There have been a lot of enquiries and committees on the subject of Lords reform in the past 15 years. One of the generally agreed principles is that one party should not have a majority, which is why the proposals include proportional representation for the elected members and the largely non-partisan nominated members and Lords Spiritual.

It is likely that the non-partisan "cross-benchers" (who function as a technical group in the House of Lords) will be the third largest group in the reformed House. The Liberal Democrats will probably be the next largest. There will then be smaller numbers of members from various other parties.

Under the new order no one will serve for more than fifteen years, so the old idea of membership for life will disappear.