British Yahooers help---do all Peers HAVE to serve in the House of Lords?

Peers do NOT have to serve in the House of Lords. Indeed many hereditary peers (ie. those born with a title like Inspector Lynley) who once had a birthright to sit in the House of Lords are now no longer allowed to do so after a number of reforms in the last 15 years.

Most Peers are now what is known as "Life Peers" (ie. the title dies when they do and is not passed on) and are appointed by the Government (in the House of Commons). This means that most Peers in the House of Lords today are formerly politicians; high ranking businessmen or clergymen.

Peers are not obliged to sit in the House of Lords. Indeed, under a reform of the House of Lords instituted by Tony Blair, many hereditary peers no longer have the right to sit in the Lords at all. A rump of hereditary peers still retain this right, as an interim measure, but the majority of peers with seats in the Lords are now life peers.

A peer also has the right to renounce his title if he so wishes. This came about as a result of a campaign by the MP Tony Benn, who inherited a peerage from his father and was, in consequence, disqualified from his seat in the Commons. He successfully brought about a change in the law which allowed him to renounce the title and resume his seat as an MP.