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The Constitutional Reform Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on February 24, 2004, and proposed the following changes: The bill has caused much controversy and the Lords have made many amendments to it. The most recent version of the bill keeps the post of Lord Chancellor, though its role in relation to the judiciary is greatly reduced and the office holder would no longer be speaker of the House of Lords. Other measures of the bill remain generally the same as stated above though.
It is now thought that the newly created Cabinet position of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (originally created to replace the Lord Chancellor’s executive function) will continue, although the holder of that Cabinet post will also hold the ancient office of Lord Chancellor too. The Lord Chanellor will remain as the custodian of the Great Seal (the bill originally intended to put this into commission) as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
There is a major remaining wrangle in Parliament over the bill, on the issue of whether the Lord Chancellor should have to be a member of the House of Lords. Some feel that the Lord Chancellor should be an MP, so that the House of Commons could scrutinise the office holder directly. Peers have, on December 7, 2004, amended the bill so that the holder of the office has to be a member of the House of Lords – although the amendment passed with only a small majority.
The House of Lords has passed the (ammended) bill and it went to the House of Commons (the bill originated in the Lords, so this will be the first time the Commons deals with it). On January 31, 2005, the Commons removed the Lords' clauses that restrict the post of Lord Chancellor to being a peer and a lawyer. It now remains to be seen if the Lords will do battle with MPs to force their clause onto the statute book. The Parliament Acts, of 1911 and 1949, will not be able to be used with this bill, however, as it has originated from the House of Lords.
The bill is expected to become law before Parliament is dissolved for the General Election of 2005, which is expected to be held on May 5. It is currently being debated in the House of Commons and the government have given it much Parliamentary time.
After it is passed into law, the House of Lords will have to create a new speakership position, most likely to be known as the "Lord Speaker" (the speaker of the House of Commons being "Mister Speaker"). The system of deputy speakers is also expected to be reformed. These decisions will be taken by the House of Lords for itself. A suitable building will have to be found for the new Supreme Court too - possibly either Somerset House or Middlesex Guildhall, both in Westminster, London. The bill gives time for a suitable building to be found and fitted out before the Law Lords move out of the Palace of Westminster. Therefore the Supreme Court will not take effect straight away.
External links
- House of Common Reports on Bills January 2005 (http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_publications_and_archives/research_papers/rpsummary05.cfm) Scroll halfway down the page for this Bill's two reports.
- Parliament (http://www.parliament.uk) The official website of the United Kingdom Parliament, with regularly updated Hansard reports (the minutes of Parliamentary debates) and the latest versions of bills.
- Department for Constitutional Affairs (http://www.dca.gov.uk) The official website of the Department of Constitutional Affairs, which includes a section on constitutional reform in the UK.
- The latest version of the bill (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmbills/018/2005018.htm) Read the Constitutional Reform Bill in full here... in 'html' and 'pdf' formats.
- BBC News - 07 Dec 04 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4076087.stm) BBC News article; written on the evening of the most recent House of Lords debate and amendments to the bill.
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