Life Peerages Act 1958 Life Peerages Act 1958 The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the monarch of the United Kingdom. This Act was made during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister. Elizabeth II had ascended to the throne just over five years before the Act. The Conservatives tried to introduce life peerages to modernise the House of Lords, give it more legitimacy, and respond to a decline in its numbers and attendance. The Labour Party opposed the Life Peerages Bill on Second Reading: Hugh Gaitskell made an impassioned speech
Prime Minister's Resignation Honours Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The Prime Minister's Resignation Honours in the United Kingdom are honours granted at the behest of an outgoing Prime Minister following his or her resignation. In such a list, a prime minister may ask the monarch to bestow peerages, or lesser honours, on any number of people of his or her choosing. For example, in the 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, an additional 47 working peers were created at the behest of the three main parties. Since May 2007, the House of Lords Appointments Commission has had to approve proposed peerages, while oversight by the Honours