of Lords by the Act, were created life peers: Toby Low, 1st Baron Aldington; Frederick James Erroll, 1st Baron Erroll of Hale; Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford and 1st Baron Pakenham; and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon.
[13] There are currently 23 life peers who are members but ineligible to sit, either because of temporary suspension, a requested leave of absence, or holding of certain judicial offices.
These provisions were repealed by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which created the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
That Act also provided that holders of judicial offices, including Justice of the Supreme Court, who are for that reason disqualified from the House of Commons or the Northern Ireland Assembly, are now also disqualified from taking up their seats in the House of Lords if they are peers (as the former Law Lords all were).
[20] The formal style for a life peer is as follows (John Smith and Mary Smith refer to any name; London to any territorial designation): Life peers are often mistakenly called 'Lord' or 'Lady' before their names (e.g. "Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber") following their ennoblement, but this is incorrect since the correct form should be one of those shown above.