The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 (c. 24) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act was a private member's bill. It received royal assent on 14 May 2014. The actallows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign â actions previously constitutionally impossible for life peers. 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, provided that the session is longer than 6 months. The act does not have retrospective effect.
, 213 peers have resigned or retired, and a further 16 peers were removed under the act's provisions regarding non-attendance. The first peer to resign was Julian Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell, on 1 October 2014.
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 or been removed from the House of Lords can stand or re-stand as MPs. To date, no such person has become an MP.