By-election in the House of Lords
6 February 2013 (updated on 6 February 2013)
Viscount Ridley has been elected as a Conservative hereditary Peer in the recent by-election to fill the vacancy after Earl Ferrers’ death in November 2012.
- By-elections in the House of Lords
- Lords Hansard: Hereditary Peers By-Election
- Parliament News: Death of Earl Ferrers
Under the House of Lords Act 1999, the House of Lords elected 90 hereditary Peers to sit in the reformed House. When one of these hereditary Peers dies, a by-election is held: in this case, the vacancy occurred among the Conservative hereditary Peers, so the electors were those hereditary Peers belonging to the Conservative party.
All those on the Register of Hereditary Peers are eligible to stand in by-elections. The by-election must take place within three months of any vacancy occurring.