Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has thrust the House of Lords back into the national spotlight with a demand that his party be allowed to nominate peers for the first time. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer on August 15, 2025, Farage argued that a "democratic disparity" exists in Parliament’s unelected upper chamber, highlighting Reform UK’s lack of representation despite its growing influence in British politics.
Farage’s case rests on a string of recent electoral successes. As he detailed in correspondence first reported by The Times, Reform UK secured over 4.1 million votes in the July 2024 general election, now boasts four MPs—including Farage himself—and controls ten councils across England. "The Greens, DUP, Plaid Cymru and UUP have 13 peers between them, but Reform UK has none. The time has come to address the democratic disparity that exists in the upper house," Farage wrote, underscoring the imbalance he sees compared to other small parties.
For Farage, the numbers speak volumes. The Greens, with four MPs, have two peers. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has five MPs and six peers. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), with just one MP, holds three peerages. Even Plaid Cymru, with a handful of MPs, is represented in the Lords. Reform UK, by contrast, remains locked out entirely. Farage’s letter pointedly notes his party’s months-long lead in national opinion polls and a recent by-election victory, suggesting that Reform’s exclusion from the Lords is out of step with its current political stature.
Potential candidates for peerages, should Farage’s demand be met, include prominent Reform figures such as Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP; Nick Candy, a billionaire donor; and Zia Yusuf, the party’s ex-chairman. Yet, the power to appoint new peers lies solely in the hands of the sitting prime minister. As Lord Norton of Louth, a respected constitutional expert, told The Times, "The PM is the only person who writes the rules on this as it stands. Historically appointments to the House of Lords were in the gift of the Crown but that function has been passed to the prime minister. So any decision on whether to create Reform peers would rest with him alone."
Lord O'Donnell, a former cabinet secretary, echoed this, noting, "It is a feature of our system that the PM can appoint whoever they like to the House of Lords. It is an area where I think we need greater checks and balances." Not everyone in Westminster is convinced, however, that Reform UK’s recent rise warrants immediate inclusion. Lord Hayward, a Conservative peer and election expert, argued, "Just because Reform has a few MPs and is doing well in the opinion polls that does not mean that they are an established credible party that should be represented in the House of Lords. I think Starmer is entirely within his rights to wait and see how Reform actually does over the next few years before making a decision."
The debate around Reform UK’s potential peerages has reignited wider calls for Lords reform—or even abolition. Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP George Adam described Farage’s claims of "democratic disparity" as "somewhat ironic," given that the House of Lords itself is "wholly undemocratic." Adam went further, suggesting, "The sooner the unelected House of Lords is scrapped the better, but it is clear that Westminster parties will never bite the hand that feeds them. It is only with independence that Scotland can escape this archaic institution for good."
Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman was even more scathing. She labeled Reform UK "a toxic right-wing party that thrives on hatred and division," and said, "No serious democracy can have a Chamber stuffed with unelected cronies, donors and people with inherited titles." Chapman argued, "A democracy fit for the 21st century would abolish the House of Lords. Such an archaic relic has no place in the Scottish Greens’ vision for our future."
The row over peerages comes at a time of significant flux for the upper chamber. As of August 2025, the House of Lords has 830 sitting members, with no set cap on its size. The Conservatives currently hold 285 seats, Labour 209, and the rest are distributed among smaller parties and crossbenchers. The government, in its manifesto, has committed to reforming the Lords, with the ultimate ambition of replacing it altogether. As a "first step," Labour has introduced a bill to strip the nearly 90 remaining hereditary peers of their right to sit, while also proposing measures to improve regional representation, introduce a mandatory retirement age, and require minimum participation from peers—addressing the chamber’s notorious absenteeism.
Political appointments to the Lords, meanwhile, remain at the discretion of the prime minister. Although there is no constitutional obligation to elevate opposition figures, Downing Street has, under successive governments, invited other parties to nominate candidates for consideration. In December 2024, Keir Starmer appointed 30 new Labour peers, including his former chief of staff Sue Gray, despite previous campaign promises to overhaul the chamber. The Conservatives were allowed to nominate six peers, including former Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey, while the Liberal Democrats received two new peerages. The Liberal Democrats, for their part, now enjoy 76 lords in the upper chamber.
Not everyone is impressed with Farage’s latest move. Defence Secretary John Healey, speaking to LBC and Times Radio on August 15, 2025, was blunt: "I’m not sure that parliament’s going to benefit from more Putin apologists like Nigel Farage, to be honest." Healey elaborated, "Look at what he’s said about Russia, look at what he’s said about Putin in the past. I have to say, the voice of Reform is conspicuously absent in any of our discussions and any of our defence debates about Ukraine and about Russia." Healey also pointed out the apparent contradiction in Farage’s position: "This is the same Nigel Farage that called for the abolition of the House of Lords and now wants to fill it with his cronies."
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey was similarly dismissive, telling reporters that Farage "seems to be mostly interested in Nigel Farage. The fact that he's focussing on how he can get his mates into the House of Lords says all you need to know about Nigel Farage." Davey accused the Reform leader of neglecting the pressing issues of security and the economy in favor of "feathering his own nest."
As the debate rages, the underlying question looms: Is Reform UK’s exclusion from the Lords a genuine democratic deficit, or a reflection of the party’s still-nascent status in British politics? With the power to appoint new peers firmly in the hands of the prime minister, and with deep divisions over the very future of the House of Lords, Farage’s demand has become yet another flashpoint in the ongoing saga of Britain’s constitutional evolution. Whether Reform UK will soon have a seat at the table—or whether the table itself will be upended—remains to be seen.
