Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords are peers who do not belong to any parliamentary group in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. They do not take a political party's whip, nor affiliate to the crossbench group, nor are they Lords Spiritual (active Church of England bishops). Formerly, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary were also a separate affiliation, but due to the creation of the Supreme Court, were disqualified from sitting in the Lords until they no longer hold judicial office.1
Most non-party Lords Temporal are crossbenchers. Peers may also be required to sit as non-affiliated while they hold certain senior positions within the Lords (e.g. the senior deputy speaker), as a means to preserve the neutrality of their official roles. Some members become non-affiliated after resigning or being expelled from a party, either through a political disagreement or after a scandal such as the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal. Others have had no party allegiance and chose this designation rather than joining the crossbench.2
A member who is elected as Lord Speaker must withdraw from any party affiliation,3 but is not considered to be a non-affiliated peer. Former lord speakers have sat as crossbenchers after holding office.
Non-affiliated members
The UK Parliament website lists the following non-affiliated members of the House of Lords, including those not currently eligible to sit in the Lords:4
| Member | Previous affiliation | Reason for change |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Allan of Hallam | Liberal Democrat | |
| Baroness Altmann | Conservative | |
| Lord Austin of Dudley | Labour | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Lord Barwell | Conservative | |
| Lord Brennan | Labour | |
| Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill | none | Currently ineligible as Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales |
| Lord Cashman | Labour | Labour whip withdrawn following criticism of Rosie Duffield during her 2024 campaign for her Parliament seat5 |
| Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen | Conservative | |
| Lord Cooper of Windrush | Conservative | Suspended from Conservative whip after expressing support for Liberal Democrats in 2019 European Parliament elections |
| Lord Darzi of Denham | Labour | Resigned from Labour whip in July 2019 in protest of the party's response to antisemitism complaints6 |
| Lord Davies of Abersoch | Labour | |
| Lord Docherty of Milngavie | Labour | Suspended from Labour whip pending investigation into sexual allegations during his tenure as chief executive of NCG.7 |
| Lord Doyle | Labour | |
| Lord Evans of Watford | Labour | Labour whip removed upon suspension from the House in connection with lobbying scandal8 |
| Lord Faulks | Conservative | |
| Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee | Democratic Unionist | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Baroness Fox of Buckley | Brexit | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Lord Frost | Conservative | Withdrew from Conservative whip to serve as director general of Institute of Economic Affairs9 |
| Lord Gadhia | Conservative | |
| Lord Hannan of Kingsclere | Conservative | 10 |
| Lord Harrington of Watford | Conservative | |
| Lord Hobby | Labour | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Baroness Hoey | Labour | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Baroness Lampard | Conservative | |
| Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton | Conservative | Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets) |
| Baroness Longfield | Labour | Withdrew from Labour whip upon appointment as chair of Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs11 |
| Lord Lupton | Conservative | |
| Baroness McGregor-Smith | Conservative | |
| Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate | Labour | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with lobbying scandal |
| Baroness Mone | Conservative | |
| Lord Moore of Etchingham | none | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Baroness Morgan of Cotes | Conservative | |
| Baroness Moyo | Conservative | |
| Lord Paddick | Liberal Democrat | Withdrew from Liberal Democrat whip during his advisory role with the Metropolitan Police12 |
| Lord Patel of Bradford | Labour | |
| Lord Pearson of Rannoch | UKIP | Resigned UKIP whip in protest of party leadership during Brexit negotiations |
| Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede | Labour | Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords (2026–present) |
| Lord Redesdale | Liberal Democrat | |
| Lord Rosenfield | none | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Lord Taylor of Warwick | Conservative | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal and imprisonment for false accounting |
| Lord Truscott | Labour | Resigned Labour whip following the "cash for influence" allegations of 2009 |
| Lord Tyrie | Conservative | Entered the House without affiliation due to his role as Chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority |
| Baroness Uddin | Labour | Following return from suspension from the House in connection with expenses scandal |
| Baroness Vadera | Labour | |
| Lord Verdirame | none | Joined Lords without party affiliation |
| Baroness Warsi | Conservative | |
| Lord Wasserman | Conservative | |
| Baroness Young of Old Scone | Labour | Appointed as Forestry Commission chair13 |
Independent members
There are other peers who list themselves as Independent within the House of Lords:
| Member | Previous affiliation | Designation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Maginnis of Drumglass | Ulster Unionist Party | Independent Ulster Unionist | Resigned from party whip following homophobic remarks.14 Currently suspended from the Lords |
| Lord Stevens of Ludgate | UKIP | Conservative Independent | Expelled from Conservative whip in 2004 for supporting UKIP,15 sat as Conservative Independent until 2012 |
References
References
- "Ineligible Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
- "The party system". UK Parliament.
MPs and Members of the Lords do not have to belong to a political party. Instead, MPs can sit as Independents and Lords can sit as Crossbenchers or Independents.
- "The Lord Speaker". UK Parliament.
- "Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords". UK Parliament.
- "Michael Cashman's attack on Rosie Duffield costs him the Labour whip". LabourList. 17 June 2024.
- "Three Labour peers quit over handling of antisemitism cases". The Guardian. 9 July 2019.
- "New Labour peer suspended over alleged inappropriate behaviour". The Independent. 28 February 2026.
- "Two peers suspended from House of Lords for breaking lobbying rules". The Guardian. 24 November 2025.
- "David Frost, the Rt Hon Lord Frost of Allenton CMG, to become IEA Director General". PharmiWeb.com. 7 November 2025.
- Daniel Hannan (25 April 2026). "Here's why I'm quitting the Conservative Party". The Telegraph.
- "Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs: letters | Letter of reply from Chair to Home Secretary". UK Government. 10 December 2025.
- "Lord Paddick to join the Metropolitan Police as a Non Executive Advisor". libdemvoice.org. 10 October 2023.
- "Baroness Barbara Young of Old Scone appointed as Forestry Commission Chair". UK Government. 26 January 2026.
- ""Party distances itself from Maginnis gay marriage remarks"". BBC News. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- "Former Conservative peer Lord Stevens to join UK Independence Party". BBC News. BBC. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.