Information AboutCrossbencher |
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A cross-bencher is a member of the British House Of Lords who is not aligned to any particular Party . These include the Law Lords and former Speakers of the House Of Commons , such as Lady Boothroyd and Lord Weatherill , who by convention are not aligned with any party. They are termed cross-benchers because they sit on neither the government benches nor the opposition benches but on benches that are perpendicular to the other sets and face the Throne . As of 1 July 2005 , there were 187 cross-benchers. They do not take a collective position on issues, although they do elect from among themselves a Convenor for administrative purposes. The current Convenor is Lord Williamson Of Horton . The Convenor keeps them up-to-date with the business of the House. Although the Lords Spiritual (Archbishops and Bishops of the Church Of England ) also have no party affiliation, they do not sit on the cross-benches. The cross-benchers are often viewed as bringing specialist knowledge to the House, since they have usually been created peers for reasons other than party-political affiliation. 155 are Life Peers and 32 are hereditary peers. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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