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There are currently 179 cross-benchers. They do not take a collective position on issues, although they do have a Convenor for administrative purposes, who by convention in the past has been the most recent Speaker of the House of Commons to have joined the House of Lords. In a break with this tradition, the current Convenor is Lord Craig of Radley . The Convenor keeps them up-to-date with the business of the House. Although the Lords Spiritual (Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England) also have no party affiliation, they do not sit on the cross-benches.
The cross-benchers are often viewed as bringing specialist knowledge to the House, since they have usually been created peers for reasons other than party-political affiliation. Most of them (146) are Life Peers.