Members of the House of Lords have begun the detailed, line-by-line examination of the Representation of the People Bill, with the first day of committee stage taking place on Monday 2 November. Committee stage is the part of a bill's passage where peers work through its clauses in order and consider proposed changes to the wording, as well as proposals for new clauses. It follows a second reading debate on Monday 14 September, when the bill's overall principles were discussed.

What the bill proposes

The bill aims to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections. It also proposes changes across electoral law, covering voter registration, voter identification, the conduct of elections, political finance rules and the enforcement arrangements for the Electoral Commission. Six days of committee stage have been scheduled so far, running through to Monday 14 December, although Parliament notes that the schedule may change and further days could be added.

Amendments on day one

On the first day, peers were due to consider amendments on subjects including recall petitions for MPs, a national referendum on lowering the voting age, lowering the voter registration age to 14, extending the franchise across all nations of the United Kingdom, and the age at which National Insurance numbers are issued. Committee stage does not itself make the bill law. The bill must still complete its remaining parliamentary stages, and any amendments agreed at this stage will form part of the text considered later. Proceedings can be watched live on Parliament TV, and the Lords Hansard transcript is published after the debate.

Sources: UK Parliament, Representation of the People Bill enters Lords committee stage; Hansard Society, Parliament Matters Bulletin, 2 November 2026.