Let daughters inherit peerages, says MP vowing to end sexism in the Lords
Harriett Baldwin will present her proposals to MPs this week as she calls for abolition of the ‘last bastion of constitutional sexism’
The “last bastion of constitutional sexism” under which only men can inherit seats in the House of Lords should be abolished, a former cabinet minister has said.
Harriett Baldwin, the Conservative MP for West Worcestershire, is set to call on the Government to change the law so that daughters can inherit peerages.
Some 92 hereditary peers sit in the House of Lords following constitutional changes made by Sir Tony Blair’s government, with 75 of them selected to attend the chamber in a ballot of their fellow hereditary peers.
Mrs Baldwin claimed that the principle of male-only primogeniture means that one-eighth of the seats among the 780 sitting members in the Lords are reserved exclusively for men.
On Friday, she will present her Hereditary Titles (Female Succession) Bill for consideration in the Commons.
‘Cross-party support for proposals’
Mrs Baldwin said: “This is the last bastion of constitutional sexism and, when I last spoke to the House of Commons on this important reform, I vowed that I would not rest.
“This simple reform of the House of Lords has cross-party support and a tranche of MPs have joined me calling for this legislation to receive government support.”
Private members’ Bills are usually unlikely to progress through Parliament without government support, but Mrs Baldwin has been petitioning ministers to encourage them to back the change.
“I have had detailed meetings with ministers alongside this and, although there is wider reluctance to reform the House of Lords itself, I do feel that this initiative has the tacit support of the Government,” she said.
“When I bring this legislation back to the House of Commons, I will press for formal government support, and I hope to secure commitments from a minister that now is the time to smash this constitutional glass ceiling and finally bring equality to the UK Parliament.”
Several other Private Members’ Bills are set to be considered on Friday ahead of Mrs Baldwin’s, meaning that MPs may run out of time to debate it.
However, the legislation has gathered support outside Parliament from Daughters’ Rights, a campaign group, which seeks to abolish male primogeniture.
Charlotte Carew Pole, the group’s founder, said: “The Government has done great work on women’s rights and we hope it will support Harriett’s Bill as an opportunity to end the last legalised sex discrimination.
“This is the latest step on a campaign to shift the law in this country. But I am hoping that it will also be considered soon by the European Court of Human Rights, which can, and should, consider this matter.
“Preference on the basis of sex has no place in our society and it would send a strong message that nowhere is it OK to treat boys in preference of girls.”
The Crown officially abandoned male primogeniture in 2013, when Parliament passed the Succession to the Crown Act allowing the first child of the Prince of Wales, whether a son or daughter, to become first in line to the throne.