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A Private Member's Bill is a proposed law introduced by a member of parliament, whether from the government or the opposition side, to that legislature or parliament. In most parliaments within the Westminster System of parliamentary democracy, the overwhelming majority of Bills introduced are proposed by members of the Cabinet. However some parliamentary time is often set aside so that backbenchers may introduce Bills also. Law (a loanword from Danish- Norwegian lov), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow...
The debating chamber or hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels. ...
Chamber of the Estates-General, the Dutch legislature. ...
The Westminster System is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system of government and used in Westminster, the seat of government, hence its name. ...
In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ...
Alternate meanings in cabinet (disambiguation) A Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ...
A backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislature who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition. ...
In reality, few backbench Private Member's Bills make it to enactment. In some cases, controversial measures that a government does not want to take responsibility for may be introduced by backbenchers, with the government secretly backing the measure and ensuring its passage. The Abortion Act, 1967 was enacted in the United Kingdom though this means. The Act itself was introduced by a Liberal Party Member of Parliament, David Steel, but was enacted through the support that came from Harold Wilson's Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins. 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...
The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become known as...
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT (born March 31, 1938), is a British and Scottish politician and a Liberal Democrat member of the UK House of Lords. ...
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, PC (March 11, 1916 – May 24, 1995) was one of the more successful Labour Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and a 1960s icon. ...
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ...
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 - January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour MP in the 1960s and 1970s and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ...
The United Kingdom parliament has a long history of enacting Private Member's Bills. In contrast Oireachtas Éireann (Ireland's two chamber parliament) rarely passes Private Members Bills, with the overwhelming number of Bills being passed all being introduced by members of the Irish government. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ...
The Oireachtas is the National Parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. ...
In the United Kingdom parliament, there are twenty private member's bills debated in each session. Who is allowed to table a bill is decided by ballot in advance. Private member's bills can sometimes become the cause for much anxiety and shenannigans as outside individuals or organisations seek to influence members who are able to table bills. A table is a piece of furniture with a horizontal surface supported above the ground. ...
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. ...
There are two principal routes for influencing UK law:
- Lobbying a government department or minister.
- Lobbying a member of parliament who has a private members bill coming up.
Lobbying is the practice of private advocacy with the goal of influencing a governing body, in order to ensure that an individuals or organizations point of view is represented in the government. ...
The first reading of a private member's bill decides if it will be heard again and debated further. This stage is really just a formality, introducing the bill as business. At second reading, the 'white paper' is debated at length and votes are cast as to whether it will proceed to committee stage. If again successful, the 'white paper' is reviewed by an expert committee which includes government lawyers and a 'draft bill' is drawn up which is the first form of the text of the proposed law. A report is made on the bill which is an opportunity for members not on the committee to make amendments. The third reading is then debated in the House of Commons, and if successful 'passed to the other house' (the House of Lords) which may, in turn, make amendments. Often, a bill may pass back and forth between the houses many times, amendments being made on each occasion. If both houses finally agree, the bill goes on to the final stage, Royal Assent, and listed in Hansard (the official record of the proceedings of parliament) after which it is entered on the statute books as an Act of Parliament and becomes law. Rules of order, also known as standing orders or rules of procedure, are the written rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by a deliberative body, which detail the processes used by the body to make decisions. ...
A committee comprises a mechanism of bureaucracy or of proto-bureaucracy whereby a limited number of people receive delegated functions of government or administration. ...
A lawyer or attorney at law is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law (and in other forms of dispute resolution). ...
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In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ...
This article is about the British House of Lords. ...
The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a Sovereign or the Sovereigns representative in the United Kingdom and in Commonwealth Realms completes the process of the enactment of legislation by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ...
Hansard is the traditional name for the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. ...
A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ...
In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ...
The normal method of blocking a bill is to amend it so many times that the end of the parliamentary session is reached before the bill is passed whereupon any bill is normally abandoned.
Private members bills may also originate in the House of Lords in which case 'the other house' is the House of Commons.
External links - Private members bills for the current session of parliament. (http://www.parliament.uk/faq/ballot_faq_page.cfm)
- Official UK Government web page explaining procedure for bills (http://www.parliament.uk/works/newproc.cfm)
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