In "House of Lords"

UK: Former Prime Minister May receives a title of nobility

Theresa May will sit in the House of Lords in the future.

(Bild: AFP)

Former British Prime Minister Theresa May will sit in the House of Lords in future. This was announced by the British government on the day of the House of Commons election, which ended in a resounding defeat for the Conservatives. 

The announcement stated that the King had graciously expressed his intention to confer life peerages on the following individuals. This was followed by the names of various former members of government, MPs and staff.

It was not initially known which title May would bear. Her predecessor David Cameron was appointed to the House of Lords last year when Rishi Sunak made him Foreign Secretary in his cabinet. Since then, he has been able to call himself Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton.

Only the second woman to head the government
May was only the second woman after Margaret Thatcher (who governed from 1979 to 1990) to head the British government. May's time in government was dominated by the negotiations with Brussels over her country's exit from the EU. She was forced to resign in 2019 after her Brexit agreement failed several times in the House of Commons. May was succeeded by her party colleague Boris Johnson, who was instrumental in her downfall. Politically, however, she ultimately outlived him as a backbench MP.

May was only in Austria at the end of June, where she emphasized the importance of standing up for democracy at the Wachau European Forum. "Democracy is in trouble all over the world and we should never ignore the threat to democracy from within," May said. At the same time, she emphasized that elected politicians must meet high standards.

Second chamber of the British parliament
The House of Lords is the second chamber of the British Parliament and has a similar role in the legislative process to the Upper House, which can only delay, but not stop, decisions by the National Council. However, the current 783 members of the House of Lords are appointed for life and elevated to the peerage. Historically, the members of the British aristocracy are represented there.

It was not until 1958 that the circle of members was extended beyond the aristocracy by creating the possibility of appointing peers for life. In 1999, Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair's government abolished most hereditary seats in the House of Lords, which has not been largely self-renewing since then. However, because it is not always clear which merits are decisive for the nomination of the Lords, there are repeated accusations that the government uses the allocation of prestigious posts to promote favorites or reward party donors.