Private Member's Bill - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom House of Commons, there are several routes to introducing private members' bills. In each session, twenty backbench MPs are selected by ballot to introduce a bill. These bills are given priority for debate and generally offer the best chance of success. Additional bills may be introduced via the Ten Minute Rule, although this is usually used just to raise an issue rather than legislate on it, or through presentation without debate under Standing Order 57. Neither Ten Minute Rule or presentation bills are likely to get time to be debated, so only non-controversial bills have any chance of success. Private members' bills from the Lords may also be adopted by an MP to complete their journey through Parliament.

Private member's bills can sometimes become the cause for much anxiety and shenanigans, as outside individuals or organisations seek to influence members who have been selected in the ballot.

There are two principal routes for influencing UK law:

• Lobbying a government department or minister.
• Lobbying a member of parliament who has a private member's bill coming up.

Only a small proportion of private members' bills are enacted. This is generally because of lack of time - a controversial private member's bill can be "talked out". In some cases, measures that a government does not want to take responsibility for may be introduced by backbenchers, with the government secretly or openly backing the measure and ensuring its passage. They are sometimes known as "handout" or "whips' bills." The Abortion Act 1967 was enacted in the United Kingdom through this means, with the Bill itself being introduced by a Liberal Party Member of Parliament, David Steel; through the support from Home Secretary Roy Jenkins the Bill was given enough government time to allow a full debate.

Other private member's bills to have been enacted include the Adoption Act 1964, the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, the Charter Trustees Act 1986, the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996, the Knives Act 1997, the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004, the Sustainable Communities Act 2006.