 It was assumed in the Times article , and by other commentators , that if Hailsham ( or Home ) was a candidate he would have to renounce his peerage . This had been made possible for the first time by recent legislation . The last British Prime Minister to sit in the House of Lords was the third Marquess of Salisbury in 1902 . By 1923 , having to choose between Baldwin and Lord Curzon , George V decided that " the requirements of the present times " obliged him to appoint a Prime Minister from the Commons . His private secretary recorded that the King " believed he would not be fulfilling his trust were he now to make his selection of Prime Minister from the House of Lords " . Similarly , after the resignation of Neville Chamberlain in 1940 there were two likely successors , Churchill and Halifax , but the latter ruled himself out for the premiership on the grounds that his membership of the House of Lords disqualified him . In 1963 , therefore , it was well established that the Prime Minister should be a member of the House of Commons . On 10 October Hailsham announced his intention to renounce his viscountcy . 
