The House of Lords is the upper house of the British Parliament - a unique institution in its archaic nature. It consists of secular and spiritual lords, called peers. The number of members of the chamber is not established by law (in 1994 it consisted of 1259 peers).
Parliament meets in the Palace of Westminster, built specifically for this purpose, although officially called the royal (it is only formally at the disposal of the House of Lords and Communities). The decoration of the House of Lords is rather restrained, reminiscent of a medieval chapel with openwork carvings of panels.
Most of the places belong to peers by inheritance rights, they have noble titles not lower than barons. Inherited peers have the right to participate in parliamentary meetings upon reaching the age of 21 years.
Some of the lords have the status of lifelong, having received such a right under the Act on Lifelong Peers of 1958 (it also grants such a right to women, including the famous baroness Margaret Thatcher). There are also two categories of Lords by position: 26 spiritual, 12 judicial (“ordinary Lords of Appeal”), which the Queen appoints to exercise the judicial powers of the Chamber.
They do not have a noble title and are not peers. The House of Lords does not provide for the inclusion of foreigners, bankrupt peers, as well as those convicted of treason.
The speaker of the chamber - the Lord Chancellor - is vested with functions in the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government. He presides over the debate, is a member of the government cabinet and head of the legal service. This is the highest civilian person in the country, he has advantages (after members of the royal family) compared to other subjects, with the exception of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
From the very beginning of its existence, the House of Lords of Great Britain consisted only of representatives of the land aristocracy. Currently, this situation persists to a greater extent. Civil servants in second place. The third group of peers is the heads of companies. The peculiarity of the Chamber is that its composition before the vote is unpredictable and uncertain.
The House of Lords is known for its colorful attraction - a bag of wool. This is a padded stool padded with red cloth, on which the Lord Chancellor sits during meetings. A tradition about six centuries ago was introduced by Edward III with the aim of reminding everyone of the importance of this product to the Kingdom.
The House of Lords is small in size, approximately 30x15 meters. To the right and left of the famous "volsaka" (a bag of wool) are red sofas that rise in tiers up.
Until 1911, Lords had the right to reject any bill passed by the House of Commons. But now they only retain the right of a deferred veto - a postponement, the duration of which for different projects can vary from a year to a month. The official report of the parliamentary meeting is called the Hansard.
The English lords do not receive salaries, with the exception of judges, the speaker, and those who are also members of the cabinet. However, they are entitled to reimbursement of the time spent at meetings. On average, the content of one lord per year costs 149 thousand pounds.
