Parliament
Parliamentary Standards Bill introduced to Parliament on 23 June
As part of the Government drive towards further democratic renewal, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary and the Leader of the House of Commons, Harriet Harman, introduced the Parliamentary Standards Bill to Parliament on the 23 June. The Bill will create a new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to regulate and oversee MPs’ expense claims and oversee [...]
Why the Youth Citizenship Commission is consulting on lowering the voting age
Young people are becoming increasingly disinterested in formal political processes and are not getting involved in our democracy. For instance, compared with older people, they are less likely to vote, attend political meetings, contact their MPs or join a political party. However, young people do care about the issues that affect their lives and do [...]
Joint Committee on Human Rights Publish Report on a Bill of Rights
Today the Joint Committee on Human Rights released a report on a proposed Bill of Rights for Britain. “We are of the view that the United Kingdom should adopt a Bill of Rights and Freedoms. Our work over the last few years has demonstrated that there are many groups in society, such as older people and [...]
Consultation on the Draft Legislative Programme ends 6 August
On 14 May 2008 the Government published the Draft Legislative Programme for 2008-09. The public consultation on the programme concludes on 6 August 2008. The Government will now be considering the responses received during the consultation and will publish a summary of reponses in the autumn, ahead of the Queen’s Speech which will take place on 3 December [...]
Joint Committee publishes report on draft Constitutional Renewal Bill
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill recently published its report on the Bill. You can read this and also access notes on past oral and written evidence sessions here.
Speaker of the House of Commons announces conference
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon Michael Martin MP, has announced the convening of a Speaker’s Conference following an invitation from the Prime Minister. The last conference was held in 1977-78, and there were only five such conferences held in the 20th Century. This conference will consider… “..and make recommendations for rectifying, the disparity between the [...]
House of Lords Reform White Paper published
The Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw made a statement today on further reform of the House of Lords in which he announced the publication of a White Paper. ”The White Paper sets out how a wholly or mainly elected second chamber might be created, within a bicameral legislature in which the House of Commons retains [...]
The process continues - A discussion forum
In continuing the process of online engagement, Michael Wills MP introduces the Governance of Britain website. We will run discussions on different aspects of the Governance programme and the outcomes from discussions will be analysed. Some will contribute directly to ongoing discussions and engagement processes, others will help to inform future discussion topics. They will also make [...]
Governance of Britain one year on
Today the Justice Secretary Jack Straw marked the anniversary of the Governance of Britain with a statement to the House of Commons in which he set out the progress made in meeting the objectives of the programme. He said that in July last year the Prime Minister outlined steps toward further constitutional reform to renew our democracy, building a [...]
Justice Committee Report on role of Attorney General
The Justice Select Committee has published a report on the Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill focusing on the role of the Attorney General. You can access the report here