Evgeny Lebedev and Ian Botham have recorded the lowest attendance rates in the House of Lords over the past four years, with both peers attending just 1.12% of sessions, according to figures seen by the Guardian.
From the start of 2022 to the end of 2025, Lebedev and Botham each attended seven out of 625 sessions of the upper house. Both were appointed by former prime minister Boris Johnson. Lebedev, a newspaper proprietor and son of a Russian oligarch, previously attended at a slightly higher rate of 1.25% from November 2019 to the end of 2022.
Under Lords rules, peers must attend at least one sitting per parliamentary year to keep their seat. Lebedev attended once in 2022, twice in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025. Botham attended twice in 2022, once in 2023, and twice again in 2024 and 2025. However, Botham showed initial enthusiasm, attending 26 sessions in 2021.
Lebedev, a cross-bench peer, has increased his activity this year, voting twice and making one of his six speeches in the Lords. Botham, a former cricketer, has not spoken since November 2020 and has not tabled written questions since November 2024. He has voted 21 times but not since July 2021.
The Lords operates differently from the Commons, with peers often having outside jobs. Attendance records do not account for committee work, but neither Lebedev nor Botham has served on a committee. Peers can take leave of absence or retire without losing their titles.
The Lords currently has 868 members, 842 of whom are active, making it the world's second-largest legislative chamber after China's National People's Congress. Efforts to curb its size have had limited success, with new appointments by prime ministers offsetting retirements. Keir Starmer has created 96 peers, while Johnson created 87, including Lebedev and his own brother, Jo.
