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
Acting prime minister Minister on 16 separate occasions. The term "acting Prime Minister" is sometimes also applied to someone who is temporarily appointed Prime Minister following a death in office (more commonly called a "caretaker Prime Minister" or an "interim Prime Minister"). Examples include Frank Forde (seven days following John Curtin's death), Earle Page (19 days following Joseph Lyons' death), and John McEwen (22 days following Harold Holt's disappearance). Unlike those who merely acted in the absence of a Prime Minister, Forde, Lyons, Page and McEwen were officially commissioned by the Governor General and took the oath of office; they are considered Prime