While in the Commons a Government will enjoy a majority (save in the relatively rare case of a hung parliament) - in the Lords no party is anywhere near having an absolute majority of members. In fact the latest breakdown of membership is -
Labour 211
Crossbench 206
Conservative 203
Liberal Democrats 77
Bishops 26
Others 12
TOTAL 735 (4th June 2007)
Unsurprising given the numbers, and the fact that their Lordships believe they have greater legitimacy since all but 92 hereditaries were removed, the Government is regularly defeated. University College London's Constitution Unit maintains a database of government defeats - available at
