2.2.2 – The comparative powers of the House of Commons and House of Lords
Parliament is made up of three constituent parts: the House of Lords, the House of Commons and the Crown-in-Parliament. Traditionally, the House of Lords and Crown were the dominant institutions in Parliament. Firstly, this was because Parliament only sat on the say so of the monarch. For example, when Charles I recalled Parliament in 1640 it was the first Parliament to sit in eleven years.
The House of Lords developed from the Medieval ‘Great Council’ that advised the monarch on matters of state. It was made up of nobles and churchmen. The House of Commons developed in the 13th and 14th centuries and was made up of representatives from the boroughs and shires of England.
The House of Lords remained undoubtedly the dominant House of Parliament until the Great Reform Act of 1832. After this, the trajectory of the powers of the two houses altered, with the Commons increasing and the Lords on the decline.
Today, although the House of Lords is called the ‘Upper Chamber’, the House of Commons is undoubtedly the dominant house. There are a number of reasons for this:
1. The Parliament Acts
Between 1909 and 1911 a constitutional crisis emerged over the refusal of the House of Lords to pass Chancellor David Lloyd George’s ‘people’s budget’. The crisis eventually ended with the passing of the Parliament Act (1911). This act removed the power of the House of Lords to block legislation and limited it to delaying legislation for two years. In 1949 the delaying power of the House of Lords was reduced to just one year. This means that if the House of Commons passes the same act for two consecutive parliamentary years, they can use the Parliament Act to bypass the House of Lords. The Parliament Act has only been used on four occasions:
War Crimes Act (1991) – This allowed UK courts to try suspected crimes committed on behalf of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
European Parliamentary Elections Act (1999) – This changed the voting system used in European Parliamentary Elections in the UK from First Past the Post to the D’Hondt method of proportional representation.
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act (2000) – This equalized the age of consent for homosexual sex with that of heterosexual sex .
Hunting Act (2004) – This prohibited the use of dogs in the hunting of wild mammals (especially foxes).
Even though it has only been used four times, the very existence of the Parliament Act means that the House of Lords is likely to back down rather than risk the Act being imposed by the House of Commons, meaning its existence is extremely significant. A good example of this is the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Act. 2017. This was the Act of UK Parliament that legislated for trigger Article 50 and inform the EU of the attention to leave the EU. The House of Lords added two amendments to the bill and it was then sent back to the House of Commons. The House of Commons quickly overturned the two amendment. At this point, the House of Lords, conscious of its role as an unelected ‘amending chamber’, backed down and withdrew the amendments.
2. Financial Privilege
An important parliamentary convention between the two houses is that the House of Commons is solely responsible for financial matters. For example, each year the Chancellor of the Exchequer presents their Budget. This outlines how the government is going to spend and raise money for the year. By convention, the House of Lords do not vote against the Budget.
In 2015 the convention was severely tested when the House of Lords voted against a government motion to cut tax credits. They justified this by saying they had voted against a statutory instrument and not a bill and therefore the financial privilege convention did not apply. Although this was technically correct, the House of Lords were clearly pushing constitutional boundaries in their actions.
3. The Salisbury Convention
The Salisbury Convention dictates that the House of Lords does not vote against any bill that formed part of the government’s election manifesto. The reason for this is that if a bill formed part of a government’s election manifesto it is reasonable to believe that the passage of that bill is the expressed wish of the electorate. The Salisbury Convention was particularly important in the passage of the House of Lords Act (1999). This act removed all but 92 hereditary peers from the House of Lords and would almost certainly not have passed had the convention not existed.
The Salisbury Convention is complicated by the factor of Hung Parliaments. For example, in May 2010 no one party won the election and therefore no party could claim clear mandate from the electorate. A Coalition Government was formed between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. To enable this to happen, a Coalition Agreement was made between the two parties that merged their policies to create a compromise agreement. The Coalition Agreement was never put to the voters, so therefore the Salisbury Convention did not apply.
From 2017 to 2019 the Conservatives were in government due to a Confidence and Supply agreement with the DUP. This is because the Conservatives only won 318 seats in the 2017 General Election and therefore not enough for a majority. Similarly to 2010-2015, the Salisbury Convention could not be reasonably expected to apply because the governing party had not received a clear mandate from the electorate.
4. Reasonable Time Convention
An important convention that exists in the House of Lords is that Government business will be considered in “reasonable time”. The Government largely controls the business of the House of Commons and can therefore ensure that their business is prioritised. However, the Government’s control of the House of Lords is much less significant. By convention the Lords agree not to unreasonably delay Government business.
5. Secondary Legislation
Secondary Legislation is law created by the Government under the auspices of a bill that has previously been passed by Parliament. Secondary Legislation is essential in the carrying out of government functions as Parliament would not have time to debate and vote on every single governmental issue that needs clarification. For example, Secondary Legislation under the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) might add a new drug to the proscribed list of substances. The most common form of Secondary Legislation are Statutory Instruments. Around 3,500 of these are passed every single year.
Although Secondary Legislation is scrutinised by the House of Lords, by convention it only votes against it in ‘exceptional circumstances’. This was another reason why the rejection of Tax Credits cuts by the House of Lords in 2015 was so controversial.
6. The Great Offices of State
It is now an accepted convention that the Great Offices of State will be filled from the House of Commons. The Great Offices of State are: Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Until David Cameron became Foreign Secretary in November 2023, the last member to hold one of the Great Offices of State was Lord Carrington. Between 1979 and 1982 Lord Carrington was Foreign Secretary but resigned in 1982 citing the convention of Individual Ministerial Responsibility for failing to recognise the Argentinian threat to the Falkland Islands.
The last Prime Minister to govern from the House of Lords was the Marquess of Salisbury in 1902. It is now unthinkable that a Prime Minister could govern from the House of Lords because they would avoid direct scrutiny from the representatives of the the people.
7. Representative Function
The fact that the House of Commons contains the elected representatives of the people gives it a greater legitimacy than the House of Lords. Although the House of Lords contains a number of very eminent and respected figures, the fact that their judgement and performance cannot be held to account by the electorate reduces their political mandate.
8. Media Attention
As a result of its role in representing constituents, and the more significant political figures within it, including the leaders of both parties, the House of Commons gets much more media attention than the House of Lords. For example, Prime Minister’s Question each Wednesday at 12.00 gets far more attention than any other event in a typical political week. In addition, MPs tend to have a greater media presence and are more likely to appear on the Sunday Politics shows or panel programs like BBC Question Time. This helps to reinforce the importance of the House of Commons as compared to the House of Lords.
9. Location of Government
The vast majority of government ministers are based in the House of Commons. For example, the first administration of Rishi Sunak had only one member of the House of Lords in the Cabinet, however, the appointment of David Cameron to be Foreign Secretary and to sit the House of Lords means there are currently two peers in the Cabinet.
The fact that the vast majority of government ministers sit in the House of Commons reinforces that it is the centre of government within Parliament.
Article Summary
Historically the House of Lords was the dominant house, but by the 20th century, it was clear that had changed. The House of Commons now has primacy, for a number of reasons, including statutes and conventions that limit the power and influence of the House of Lords.
Glossary of Terms
House of Commons – The Lower Chamber of the UK Parliament. It currently has 650 members who face election at least once every five years.
House of Lords - The Upper Chamber of the UK Parliament. It currently has 800 members. Most are Life Peers who are appointed to the chamber, however, there are also 92 hereditary peers and 26 bishops.
Financial Privilege – The privilege that belongs to the House of Commons that means only they can agree to bills that raise taxes or change spending.
Parliament Act (1911) – A significant statute law that removed the power of the House of Lords to block a bill and instead only allowed it to delay a bill for two years. It also stipulated that a General Election had to be held every five years.
Parliament Act (1949) – An Act that reduced the delaying powers of the House of Lords to one year.
Salisbury Convention – A convention in the UK constitution under which the House of Lords do not oppose bills that were clearly part of the Government’s manifesto.
Great Officers of State – The term given for the four highest offices in the UK: Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Only James Callaghan has ever held all four.
Secondary Legislation – Legislation that can be enacted by a Government Minister or another body after being enabled in primary legislation.
Statutory Instrument – Statutory Instruments are the most common form of secondary legislation and have to be either confirmed or rejected by Parliament.
Last Updated – 19.10.25