On August 15, 2025, Nigel Farage, the outspoken leader of Reform UK, ignited a fresh debate in British politics by demanding the right to nominate peers to the House of Lords. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Farage accused the government of fostering a "democratic disparity" in the upper chamber—a disparity, he argued, that unfairly excludes his party from representation despite Reform UK’s recent surge in electoral support and political influence.
Farage’s call, widely reported by outlets including BBC, GB News, and The Times, centers on the fact that Reform UK, with four MPs and control over ten English councils, currently has no peers in the Lords. This stands in stark contrast to parties like the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), which collectively have 13 peers among them, despite holding fewer seats or securing fewer votes in the last general election. The Liberal Democrats, for instance, have 76 peers, even though they won fewer votes than Reform UK in 2024, though they do hold 72 seats in the Commons.
In his letter, Farage wrote: "My party received over 4.1 million votes at the general election in July 2024. We have since won a large number of seats in local government, led the national opinion polls for many months and won the only by-election of this Parliament." He went on to say, "The time has come to address the democratic disparity that exists in the upper house." According to The Telegraph, Farage’s request was described as "modest," though he refrained from naming specific nominees in his letter.
Political appointments to the House of Lords are, by tradition and law, at the discretion of the prime minister. There is no constitutional obligation for the prime minister to elevate members of opposition parties, but conventionally, Downing Street invites opposition leaders to nominate candidates for peerages when the government is making its own appointments. In December 2024, for example, Starmer appointed 30 new Labour peers—including his former chief of staff Sue Gray—while allowing the Conservatives to appoint six and the Liberal Democrats two. Despite Reform UK’s notable election results, they were not approached to nominate anyone.
Farage’s letter highlights the apparent inconsistencies in how peerages are distributed. The Green Party, with the same number of MPs as Reform UK, has two working peers. The Democratic Unionist Party, with five MPs, has six peers. "None of this holds water any longer given the seismic shifts that have taken place in British politics," Farage argued, underscoring Reform UK’s rapid rise and its claim to be the new main opposition party after sweeping gains in local elections and a razor-thin victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election earlier this year.
Potential candidates for Reform peerages, according to reports in The Times and The Telegraph, include Ann Widdecombe—a former Conservative MP and current Reform UK immigration and justice spokesperson—party chairman Zia Yusuf, and billionaire property developer Nick Candy, a significant party donor. Widdecombe, who resurrected her political career with the Brexit Party in 2019, has remained a prominent figure in Reform UK, recently drawing attention for controversial remarks on law and order and transgender issues. Candy, once a major donor to the Conservatives, switched allegiance to Reform UK last year and was named treasurer, pledging a "seven-figure" sum to the party. Yusuf, a former Goldman Sachs banker, briefly resigned as party chairman but returned to lead Reform’s government efficiency efforts.
The debate over Reform UK’s absence from the Lords has drawn commentary from constitutional experts and political insiders. Lord Norton of Louth, a leading authority on parliamentary procedure, told The Times: "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 MPs would rest with him alone." Norton acknowledged that there is a "case for minor parties like Reform to have representation in the House of Lords"—a sentiment echoed by others, though not without caveats.
Lord O’Donnell, former cabinet secretary, suggested the system might benefit from "greater checks and balances," noting, "It is a feature of our system that the prime minister can appoint whoever they like to the House of Lords." Baroness Fox of Buckley, who was nominated to the Lords by Boris Johnson and now sits as a crossbencher, described Farage’s request as "legitimate" and "a very sensible place to start" for Labour’s stated goal of improving diversity in the upper chamber. "There can be no rational reason for Starmer to turn it down," she remarked, as reported by The Telegraph.
Not everyone is convinced, however. Lord Hayward, a Conservative peer and election expert, cautioned that Reform UK is not yet an "established credible party that should be represented in the House of Lords." He pointed out that of the five Reform MPs elected in 2024, two have already resigned. "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," Hayward said. He also noted the irony that Farage, who once pledged to abolish the House of Lords altogether, is now seeking a foothold within its ranks.
The House of Lords, with over 800 members, plays a key role in scrutinizing government legislation and holding ministers to account. Peers are not elected but are appointed for life, and while the chamber is intended to function independently from the House of Commons, its composition has long been a source of controversy and calls for reform. Last year, MPs backed plans to remove hereditary peers—a small but symbolic step toward modernization.
For Farage and his supporters, the lack of Reform UK peers is emblematic of a broader problem with the British political system—one they say ignores the will of millions of voters. For critics, the party’s relative newness and internal instability are reasons for caution. As Starmer prepares to announce another round of peerages in the autumn, the question of whether Reform UK should be granted a voice in the Lords is likely to remain a flashpoint.
Whether or not Farage’s plea is heeded, the episode has once again shone a spotlight on the arcane rituals and ongoing debates over democracy, representation, and power at the heart of Westminster. With Reform UK’s rapid rise and the shifting sands of British politics, the issue of who gets a seat in the House of Lords is far from settled.
