How UK’s Parliament function ? We are producing the materials prepared by Hansard Society of UK.
After the new government form in UK, the functioning of Parliament is keenly watched.
Our purpose is to understand the functioning of prominent Parliaments of world.
From 9th September, second week of UK Parliament will begin.
What will be happen in this second week, a glimpse here :
Election of Select Committee chairs
MPs who want to chair a Select Committee must submit their nomination papers on Monday. Twenty-seven chairs are subject to election by the whole House; the election for all the contested positions will be held on Wednesday. The size of Labour’s majority means that two-thirds of the chairs will come from the Government benches, so the choice of personnel matters greatly for how independent and effective Select Committees will be throughout this Parliament.
Vote on Winter Fuel Payment legislation
The most controversial vote of this Parliament to date will be held on Tuesday in the Commons and on Wednesday in the Lords when MPs and Peers will be asked to reject the Government’s decision to introduce a means-test for the Winter Fuel Allowance. The Leader of the Opposition, Rishi Sunak, has tabled a ‘prayer motion’ calling for the Statutory Instrument (SI) that implements the policy to be annulled. An Early Day Motion expressing a range of concerns about the policy has also been tabled by the new Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan and a similar motion has been tabled by the Lib Dem Chief Whip, Wendy Chamberlain. However, neither of these motions will be subject to a vote – the House will consider only Rishi Sunak’s motion as his is the only one set out in accordance with the statutorily required language to revoke the Instrument. The other motions do, however, enable unhappy MPs – particularly on the Labour benches – to register their concerns. In the House of Lords, a motion to annul the SI has also been tabled by the non-affiliated Peer, Baroness Altmann (who is a former Conservative pensions Minister) and there are two other motions expressing ‘regret’ about the policy.
The House of Commons has not rejected a Statutory Instrument since 1979 and as Labour has such a large majority it seems politically inconceivable that the House will do so this time. Peers have rejected an SI more recently than MPs (the last time was in 2012), but the House of Lords is very cautious about exercising its veto power given its constitutional status as an unelected House. It is therefore also unlikely that Peers will vote to reject the Instrument if, just 24 hours beforehand, MPs have approved it.
It is not yet clear who will lead for the Government in the debate and whether any concessions will be offered. Statutory Instruments – a form of delegated legislation – cannot be amended so if any concessions require legislative underpinning, then the Government will either have to introduce another Statutory Instrument or make provision for the changes in primary legislation, tagging measures onto an existing Bill if that is possible (which will depend on the scope) or perhaps incorporating them in the post-Budget Finance Bill in the Autumn.
The new Modernisation Committee
The Committee tasked with recommending reforms to the standards, practices and procedures of the House of Commons, as promised in Labour’s manifesto, will be established this week. As expected, this new Committee will resemble the Blair-era Modernisation Committee: unlike departmental Select Committees its members will be appointed and it will have a Minister – the Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell – as its chair. The proposed 14 members of the Committee also include a Government Whip and the Leader’s own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
The Committee’s proposed membership is notably short on parliamentary experience, reflecting the high turnover of MPs at recent general elections:
five of the MPs were elected for the first time in 2024;
only six have experience of Parliament prior to the 2019 General Election; and
only one was elected prior to 2010.
Most of the proposed members will therefore have little experience of the early Brexit debates, and only one – Sir Christopher Chope – was in Parliament prior to the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition of 2010 and the MPs expenses scandal in 2009.
No Government Bills
There are no Government bills scheduled for debate this week in the Commons: parliamentary time is instead devoted to consideration of Statutory Instruments and general debates. However, it is reported that at least one new Bill will be presented to Parliament, most likely the Renters Rights Bill. In Opposition some Labour spokespeople emphasised the importance of the first 100 days in office during which Ministers would introduce major measures such as the planning bill, legislation to extend devolution in local government, and introduce new employment proposals. That 100-day mark is reached on 12 October and there are now just two sitting weeks – this week and the first week back after the party conference recess – during which Bills can be presented at First Reading before that deadline is reached.
Party conference recess
The Commons will rise for the party conference recess on Thursday, with Peers sitting a day longer. Both Houses will return three weeks later on Monday 7 October. If you missed it, the Leader of the House of Commons announced last week what the recess dates will be through to next Summer – enabling all of us to plan ahead with greater certainty than has been possible in recent years!
In the meantime, with no sittings to write about, this Bulletin will take a recess of its own too, returning on Sunday 6 October, ready to explain everything to expect in the first week back.
