Life Peerages Act 1958

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The Life Peerages Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz II c. 21) established the modern standards for the creation of Life Peers by the monarch of the United Kingdom. Life Peers are members of the House of Lords who are appointed for life-long terms, but whose membership of the House cannot be inherited by their descendants. Judicial Life Peers already sat in the House under the terms of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 and later amendments. The Act vastly increased the ability of the Prime Minister to change the composition of the House of Lords, and the dominance of hereditary "part-time" peers was lessened considerably.

The Act allowed for the creation of female peers; the first such women peers sat in the House of Lords from 21 October 1958.^[1]