The Rt Hon. the Lord Spellar
Labour
Member of the House of Lords
M
Lord Spellar's full title is The Rt Hon. the Lord Spellar. His name is John Spellar, 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
176 divisions
3 Content(1.7%)
153 Not-Content(86.9%)
20 didn't vote(11.4%)
2026-07-22
Not-Content
64–95
Not-Content
2026-07-21
Not-Content
173–234
Not-Content
2026-07-13
Not-Content
41–118
Not-Content
2026-07-13
Not-Content
142–138
Content
2026-07-13
Not-Content
158–239
Not-Content
2026-04-23
Not-Content
152–207
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
27–89
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
30–130
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
46–117
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
135–154
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
65–173
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
178–231
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
69–332
Not-Content
2026-03-26
Not-Content
115–197
Not-Content
2026-03-26
Not-Content
64–140
Not-Content
2026-03-25
Not-Content
95–137
Not-Content
2026-03-24
Not-Content
70–132
Not-Content
2026-03-24
Not-Content
80–166
Not-Content
2026-03-05
Not-Content
193–143
Content
2026-03-05
Not-Content
194–140
Content
2026-03-05
Not-Content
198–139
Content
2026-03-05
Not-Content
208–142
Content
2026-03-05
Not-Content
214–142
Content
2026-02-04
Not-Content
62–295
Not-Content
2026-01-12
Not-Content
201–169
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
131–127
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
194–130
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
168–178
Not-Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
210–131
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
132–124
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
2026-07-21
Natural England: Gamebird Release Licensing
My Lords, pursuant to the question from my noble friend Lord Rooker, is it not time that the Government looked at all these quangos, at whether they are value for money and add to public life and at whether issues should really be taken in for proper min
My Lords, can the Minister address the concern that the NESO inquiry is being conducted by a firm of City lawyers rather than electrical engineers? That gives the impression that the allocation of blame and legal liability is seen as more important than
To ask His Majesty’s Government what is their policy on prioritising British industry and services when carrying out public procurement.
I thank my noble friend the Minister for that reply, but that memo is not getting through to government departments. Time and again, they are giving preference to firms and workforces from overseas rather than British industry and services. We talk a lot
2026-07-01
Defence Investment Plan
My Lords, I put it to the Minister that it would have been better to have had the conversation with the public before we put out the policy, so that we had rolled the pitch and people understood the nature of the threat. I welcome, therefore, what he is
2026-06-30
Civil Service Pension Scheme
My Lords, is not the systemic failure here that the Civil Service refused to take past performance into account? That is completely contrary to normal life. If someone did a job on your house or on your car and failed, or if you took a holiday with a com
2026-06-29
Covid Fraud
: My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister find slightly odd the intervention from the Opposition Front Bench? Surely if we are to send a message for future contracts, dealing with fraud in previous contracts is essential, otherwise people will think t
2026-06-29
Palantir: Public Service Contracts
My Lords, the Minister is quite right to resist attempts, which happen quite regularly, to demonise individual companies rather than looking at the underlying reality. He is also right to look at results. In this very fast-changing world of information t
2026-06-24
Hares: Close Season
My Lords, I suggest to the Minister that the Government’s legislative programme is not the only mechanism by which this could be done. For example, have the Whips been putting out Private Members’ Bills, suggested Bills and handout Bills, which is a well
2026-06-23
DVLA: Staffing Levels
My Lords, I will take the Minister back to the question about cloning plates, which is increasingly facilitating a whole range of crime, including, with the increase in petrol prices, drive-off from petrol stations. From my experience of 30-odd years bei
2026-06-23
Legal Protections for Ancient Trees
My Lords, is the Forestry Commission case that was cited not further evidence of commissions and quangos ignoring the intentions of Parliament, and indeed the wishes of the public, and being toothless in the face of gross abuses? Is it not time that gove
2026-05-20
Unite the Kingdom March
Can I put it to my noble friend the Minister that, given the events being described that took place at the marches on Saturday and the cost to the police, let alone the diversion of police officers from the task they ought to be undertaking, which is cra
2026-05-19
VAT Relief: Business Donations
My Lords, before my noble friend the Minister might be tempted down the route of putting price restrictions on food coming from supermarkets, would it not be better to wait and see whether the experiment in Scotland actually succeeds?
2026-05-19
Defence, Security and Resilience Bank
My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister accept that there is a significant problem of access to finance for the defence industry, particularly for medium and small enterprises, driven partly by absurd bans on investment in our national defence by fin
2026-04-28
National Emergency Plan for Fuel
My Lords, can the Minister assure us that steps are being taken to ensure that we have adequate storage for fuel and gas? The situation that the Government inherited was certainly unsatisfactory for gas and, given the unstable international environment,
2026-04-27
Student Visas
My Lords, this is a real case where artificial intelligence would enormously improve the speed and quality of decision-making. When my noble friend the Minister meets the universities, will he point out to them, as the Home Office has had to do for many
2026-04-13
Strait of Hormuz: Mine Clearance
I commend my noble friend the Minister for his restraint in not pointing out to the Benches opposite that the lack of a surface fleet—and indeed of underwater vessels—is a result of a series of decisions taken not to invest in building, which has also ha
2026-03-24
Public Transport: Accessibility
My Lords, would it not help the standardisation of trains if we ensured that the trains we purchase—whether for the rail network, the Underground or even the light railway systems—are produced in this country by British workers?
2026-03-24
Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019
I put it to my noble friend the Minister that wheel clamping took some 20 years from the Scottish courts declaring it illegal in Scotland, against lots of obstructionism within officialdom in the Department for Transport and other departments, to finally
2026-03-23
UK Homeland Defence
My Lords, I take account of the point raised by the Minister regarding the direct threat from Iranian territory. However, is there not a long-standing concern about the increasing grip of jihadist groups in northern Africa with the ability to be supplied
My Lords, I declare an interest as the UK Government’s trade envoy for Australia. This issue is causing considerable consternation in Australia, a country with which we are developing our defence, security and other relationships, to the benefit of the w
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that China has systematically and strategically got a grip and a monopoly on the refining of critical minerals. The effect of that has been demonstrated only this week, where China has cut off Japan from critical mine
2026-02-11
Smart Motorways
My Lords, is not the reality that, when the initial M42 smart motorway programme was introduced, it showed very considerable reductions in congestion, great improvements in driving time reliability and a reduction in accidents? When the programme was rol
2026-02-11
Renters’ Rights Act: Implementation
My Lords—
2026-02-11
Renters’ Rights Act: Implementation
My Lords, has it not been the case over recent years that many young couples have been outbid by private landlords for properties and therefore have been forced to rent and denied the opportunity of owner occupation? If these properties are now being put
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.
Category 6: Gifts, benefits and hospitality
-
The member receives occasional tickets for and hospitality at sporting events from the Betting and Gaming Council which may cumulatively in a calendar year exceed the registration threshold
registered 2025-09-01
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
1982-10-28 → present
Labour
current
Government posts
2008-10-05 → 2010-05-06
Comptroller (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
2003-06-13 → 2005-05-10
Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
2002-05-29 → 2003-06-13
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
2001-06-08 → 2002-05-29
Minister of State (Department of Transport, Local Government and Regions) (Transport)
1999-07-29 → 2001-06-08
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
1997-05-06 → 1999-07-28
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Opposition posts
2010-10-08 → 2015-09-18
Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs)
1995-06-01 → 1997-06-01
Shadow Spokesperson (Defence)
1994-06-01 → 1995-06-01
Shadow Spokesperson (Northern Ireland)
1992-06-01 → 1994-06-01
Opposition Whip (Commons)
Committee memberships
2006-05-17 → 2006-10-31
Conventions (Joint Committee)
2009-02-09 → 2010-05-06
Finance and Services Committee
2010-11-22 → 2013-07-01
Administration Committee
2020-03-02 → 2024-05-30
Defence Committee
2017-09-11 → 2019-11-06
Defence Committee
2015-07-06 → 2017-05-03
Defence Committee
2020-03-05 → 2024-05-30
Defence Sub-Committee
2017-09-12 → 2019-11-06
Defence Sub-Committee
2015-09-08 → 2017-05-03
Defence Sub-Committee
2016-02-10 → 2017-05-03
Committees on Arms Export Controls
2020-11-10 → 2024-05-30
Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act
2021-12-15 → 2022-01-05
Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill
2023-01-18 → 2023-01-25
Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill
2023-02-01 → 2023-02-08
Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill
2023-03-08 → 2023-03-15
Firearms Bill
2024-03-20 → 2024-04-17
British Citizenship (Northern Ireland) Bill
2024-04-24 → 2024-05-01
Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill
2024-05-01 → 2024-05-08
Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill
2026-01-27 → present
National Resilience Committee
Contact
Parliamentary office
spellarj@parliament.uk
020 7219 4764 · House of Lords, London
020 7219 4764 · House of Lords, London
APPGs (2026) · 3 active officership(s) · 1 historic
| Group | Role(s) | Funders | Officers in group | Next deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Australia and New Zealand (ANZAC) and the Pacific Islands
Country, Area or Region Group
|
Co-Chair | — | 4 | 2027-01-09 |
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Thailand
Country, Area or Region Group
|
Officer | — | 4 | 2027-02-28 |
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Australia, United Kingdom and United States of America (AUKUS)
Subject Group
|
Vice Chair | BAE Systems PLC · Babcock International · Rolls Royce Submarines Ltd | 4 | 2027-02-16 |
One row per active APPG. Funder names link out via the
/appgs Top secretariat funders panel — click any funder
there to open its full relationship graph. Officer matching is name-based against
the parliament.uk register text and may miss titled / hyphenated variants.
Written parliamentary questions · 2026
Showing
33
of 33 tabled
32 answered(97.0%)
10
departments
2026-06-24
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Nuclear Power: Regulation
Answered
2026-04-22
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Wind Power: Seas and Oceans
Answered
2026-04-22
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Government Departments: Poultry
Answered
2026-02-12
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Sheffield Forgemasters: Small Modular Reactors
Answered
2026-02-12
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Small Modular Reactors
Answered
2026-02-12
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Small Modular Reactors: Trade Unions
Answered
2026-01-05
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Rolls-Royce: Small Modular Reactors
Answered
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)
28 bills
28 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
Same source as the year-scoped panel above, but unconstrained by
year. The "Sponsored" tag = lead sponsor; "Supported" = backed at
introduction. Sorted newest first.