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Hereditary Peerage Association

By-elections

A vacancy, to be filled by by-election, occurs when any elected hereditary peer either dies or retires from the House of Lords. Candidates are elected by the sitting hereditary peers of their own party except for 15 seats originally designated 'deputy chairmen's seats', where the electorate is the full membership of the House.

Recent By-elections

The following By-elections to the House of Lords under Standing Order 10 have taken place:

Year        Died                                                Elected

2005        Lord Burnham                                Lord de Mauley (Con)

                Lord Aberdare                               Eccles (Con)

                Baroness Strange                            Viscount Montgomery (XB)

2007        Lord Mowbray                               Earl Cathcart (Con)

2008        Baroness Darcy de Knayth             Earl of Stair (XB)

2009        Viscount Bledisloe                           Lord Aberdare

2010        The Earl of Northesk                      Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)

                 Viscount Colville of Culross           The Earl of Clancarty (XB)

 2011        Lord Strabogli                                Viscount Hanworth

                  Lord Monson                                 Earl of Lytton

                  Earl of Onslow                                Viscount Colville of Culross

                  Lord Ampthill                                  Lord Ashton of Hyde

2013         Earl Ferrers                                      Viscount Ridley

                  Lord Reay                                        Lord Borwick

2014         Lord Moran                                     Lord Cromwell

                  Lord Methuen                                 The Earl of Oxford and Asquith

                  Viscount Allenby                              Lord Russell of Liverpool

2015          Lord Montagu of Beaulieu           Lord Fairfax of Cameron

2016        Lord Avebury                                  Viscount Thurso

2017         Lord Lyell                                            Lord Colgrain

2019         Viscount Slim                                    Lord Ravensdale

2021        Viscount Simoon                             Lord Hacking

                 Lord Rea                                            Viscount Stansgate

2022        Earl of Home                                     Lord Ashcombe

                  Resigned                                         Elected

2014         Lord Cobbold                                   The Duke of Somerset

                 Lord Chorley                                      Lord Thurlow

                Lady Saltoun of Abernethy           Earl of Kinnoull

2015        Viscount Tenby                                 Lord Mountevans

       Lord Luke                                           The Duke of Wellington

       Viscount Montgomery of Alamein      Lord Oaksey

2016        Lord Bridges                                     Earl of Cork and Orrery

2017        Lord Walpole                                    Lord Vaux of Harrowden

2018         Earl Baldwin of Bewdly                  Earl of Devon

                 Lord Glentoran                                Lord Bethell

2021        Lord Selbourne                                 Lord Sandhurst

                 Lord Denham                                   Earl of Leicester

                 Lord Selsdon                                     Lord Altrincham

                 Countess of Mar                             Lord Londesborough

2022        Lord Astor of Hever                        Earl of Effingham

                  Roll of the Peerage

As your lordships will be aware, the Royal Warrant establishing the Roll of the Peerage was signed on 1st June, 2004.  The Roll is now maintained by the Registrar, Grant Bavister at the College of Arms on behalf of the Crown Office

The Roll covers all peerages, including Irish peers and Life peers. Any peer who was not in receipt of a Writ of Summons prior to November 1999, should seek to be inscribed on the Roll of the Peerage. Concurrently they may apply, if they so wish, to be placed on the list of those peers wishing to seek admission to the House of Lords through the by-election process (Irish peers are excluded). 

In order to be placed on the Roll peers should apply to the Crown Office. That page gives links to the Guidance Notes and forms of declaration required to be entered on the Roll of the Peerage. 

Clearly, it is in the interests of all peers and the peerage as an institution, that it should be possible to easily verify that any individual styling himself a peer is properly entitled so to do. The Roll of the Peerage facilitates  such verification.

It is therefore essential that persons inheriting a peerage seek to be inscribed on the Roll of the Peerage as soon as possible. While those who do not do so may call themselves by their titles immediately upon succession and may find themselves listed in Debretts or Burkes, these are commercial and not official publications. Technically, no peer who has not been inscribed on the Roll will be addressed by any Government officer or department other than as "Mr.", and the Passport Office should not show his title on any passport until he has been so inscribed.

The Windsor Herald at Arms at the College of Arms (020 7320 8755) advises that all peers should ensure that their succession pedigree should be placed on record at the College to ensure that their heirs can succeed to their titles with due speed and minimum inconvenience.

Social Events

For social events, please go to the Social Events page.

Committee

The present members of the HPA Committee are as follows:

Lord Newall (Joint Chairman)
Viscount Torrington (Joint Chairman)
Earl of Erroll
Lord Glanusk
Lord St. Oswald
Lord Seaford
Viscount Trenchard

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Revised 12.01.2023