Private Members' Bills in the British Parliament

P. A. Bromhead

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781032898018
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040225165
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Modern British History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Originally published in 1956, P. A. Bromhead, with this book, filled a gap in the literature on the British Parliament by examining the role which Private Members' Bills had to play in the modern political system at the time. He describes in detail the procedure through which Private Members' Bills had to pass, and indicates the pitfalls which had to be negotiated. He examines the proceedings on such bills during the previous fifty years, with particular attention to the period since 1945, and observes the changes which had taken place in the habits of Parliament with regard to the types of bills introduced and the character of the debates on the bills. The author pays particular attention to the role of the Government and of the parties in this field, and suggests that a significant evolution was taking place, so that Parliament was coming to assign a special place of positive value to these measures in a fairly distinct field of legislative activity. Today it can be read in its historical context.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Original Title
• Original Copyright
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter I. The Organization of Private Members’ Time
• Chapter II. A Historical Survey of Private Members’ Bills since 1900
• Chapter III. The Interest Shown in the Debate
• Chapter IV. The Government and Private Members’ Bills
• Chapter V. The Rôle of Associations and of Royal Commissions
• Chapter VI. The Criteria of Suitability for Treatment in Private Members’ Bills
• Chapter VII. Alternative Methods of Proposing Legislation
• Chapter VIII. Conclusion
• Appendix A. The Standing Orders relating to Private Members’ Time
• Appendix B. The Hairdressers’ Registration Bill and the Hunting and Coursing Bill of 1949
• Appendix C. Table of Bills introduced and of Bills passed, 1902–54
• Appendix D. A List of the Private Members’ Bills enacted in 1948–53, with indication of the scope of each Bill
• Appendix E. Table showing the parliamentary stages of the Private Members’ Bills which received the Royal Assent in 1948-54
• Appendix F. Table of balloted Bills introduced but not passed, 1948–54
• Bibliography
• Index