Interest in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election has naturally focused on the result.  What has been less commented on is the infrequency nowadays of by-elections.  There can be significant changes in membership of the House of Commons at a General Election but relatively little change between elections. 

The situation is very different in the Lords.  There appears a popular perception that it is a House of old members who have been there for decades.  The average age is certainly higher than for MPs and some members have served for far longer than the longest-serving MP.  (The Father of the House of Commons, Alan Williams, was first elected in 1964.  Lord Carrington entered the House of Lords in 1945.)  However, what is overlooked is the extent to which new blood is regularly introduced.   Each year, the House loses between ten and twenty members: last year for example saw the death of well-known members such as Lord Biffen and Lord Weatherill.  The 2008 edition of Dod’s Parliamentary Companion records that since the last edition 20 peers have died and 16 new peers have been created. 

Indeed, a majority of life peers have had their peerages created in the past ten years.  The House is thus a much younger House in terms of length of service than is probably realised.  The House has the benefit of people coming in with expertise and experience that is either current or recent.  The gradual replenishment enables new members to absorb the rules and customs of the House without the disruption that may result from the introduction of a mass of new members at one go.   One notable aspect of the socialisation of new members is how quickly former MPs adapt to the less partisan and more constructive environment to the one that they previously experienced.