Scottish Ministers have made regulations that disqualify members of the House of Lords from membership of the Scottish Parliament. The measure fulfils the duty in section 4 of the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025 and, while the instrument comes into force the day after it is made, the disqualification applies only from the day of the poll at the next general election to Holyrood. The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee recommended approval under the affirmative procedure on 2 October 2025.
Legally, the regulations modify the Scotland Act 1998. Section 15(1) is expanded so that being a member of the House of Lords becomes a ground for disqualification from being an MSP, while section 16(1)-the long‑standing exemption for peers-is repealed. New subsections 16(1ZC) and 16(1ZD) create tightly defined exception periods linked to election returns and the Lords oath.
Two short grace periods are set. A Lords member who is returned as an MSP is not disqualified for 14 days from the day they are returned. An MSP who is appointed to the Lords is not disqualified for 14 days from the day they make and subscribe the oath or affirmation required by the Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866. After those periods, the new ground for disqualification applies automatically unless the dual role has been resolved.
If the grace period is missed, section 17 of the Scotland Act 1998 provides that the member ceases to be an MSP and the seat becomes vacant. For constituency seats, a by‑election must be called within three months of the vacancy unless it would fall within the final three months before the next ordinary general election; regional seats are filled via the existing list arrangements.
Because the regulations defer the legal effect to the next polling day for a Scottish Parliament general election, the first practical application will be at that poll. Under the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020, ordinary elections are held on the first Thursday in May in the fifth calendar year after the previous election, subject to limited variation by the Presiding Officer.
The Lords rule forms part of a wider dual‑mandates package. Companion regulations for MPs provide a 49‑day window to resolve overlapping roles and suspend MSP salary where an MP salary is also paid. A separate instrument for councillors allows either a 372‑day exception where the next council election is within that period or a 49‑day window otherwise, with MSP pay adjusted to reflect any basic councillor salary. No salary provision is included for House of Lords members, reflecting that the second chamber does not pay a basic salary.
Peers who intend to stand for Holyrood have a clear compliance route. The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 permits resignation by written notice to the Clerk of the Parliaments, taking effect on the date specified in the notice; once resignation takes effect, the ground for disqualification is removed.
For sitting MSPs appointed to the Lords, the 14‑day period begins on the day they take the oath in the Upper House. In practice, that anchoring to the oath under the 1866 Act gives short but real time to complete a resignation from one role or the other before the disqualification takes effect.
The Scotland Act’s existing relief mechanism also remains relevant. Section 16(3) allows the Parliament, in limited circumstances, to resolve to disregard a disqualification once the ground has been removed and where it considers that course proper; this sits alongside the new time‑limited exceptions created by the regulations.
Immediate operational impact is limited. Current MSPs who are peers are unaffected until polling day at the next general election, after which the position is clear: simultaneous membership of the House of Lords and Holyrood will not be possible beyond the narrowly framed 14‑day windows set out above.