House of Lords Reform Act 2014
The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign – actions previously constitutionally impossible for Life Peers. (Under the provisions of the Peerage Act 1963, hereditary peers can effectively resign from the House of Lords by disclaiming their peerage, but this procedure has only been used once since the House of Lords Act 1999 removed automatic membership of hereditary  peers in that House.) It also makes provision to exclude members who commit serious criminal offences resulting in a jail sentence of at least one year, and members who fail to attend the House for a whole session. The Act does not have retrospective effect. , 152 peers have resigned or retired, and a further eight peers were removed under the Act's provisions regarding non-attendance. Amongst other things, this Act provides for the right of peers to resign from the House of Lords, whilst keeping their title and style. Section 4(5) states that those who have resigned from the  Lords can stand or re-stand as MPs. To date, no such person has become an MP. Peers retired or resigned under the provisions of the Act. Additionally, The Lord Montagu of Beaulieu () had given notice of his intention to retire from the Lords in September 2015, having served as an hereditary peer for nearly 68 years; however, he died shortly before his expected retirement date. References. List of Peers who have resigned on www.peerages.info