Scotland bans House of Lords members from being MSPs

Scotland has confirmed a clear rule: if you are a member of the UK House of Lords, you cannot sit as a Member of the Scottish Parliament. Ministers used powers in the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025 and the regulations passed under Holyrood’s affirmative procedure. The change modifies the Scotland Act 1998 to write this disqualification into law.

Here is the rule in everyday language. The regulations add a new ground to section 15 of the Scotland Act 1998 stating that a “member of the House of Lords” is disqualified from being an MSP, and remove the old exception in section 16 that once allowed peers to serve at Holyrood. The Scottish Government’s equality assessment sets out the aim plainly: one role at a time.

The timing matters for students of constitutional law. The instrument was made on 30 October 2025 and comes into force on 31 October 2025, but the practical effect kicks in at the next Scottish Parliament general election: no MSP is disqualified today. The next ordinary election is due by early May 2026 under the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020.

Two short grace windows keep things fair. If a peer is elected to Holyrood, they have 14 days from being officially “returned” as an MSP to resolve the clash. If an MSP is appointed to the Lords, they have 14 days from the day they make the Lords oath to sort it out. The 14‑day rule and the oath trigger are confirmed in Scottish Government materials and rely on the Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866.

So what does “resolve” look like in practice? A peer can resign from the Lords by writing to the Clerk of the Parliaments under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014, and an MSP can resign by writing to the Presiding Officer under section 14 of the Scotland Act 1998. These are the lawful routes to keep one job and give up the other.

This sits within a wider plan to end “dual mandates” so each representative focuses on one chamber. A companion set of regulations already covers MPs: there the grace period is 49 days and any overlapping MSP salary is reduced to zero, according to the Scottish Government’s published equality analysis. That separate rule is about MPs, not peers, but it shows the policy direction.

For media literacy, it helps to be precise about terms. “Member of the House of Lords” includes life peers and the Lords Spiritual (bishops); the rule is about holding two roles at once, not about who may stand for election. If a peer wins a Holyrood seat, they must act within the window or they will be disqualified under the Scotland Act framework.

Context also matters. Westminster is debating how to update the Lords, including removing hereditary peers, which shows how questions about membership and legitimacy are live across the UK. Scotland’s change dovetails with that larger conversation about fair representation and modern institutions.

Key phrases you will see in documents mean the following when you teach or revise them. “Returned” means formally declared elected; “day of the poll” is the voting day; and the “oath” or “affirmation” is the promise parliamentarians must make before taking their seats. The UK Parliament explains the oath process clearly and why it matters.

What this means for you as a citizen or in class: one chamber at a time is now the rule for Scotland. It is grounded in the 2025 Act, embedded into the Scotland Act, applied from the next election, and smoothed by two 14‑day windows. Use those anchors-power, text, timetable, and grace periods-to sketch the constitutional mechanics with confidence.