Your Politics Guide

• Government Bills — Introduced by government ministers on behalf of the government. These make up the majority of bills that pass through Parliament. These are designed to implement the government's legislative programme which is outlined each year in the King's Speech.
• Private Members' Bills — Introduced by backbench MPs or Lords who are not government ministers. There are three methods of introduction: the ballot A random draw at the start of each parliamentary session gives 20 MPs the chance to introduce a bill. , the ten minuite rule An MP makes a brief speech proposing a bill. , and presentation A bill is formally introduced without debate. . Private Members' Bills rarely become law without government support, due to limited parliamentary time, but they can raise awareness of important issues.
  
  Case Study — Abortion Act 1967: This was introduced as a Private Member's Bill. It legalised abortion in England, Scotland, and Wales under certain conditions. The bill succeeded because it had government backing, demonstrating that Private Members' Bills are most effective when the government is on board.
• Private Bills — These affect specific organisations or localities rather than the general public. They are usually promoted by bodies such as local authorities or private companies seeking powers beyond or in conflict with the general law. Private Bills are now relatively rare.
• Hybrid Bills — These combine elements of both public and private bills. They propose changes to the general law but also contain provisions that specifically affect certain groups of people or organisations. A recent example is the High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Act 2021 (HS2 Phase 2a), which changed general transport law but also directly affected landowners along the proposed route.

A bill can be introduced in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords (except for money bills, which must start in the Commons). It must pass through a series of stages in both Houses before it can become law.

• First Reading — This is a formal introduction of the bill. The title of the bill is read out and it is ordered to be printed. There is no debate and no vote at this stage. The purpose is to inform Parliament that the bill exists.
• Second Reading — This is the first opportunity for MPs (or Lords) to debate the general principles of the bill. A vote is held at the end of the debate. A defeat at second reading is rare for government bills and would represent a major political blow. If the bill passes its second reading, it moves to the committee stage.
  
  Case Study — Shops Bill 1986: Margaret Thatcher's government attempted to liberalise Sunday trading laws. The bill was defeated at second reading in the Commons by 14 votes, with 72 Conservative MPs rebelling against their own government. This was her most significant government defeat when proposing legislation.
• Committee Stage — The bill is examined in detail, clause by clause, by a smaller group of MPs. In the Commons, this is usually done by a Public Bill Committee (typically 16-50 members). The membership is reflective of the party balance in the House. For bills of major constitutional importance, or those that are uncontroversial, the committee stage may take place on the floor of the House as a Committee of the Whole House. Amendments can be proposed and voted on at this stage.
  
  In the House of Lords, the committee stage always takes place on the floor of the House, allowing all Lords to participate.
• Report Stage — The bill, as amended in committee, is reported back to the full House. This is known formally as "consideration." All members of the House can propose further amendments. If the bill was not amended in committee, this stage is seen as a formality.
• Third Reading — This is the final debate on the bill in that House. In the House of Commons, no further amendments are permitted and the debate is usually brief. In the House of Lords, amendments may still be made at third reading. A vote is taken to approve the final text of the bill.
• The Other House — Once one House has passed the bill, it is sent to the other House, where it goes through the same stages again (first reading, second reading, committee, report, and third reading). The second House may accept the bill without changes, propose amendments, or reject it entirely. However, the second House cannot block a bill indefinitely. Therefore, a rejection is ultimately a delaying tactic rather than a veto, as the government can use the Parliament Acts to bypass the Lords if necessary.
• Royal Assent — Once both Houses have agreed on the same text of the bill, it is presented to the monarch for Royal Assent. This is a formal process and the monarch does not refuse assent by convention. The last time Royal Assent was refused was in 1708 by Queen Anne. Once Royal Assent is granted, the bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

Although a bill must be approved by both Houses, the two chambers do not always agree. The legislative process includes several mechanisms for managing disagreement.

• Parliamentary Ping-Pong — If the second House amends the bill, it is returned to the originating House for consideration of those amendments. The originating House may accept the amendments, reject them, or propose alternative amendments. This process can go back and forth between the two chambers multiple times until agreement is reached or one House backs down. If both Houses insist on disagreeing, the bill is lost under the "double insistence" rule.
  
  Case Study — EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018: During the passage of the Brexit withdrawal legislation, the House of Lords made 15 amendments to the bill, including a requirement for a "meaningful vote" by Parliament on the final Brexit deal. The bill was sent back and forth between the two chambers, with the government eventually accepting some amendments and overturning others by Commons votes.
• Money Bills — The House of Lords has very limited power over financial legislation. Under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords cannot amend or reject money bills. If the Lords have not passed a money bill within one month of receiving it from the Commons, the bill is presented for Royal Assent regardless. Whether a bill is a money bill is determined by the Speaker of the House of Commons. These bills tend to be things like the annual Finance Bill, which implements the government's budgetary measures.
• Lords' Amendments — The Lords plays a significant role in revising legislation. Lords amendments can range from minor technical corrections to substantial changes in policy. Because the Lords includes many members with specialist expertise (former judges, lawyers, scientists, business leaders, academics), its amendments often improve the quality and technical accuracy of legislation.
• Government Defeats in the Lords — To form a government, you don't need a majority in the House of Lords. As a result, government defeats in the Lords are far more common than in the Commons. During the 2017-2019 Parliament, the government suffered over 100 defeats in the Lords. While these defeats do not necessarily impact the government's reign in office, they force it to reconsider their proposals which can create political pressure to compromise.

• Definition — The Salisbury Convention is a constitutional convention which states that the House of Lords will not oppose, at second or third reading, any legislation that was promised in the governing party's election manifesto. The Lords may still propose amendments, but they will not reject the bill outright.
• Origins — The convention originated after the 1945 general election, when Clement Attlee's Labour Party won a landslide victory. The House of Lords was at that time dominated by Conservative hereditary peers, led by the 5th Marquess of Salisbury. Salisbury and the Labour Leader of the Lords, Viscount Addison, agreed that the Lords would not block legislation for which the government had a clear mandate from the electorate.
• Significance — The convention ensures that the unelected Lords does not intervene, in ways which can be seen to contradict the democratic will of the people that is expressed through a general election. It effectively prevents the Lords from blocking the core legislative programme of any elected government. However, the convention only applies to manifesto commitments — the Lords retains full power to oppose legislation that was not included in the manifesto.
• Challenges to the Convention — Some argue the convention has been weakened in the modern era. Following the removal of most hereditary peers under the House of Lords Act 1999, the Lords became more assertive, arguing that the reformed chamber had greater legitimacy to challenge the government. There is also debate about whether the convention should apply to coalition governments, where the manifesto commitments of two parties have been combined into a single programme.
• To put it simply — If the government has promised to do something in their manifesto, the Lords will not block it. If they haven't promised it, the Lords can block it.

The Parliament Acts provide a legal mechanism for resolving deadlock between the two chambers when the Lords refuses to pass legislation approved by the Commons.

• Parliament Act 1911 — Removed the Lords' power to veto legislation and replaced it with a power to delay bills for up to two years (over three sessions). The Act was passed following the constitutional crisis caused by the Lords' rejection of the 1909 People's Budget. It also established that money bills could not be blocked by the Lords.
• Parliament Act 1949 — Reduced the Lords' delaying power from two years to one year (over two sessions). Under this Act, if the Commons passes the same bill in two successive sessions and the Lords rejects it both times, the bill can be presented for Royal Assent without the Lords' approval, provided that at least one year has passed between the second reading in the Commons in the first session and the third reading in the Commons in the second session.
• Use of the Parliament Acts — The Parliament Acts have been used only seven times in total. This reflects the fact that their existence acts as a deterrent as opposed to a frequently used tool. It encourages the Lords to compromise rather than face being overridden. Some uses include:
  • War Crimes Act 1991 — Allowed the prosecution of individuals suspected of war crimes committed during the Second World War. The Lords rejected the bill, and it was forced through using the Parliament Acts.
  • European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 — Changed the UK's European Parliament elections to a proportional representation system.
  • Hunting Act 2004 — Banned hunting wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales. The Lords repeatedly blocked the bill, and the government invoked the Parliament Act 1949 to force it into law.
• Limitations — The Parliament Acts cannot be used for bills that seek to extend the life of a Parliament beyond five years. This means that they cannot be used to prolong a parliamentary term beyond its maximum duration. They also do not apply to bills that originated in the House of Lords, or to secondary legislation (statutory instruments). Additionally, the Acts cannot be used for Private Bills.