The Rt Hon. the Lord Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO
Crossbench
Member of the House of Lords
M
Lord Butler of Brockwell's full title is The Rt Hon. the Lord Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO. His name is Frederick Edward Robin Butler, and he is a current member of the House of Lords.
Allowance claims · 2026
Data not yet released for 2026 — the Lords Finance Office publishes monthly CSVs ~6-8 weeks after month-end.
Lords votes · 2026
162 divisions
9 Content(5.6%)
3 Not-Content(1.9%)
150 didn't vote(92.6%)
2026-02-04
Not-Content
62–295
Not-Content
Source: lordsvotes-api.parliament.uk. "Result" shows the headline
Content vs Not-Content tally (including tellers). The Lords doesn't
publish a "didn't vote" attendance roll like the Commons, so the
figure above conflates absence with abstention.
Recent Hansard contributions · latest 25
2026-05-20
King’s Speech
My Lords, there is much that is good in the measures in the King’s Speech and certainly much that is well intentioned. However, I am left with the uncomfortable feeling that, overall, the contents of the speech do not, in a phrase often used by the nobl
2026-01-15
In-game Purchases: Protections for Children
My Lords, I am grateful for that reply. Is it not time that loot boxes were recognised for what they are—a form of gambling highly addictive to children? The last Government opted for industry-led regulation, but independent research shows that it is not
2026-01-15
In-game Purchases: Protections for Children
To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards implementing protections for children from harmful in-game purchases, including loot boxes.
2025-11-26
Ministerial Code
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that detailed codes of conduct can never ensure good behaviour, and constant allegations across the Dispatch Box of breaches of the code undermine public confidence in the integrity of public life rather than enh
2025-10-20
Official Secret Act Case: Witness Statements
Can the Minister explain why no fewer than three witness statements were required from the Government? Are we to conclude that the Government did not make their position sufficiently clear in the first two statements?
2025-10-13
Chinese Espionage: Parliament
My Lords, the Government stated that the decision not to proceed with a prosecution was entirely that of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Will the Minister acknowledge, in the light of the director’s subsequent statement, that the Government were bei
2025-07-09
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
My Lords, I will briefly add one argument in support of my noble friend’s amendment. There is widespread criticism of the competence and indeed the commitment of some of those who have been appointed to this House. Many of us think that some of those cri
2025-07-09
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
Before the noble Baroness sits down, can she help me on a procedural point? If Amendment 13 were to be passed, Amendment 13A is clearly sensible. We are going to consider Amendment 13A first. Will it be possible to agree Amendment 13A and then vote again
2025-07-02
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
My Lords, I intervened in Committee to explain why I could not support Amendments 5 and 6. I will repeat my argument briefly now. These two amendments would put the committee, HOLAC, into a position where it overruled the Prime Minister. In one case, the
My Lords, if senior public servants cannot address their staff or answer their questions without first having cleared with Ministers everything they are going to say, they risk losing their public personal authority and becoming not leaders but puppets.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what instructions they have given to the staff of the National Health Service, the Armed Forces and the Civil Service about speaking at public meetings of their professions.
2025-03-25
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
My Lords, the House will not want to be delayed. I just want to make one point in support of my noble friend’s amendment. I say to the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, that I had the honour of serving on the Wakeham commission and I think we did a pretty good jo
2025-03-10
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
I am grateful to the noble Lord for giving way. As I read his amendment, the Prime Minister could not recommend somebody if HOLAC had said that he should not. Would that not give HOLAC a veto and constrain the Prime Minister’s powers?
2025-03-10
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
My Lords, with regret, I cannot support any of the amendments in this group. I say “with regret” because there are aspects of them that I like very much. I like the proposal to extend the scope of HOLAC to consider competence as well as integrity. I am a
2025-02-05
Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL]
My Lords, I want to say just one thing. In light of what has been said, I urge the Government to accept these amendments. They will do themselves no credit by resisting them, and I am certain the amendments will be passed.
My Lords, so that the noble Lord does not have to comment on particular cases, could he just say, as a general principle, whether there is a conflict of interest when a law officer is asked to advise on a matter in which he has been retained in a privat
2024-11-28
Civil Service: Politicisation
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response to this debate, and I thank everybody who has taken part.
I found it a very heartwarming debate, not least because of the complimentary remarks that have been made about me personally. I th
2024-11-28
Civil Service: Politicisation
My Lords, I am grateful to my Cross-Bench colleagues for giving me the opportunity of this debate. I am also grateful to those who have put down their names to speak. I just regret that they have so little time allocated to them when there is such a wide
2024-11-28
Civil Service: Politicisation
That this House takes note of the case against politicisation of the Civil Service.
2024-10-30
Ministerial Code: Policy Announcements
My Lords, while the principle behind this Question is undoubtedly right, does the Minister agree that trying to prevent Governments in this day and age rolling the pitch before a major announcement is like King Canute asking the tide to turn? I endorse w
2024-10-08
Operation Conifer
My Lords, it is very good to hear that the Minister has an open mind on this matter and will listen to representations. I think he will find that there are a lot of representations from Members of this House. There is merit in asking the chief constable
2024-09-10
Whitehall: Prioritising Performance
My Lords, having discovered that, in this context, Reform is a think tank rather than a political party, I warmly welcome the recommendations in the report for the identification and development of talent in the Civil Service. Does the Minister agree tha
2024-07-23
King’s Speech
My Lords, a lot of congratulations could be in order this evening, but I particularly congratulate the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hermer, on his outstanding maiden speech. How marvellous it was to hear the priority he gave to the rule of law and to bri
My Lords, today’s debate has been given a new topicality by two reports. One was the report of the Institute for Government, which has been referred to, and the other, which has not been referred to, is a report in the Times of a speech by Mr John Glen,
2024-03-25
Cabinet Manual
My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord O’Donnell, who pioneered the publication of the Cabinet Manual—it could never have happened in my day. The Minister will recall that the publication was extremely valuable in the lead-up to the 2010 electio
Source: hansard.parliament.uk via hansard-api. Snippets shown
verbatim from the search API; click any debate title for the full record.
Register of Interests · 1 entries on file
Declarations under the Lords Code of Conduct. Free text — no monetary values, no hours worked. A declaration that an interest exists, not a claim about its size.
Nil
-
No registrable interests
registered 2025-04-07
Source: UK Parliament Members API (Lords register). Refreshed weekly.
Read the full
Lords Code of Conduct
for what each category covers and the disclosure thresholds.
Party history
1998-02-12 → present
Crossbench
current
Government posts
None recorded.
Opposition posts
None recorded.
Committee memberships
2009-11-25 → 2013-05-15
Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
2010-07-27 → 2011-04-26
Leader's Group on Working Practices
2010-10-26 → 2015-03-30
Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament
2012-05-16 → 2015-03-30
Procedure and Privileges Committee
2015-06-12 → 2019-07-02
EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee
2015-11-25 → 2016-02-11
Draft Investigatory Powers Bill (Joint Committee)
2019-06-13 → 2020-06-16
Gambling Industry Committee
2020-09-23 → 2022-02-09
Finance Bill Sub-Committee
2024-09-05 → 2025-01-30
National Security Strategy (Joint Committee)
2022-01-19 → 2024-05-30
National Security Strategy (Joint Committee)
2026-01-27 → present
Economic Affairs Committee
Contact
Parliamentary office
lord.butler@univ.ox.ac.uk
020 7219 3000 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
020 7219 3000 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
APPGs (2026) · 0 active officership(s) · 1 historic
Not currently an officer of any active APPG. Was officer of 1 group(s) historically — those rotated off in later snapshots.
Written parliamentary questions · 2026
Showing
2
of 2 tabled
2 answered(100.0%)
1
departments
Source: UK Parliament Members API. The amber "interest" tag is set
by Parliament's own system when the asking member has a register entry
it deems related — typically a paid role or directorship in the
sector being asked about. Click any "i" icon to see the full
question and the department's answer.
Bills sponsored & supported · 2026
0 bills
0 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
No bills sponsored or supported in 2026.
Source: UK Parliament Bills API. "Lead" sponsor is the
primary mover (sortOrder = 1); "Supporter" rows are
members of either House who
backed the bill at introduction. Year is the bill's first-reading
date.
Historic bills (all-time)
0 bills
0 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
No bills sponsored or supported on record.
Same source as the year-scoped panel above, but unconstrained by
year. The "Sponsored" tag = lead sponsor; "Supported" = backed at
introduction. Sorted newest first.