Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
This project investigated changes in behaviour and attitudes following the reform in 1999 which removed the majority of hereditary peers from the House of Lords. The central research question was whether the (still unelected) second chamber would grow in confidence and strength as a result of its least defensible element being removed, and the resultant change in party balance which saw it become a 'no overall control' chamber. Through study of peers' voting records, and particularly of government defeats in the chamber, the project assessed the impact of the second chamber on policy. It also investigated changing behaviour within the party and Crossbench groups. Sources included the public record, particularly Hansard, postal questionnaire surveys of peers conducted in 2005 and 2007, in-depth interviews with peers and public opinion poll questions on the MORI Omnibus surveys fielded in 2005 and 2007. Users should note that this study includes only the data from the 2005 survey of peers, the 2005 public opinion poll, defeats and divisions from 2000-2006 and publicly-available demographic information on peers. The project also provided some questions to be included in a 2005 survey of Members of Parliament (MPs), which is held separately under SN 5443, Devolution, Elected Representatives and Constituency Representation in Scotland and Wales, 2000-2005. Further information about the project may be found on the ESRC's A more legitimate and more powerful Upper House? The semi-reformed House of Lords award page.
Main Topics:
The main peers' survey data explores peers' working patterns, general political attitudes, attitudes to the chamber's powers, to their own and other party groups in the House, and to future reform. The data from peers, MPs and the public addresses the question of the 'legitimacy' of the House of Lords, and the appropriateness of its intervention in the policy process. The public opinion poll data covers political party allegiance, voting intention, House of Lords legitimacy, blocking of manifesto/non-manifesto bills in the Upper House, and demographic information. Other files include details of voting records on whipped and unwhipped divisions with additional information on government defeats, from 2000-2006 and publicly-available demographic information on peers. Details of individual files are as follows:the Peers file contains all peers that were members of the House of Lords between the start of the 1999-2000 parliamentary session and 28 August 2007 (927) the PeersXB file contains all Crossbenchers that were members of the House of Lords between the start of the 1999-2000 session and 28 August 2007 (250)the Divisions file contains the details all divisions that have occurred in the House of Lords between the start of the 1999-2000 parliamentary session and the end of the 2005-2006 parliamentary session (1,059)the Defeats file contains the details of all defeats that have occurred in the House of Lords between the start of the 1999-2000 parliamentary session and the end of the 2005-2006 parliamentary session (345)the 2005 Peers Survey file contains all peers that responded to the postal questionnaire circulated in February 2005 (396 in total)
No sampling (total universe)
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
Telephone interview
Postal survey
Compilation or synthesis of existing material
