Evgeny Lebedev and Ian Botham have the lowest Lords attendance record over the past four years. Both peers attended just 1.12% of sessions.
Records show that Lebedev and Botham, both appointed by Boris Johnson, attended seven out of 625 sessions between 2022 and 2025. Lebedev, a media owner and son of a Russian billionaire, has previously had a slightly higher attendance rate. From November 2019 to the end of 2022, he attended four of 318 sessions, a rate of 1.25%.
Lords rules require peers to attend at least one sitting per year-long session to keep their seat. Both Lebedev and Botham have just met this minimum.
Lebedev attended once in 2022 and twice each year from 2023 to 2025. Botham, a former cricketer, attended twice in 2022, once in 2023, and twice in 2024 and 2025. Botham attended 26 sessions in 2021, showing early enthusiasm. Lebedev, Baron Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia, has begun participating slightly more this year. He has voted twice and made one speech in 2026 so far.
Botham, Baron Botham of Ravensworth, North Yorkshire, has not spoken in the Lords since November 2020. He last submitted a written question in November 2024 and last voted in July 2021.
The Lords operates differently from the Commons. Many peers hold other jobs and contribute occasionally. Attendance does not count committee work, and neither Lebedev nor Botham has served on one. Peers may also take leave of absence or retire without losing their title. Some older members attend irregularly, but none match Lebedev and Botham for consistently low participation.
The House of Lords has 868 members, 842 of whom are active, making it one of the largest legislative chambers globally. A recent bill will remove the last 92 hereditary peers.
Efforts to reduce the size of the Lords have struggled because new appointments continue. Keir Starmer has created 96 peers, and Boris Johnson appointed 87, including Lebedev and his own brother, Jo Johnson.
Evgeny Lebedev and Ian Botham now share the record for the lowest Lords attendance, raising questions about engagement among some life peers.
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