Parliament today

The House of Lords is the unelected chamber of Parliament, and for most of its history a seat there was simply inherited by title. That began to change in 1958, when the Prime Minister gained the power to nominate people to sit for their own lifetime only, rather than passing the seat down to their children. These life peerages usually go to people who have had a distinguished career in politics, business, law or another field, and they let a much wider range of experience into the chamber.

A second change followed in 1999, when hereditary peers lost their automatic right to sit in the Lords. Instead, hereditary peers now choose a small number from among themselves to represent the rest. Together these two changes turned an inherited chamber into one shaped mostly by appointment, though a handful of hereditary seats remain by that internal election. The Lords still checks and amends legislation from the Commons, but the Commons can ultimately overrule it.