Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords

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Members of the House of Lords are said to be non-affiliated if they do not belong to any parliamentary group. That is, they do not take a political party's whip, nor affiliate to the crossbench group, nor the Lords Spiritual (bishops). Formerly the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary were also a separate affiliation, but their successors the Justices of the Supreme Court are now disqualified from the Lords while in office and are described as "Ineligible" rather than "Non-affiliated".[1]

Most non-party Lords Temporal are crossbenchers. Members with senior official roles are counted as non-affiliated while they hold this role to preserve their neutrality; they may (re-)affiliate to a group at the end of their term of office. The Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl Marshal are not counted, as they are on leave of absence.[2] Some members become non-affiliated after resigning or being expelled from a party, either through a political disagreement or after a scandal such as the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal. Others have had no party allegiance and choose this designation rather than joining the crossbenches.

The UK Parliament website lists the following "Non-affiliated" members of the House of Lords,[2][3] excluding those on leave of absence or suspended:[1]

Member Previous affiliation Reason for change
Lord Adonis Labour Chairman-designate of National Infrastructure Commission
Lord Ahmed Labour Resigned following allegation of antisemitism[citation needed]
Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare Conservative Expelled following imprisonment for perjury[citation needed]
Lord Boswell of Aynho Conservative Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees (2012-present)
Lord Collins of Mapesbury Law lord Returned to the House following retirement from Supreme Court[citation needed]
Baroness D'Souza Crossbench Lord Speaker (2011-present)
Lord Dykes Liberal Democrats
Lord Eatwell Labour
Lord Filkin Labour
Baroness Ford Labour
Lord Grabiner Labour Resigned to protest the direction of the Labour Party[citation needed]
Lord Hanningfield Conservative Briefly suspended from the House following criminal conviction for false accounting.[citation needed]
Lord Kalms Conservative Expelled after supporting UKIP in 2009 European elections
Lord Laird Ulster Unionist Resigned following allegations of lobbying activities in breach of parliamentary rules.[citation needed]
Lord Laming Crossbench Chairman of Committees (2015-present)
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Labour Following return from suspension from the House in connection with lobbying scandal[citation needed]
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay Liberal Democrat Following leave of absence in connection with a dispute regarding Nick Clegg's role as party leader[citation needed]
Lord Paul Labour Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal[citation needed]
Lord Smith of Finsbury Labour Chair, Environment Agency (2008-2014)
Lord Sugar Labour Resigned over party's attitude to business[4]
Lord Taylor of Warwick Conservative Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal and imprisonment for false accounting[citation needed]
Baroness Uddin Labour Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal[citation needed]
Lord Warner Labour Resigned to protest the direction of the Labour Party[citation needed]

There are also several listed with an "Independent" party designation:[2][3]

Member Designation Notes
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass Independent Ulster Unionist Resigned whip following anti-gay remarks[citation needed]
Lord Owen Independent Social Democrat Left Crossbenches following donation to Labour[citation needed]
Lord Stoddart of Swindon Independent Labour Expelled after supporting Socialist Alliance candidate in the 2001 general election[citation needed]
Baroness Tonge Independent Liberal Democrat Resigned the whip in 2012 after Israeli Apartheid Week comments[citation needed]
Lord Truscott Independent Labour Resigned following "cash for influence" allegations of 2009[citation needed]

See also

References

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  4. Lord Sugar: 'Disillusioned' peer quits Labour Party, bbc.co.uk, 11 May 2015; accessed 11 May 2015.