Equality and the House of Lords

Thanks to @JaeKay i've noticed a story in the Telegraph:


Gay peers' partners may get titles too


At the moment, if a man becomes a Lord, his wife becomes a Lady but if he had a civil partner then the partner does not receive a title. If a woman becomes a Dame then her husband (or civil partner i guess) does not receive a title (like Mark Valladares, married to a Baroness).

I guess this is a legacy of women deriving their status from their husbands and not expecting men to derive status from their wives (this would have been well before same-sex couples complicated things further).


A 10-minute rule Bill (the Honours (Equality of Titles for Partners) Bill) will be introduced to give honorary titles to the husbands and civil partners of those receiving honours. Although the headline is about same-sex couples, this is really a gender equality story. If female partners of members of the House of Lords are given honorary titles, then male partners should be given them too.


The House of Lords should be replaced by a fully-elected Senate (unlike the current proposals) but whilst we still have a monarchy and peerage, it should be as equal as possible (including allowing female children to inherit titles instead of younger male siblings). Equality of honorary titles makes sense and should be supported.