United Kingdom Law/Reform/Parliamentary Reform Bill

The Parliamentary Reform Bill was announced in the Queen's Speech on May 25, 2010. Nick Clegg is responsible for this bill.

The purpose of the Parliamentary Reform Bill is to "provide for a greater public say over how they are represented in Parliament, improve the reputation of Parliament and provide for more parliamentary control over the Government."

This Wiki Bill has been set up by Direct Democracy, a campaign co-founded by Douglas Carswell and Daniel Hannan. The bill has yet to be published and the green paper will be posted when it is published in due course. The text that is used for the bill below is taken from the Coalition's programme for government..

The text from the Coalition's programme for government is in italics. Members of the public can propose additions and amendments to the text below. Please add your text below the italics with the date. You are also highly encouraged to join the debate about why and how certain text should be included (or excluded) from the Parliamentary Reform Bill.

About the Bill

The purpose of the Parliamentary Reform Bill is to give the public greater say over their representation in Parliament, improve parliamentary reputation within the UK, and allow for more parliamentary control and accountability over the Government. This will be achieved by the main elements of the bill. The benefits of the bill are: greater say in the electoral system, creating equal sized constituencies which allows for voting balance, reducing the cost of Parliament by reducing the size of the House of Commons, removing the right for the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament, and making MPs accountable to the people who elected them. .

Contributing

Please be specific when adding suggestions text for the bill. A date and a note should be added when submitting new text below the italics text.

Do not delete without consensus

Please do NOT simply delete proposals from this page. Debate them instead.

Electoral Reform

Put forth a Referendum Bill on electoral reform, which includes provision for the introduction of the Alternative Vote in the event of a positive result in the referendum, as well as for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. Whip both Parliamentary parties in both Houses to support a simple majority referendum on the Alternative Vote, without prejudice to the positions parties will take during such a referendum.

Constituency Size

Review boundary size and provide for equally sized boundaries of 130,000 voters each across the UK. This is to be completed by an elected Parliamentary committee and completed within the current sitting government.

Fixed Term Parliaments

Establish five-year fixed-term Parliaments. We will put a binding motion before the House of Commons stating that the next general election will be held on the first Thursday of May 2015. Following this motion, legislate to make provision for fixed-term Parliaments of five years. This legislation will also provide for dissolution if 55% or more of the House votes in favour.

MP Recall

Put forth early legislation to introduce a power of recall, allowing voters to force a by-election where an MP is found to have engaged in serious wrongdoing and having had a petition calling for a by-election signed by 10% of his or her constituents.

Amendment 01/07/10: Right to recall of an MP should take place if 10% of voting eligible constituents request a recall regardless of wrongdoing.

Primary Elections

Fund 200 all-postal primaries over this Parliament, targeted at seats which have not changed hands for many years. These funds will be allocated to all political parties with seats in Parliament that they take up, in proportion to their share of the total vote in the last general election.

Elected Second Chamber

Establish a committee to bring forward proposals for a wholly elected upper chamber on the basis of proportional representation. The committee will come forward with a draft motion by December 2010. It is likely that this will advocate single long terms of office. It is also likely that there will be a grandfathering system for current Peers. In the interim, Lords appointments will be made with the objective of creating a second chamber that is reflective of the share of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election.

Wright Committee Reforms

Put forth the proposals of the Wright Committee for reform to the House of Commons in full – starting with the proposed committee for management of backbench business. A House Business Committee, to consider government business, will be established by the third year of the Parliament.

Parliamentary Privilege and Perks

Prevent the possible misuse of Parliamentary privilege by MPs accused of serious wrongdoing. We will cut the perks and bureaucracy associated with Parliament.

MP Pensions

Consult with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority on how to move away from the generous final-salary pension system for MPs.

Citizen's Initiatives

Ensure that any petition that secures 100,000 signatures will be eligible for formal debate in Parliament. The petition with the most signatures will enable members of the public to table a bill eligible to be voted on in Parliament.

Public Reading Stage

Introduce a new ‘public reading stage’ for bills to give the public an opportunity to comment on proposed legislation online, and a dedicated ‘public reading day’ within a bill’s committee stage where those comments will be debated by the committee scrutinising the bill.

MPs with Disabilities

Introduce extra support for people with disabilities who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials.

See also

• Law reform