Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years

Centuries of British political tradition will end within weeks after Parliament voted to remove hereditary aristocrats from the unelected House of Lords.On Tuesday night members of the upper chamber dropped objections to legislation passed by the House of Commons ousting dozens of dukes, earls and viscounts who inherited seats in Parliament along with their aristocratic titles.Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the change put an end to “an archaic and undemocratic principle.”“Our parliament should always be a place where talents are recognized and merit counts,” he said.“It should never be a gallery of old boys’ networks, nor a place where titles, many of which were handed out centuries ago, hold power over the will of the people.”The House of Lords plays an important role in Britain’s parliamentary democracy, scrutinizing legislation passed by the elected House of Commons.

But critics have long argued that it is unwieldy and undemocratic.The case of Peter Mandelson, who resigned from the Lords in February after revelations about his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, drew renewed attention to the upper chamber and the problem of lords behaving badly.The chamber currently has more than 800 members, making it the second-largest legislative chamber in the world after China’s National People’s Congress.For most of its 700-year history, its membership was composed of noblemen — almost never women — who inherited their seats, alongside a smattering of bishops.In the 1950s, these were joined by “life peers” — retired politicians, civic leaders and other notables appointed by the government, who now make up the vast majority of the chamber.

Roughly 1 in 10 members are currently hereditary peers.In 1999, the Labour government of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair evicted most of the 750 hereditary peers, though 92 were allowed to remain temporarily to avoid an aristocrats’ rebellion.It was another 25 years bef...