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Hereditary Peerage Association

HPA CONSTITUTION

THE HEREDITARY PEERAGE ASSOCIATION 

Constitution  

   1.      There shall be an association which shall be called the Hereditary Peerage Association (“HPA”).

  1. Membership of the Association shall be open to all Peers of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, who are peers by descent or hereditary Peers of First Creation, and to  their immediate heirs. All such Peers or their heirs shall be considered to be associate members but only those who have paid their subscriptions (hereinafter referred to as Members) shall be entitled to vote at meetings of the Association and to receive the full benefits of membership.
  1. The aims and objectives of the Association shall be:

(i)         To identify what should be the role of the hereditary Peerage following its removal from Parliament, and to establish the means for the promotion of that role.

(ii)        To identify the remaining rights and dignities of the hereditary Peerage and to establish the means whereby any attempt to diminish these rights and dignities can be defeated.

(iii)       To consider matters of Peerage law, in particular how titles and succession will be verified if such work is no longer to be handled by the Lord Chancellor’s Department or the Clerk of the Parliament

(iv)       To collect and voice the opinion of the hereditary Peers on further constitutional reform, particularly Stage II reform of the House of Lords.

(v)        To examine the arrangements for the replacement of the remaining Parliamentary hereditary Peers following the end of the interim arrangements, should no Stage II have been enacted, and to facilitate the selection of candidates.

(vi)       To collect and voice the opinions of the hereditary Peerage on other matters of common interest. 

(vii)      To provide a mechanism for all hereditary peers to keep in touch with each other and their heirs and successors.

  1. There shall be a committee of the Members of the Association charged with managing and overseeing the work of the Association. Members of the Committee shall serve for five years. The Committee shall appoint a Chairman who shall be one of their number and who shall serve continuously for three years. The Chairman and members of the Committee may offer themselves for re-election at the expiry of their terms, save that no member may serve for more than ten years continuously.
  1. The Committee shall appoint a President of the Association who shall serve for ten years and who shall not be a member of the Committee but who shall be entitled but not required to attend and vote at the Committee. The President shall generally be a Duke.
  1. At the first and subsequent elections to replace members of the Committee, where there are more candidates than places available, Members shall be asked to submit their choice in order of preference by postal ballot and those candidates with the highest numbers of votes shall be selected, with aggregated preferences being used to avoid ties.
  1. The Committee shall appoint a Secretary of the Association who shall serve for such period and upon such terms as may be agreed between the Committee and the Secretary. The Committee may appoint such additional staff as it sees fit.
  1. The Committee shall appoint not less than three of its members from time to time to be authorised signatories together with the Secretary on the Association’s bank account and any cheque or other instrument requiring the release of funds from that account or committing the Association to any contract or undertaking shall require two authorised signatures.
  1. The Committee shall report annually to the Members of the Association at an Annual General Meeting, to be held during the month of February, as to the activities of the Association in furthering its objectives and the management of its affairs and shall submit annual accounts showing income and expenditure. The written notice period required for the Annual General Meeting or for any other General Meeting whose business concerns the constitution of the Association shall be 21 days. General Meetings may be called by the Committee, or by any seven or more Members.
  1. A quorum at any General Meeting shall be not less than three Members present and a quorum at a Committee Meeting shall be two Committee members and the Secretary or three members, one of whom shall serve as secretary.
  1. Members shall pay an annual subscription of £15 or such other amount as the members may from time to time approve in General Meeting.
  1. The Committee shall arrange a website and bulletin board on the internet for the purposes of permitting electronic debates and of collecting and publishing the views of Members of the Association on matters considered important by them. Individual Members may express views of a party-political nature in electronic debates but the Association shall not offer its official endorsement of views or conclusions of such nature. Members should remember that these debates will not be covered by parliamentary privilege.
  1. The Committee or any Member of the Association (upon informing the Committee) may organize other meetings of Members at any time for social and political purposes and for the promotion of the standing of the Association or its work. Where any meeting results in a group of Members present wishing to publish conclusions of a party political nature, such conclusions shall be published as the views of the individual Members concerned and not those of the Association.
  1. The Association shall exist until wound up and may be wound up at any time by a simple majority vote among its members taken after giving due notice. Upon a winding up, the assets of the Association shall be divided among the Members for the time being.

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