Peers' Careers: Ministers in the House of Lords, 1964–95
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-9248.00067 |
| Published date | 01 March 1997 |
| Author | Philip Cowley,David Melhuish |
| Date | 01 March 1997 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Peers' Careers: Ministers in the
House of Lords, 1964±95
PHILIP COWLEY AND DAVID MELHUISH*
University of Hull
Ministers in the Lords are an important and overlooked part of the British executive.
This article examines who they are, what careers they have, and speculates about
careers in a reformed upper chamber. It ®nds intra-party dierences in the type of
peer employed as ministers and in previous education but not (greatly) in previous
occupation, concluding that ministers in the Lords remain part of a social e
Âlite. The
eect of gender is also examined. It examines career paths, ®nding the development
of an apprenticeship system and a glass ceiling which has led to recruitment problems
for the Government. Labour's plans for reform, and the consequences for executive
recruitment, are also considered.
Nearly a quarter of John Major's `classless society' Government sits in the
House of Lords. Although this is certainly more `classless' than at the turn of
the century when no less than 45% of the Government ± including the Prime
Minister ± were peers, in total since 1945 about 20% of all Conservative
ministers and 15% of all Labour ministers have been peers.1These peers are an
integral and often overlooked part of the British executive.
The role that they play as departmental ministers varies, depending on the
peer, his or her position, the structure of the department, and the relationship
between the Secretary of State and the minister. Some peer ministers play only a
marginal part in the life of the department, being mainly advocates for policies
devised by others, whilst other peer ministers are as involved in the policy-
making process as any Commons minister. But most peer ministers ± certainly
those of Minister of State rank ± will have their own portfolio, increasing the
likelihood of active participation in policy making, if only within their own
area. And those peers who reach the Cabinet and head departments are clearly
central to policy making. Even those who merely speak for others are
important. Once formulated all legislation must pass through the House of
Commons and the House of Lords. Then ministerial peers become much more
#Political Studies Association 1997. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main
Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
* Both authors would like to thank Philip Norton, Michael Moran and the two anonymous
referees of Political Studies for their advice on an earlier draft of this article. They are also indebted
to the peers with whom they have corresponded for giving up so much of their time, and D. Butler
and G. Butler's British Political Facts, 1900± 1995 (London, Macmillan, 1995, 7th ed.), without
which this article would probably not have been written. Full tabulations of the data referred to in
the article are available on request from the authors.
1See M. Rush `Career patterns in British politics: ®rst choose your party . . .', Parliamentary
Aairs, 47 (1994), 566±82.
Political Studies (1997), XLV, 21± 35
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