Shenanigans in British parliametary procedure!

Many CA readers know from the previous article (HERE) that Member of the British Parliament Ms. Kim Leadbeater, introduced her “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill” on Wednesday, 16 October 2024. The long title is: “A Bill to allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life; and for connected purposes.”

According to parliamentary rules, the text of the Bill has to be made available sometime before the Second Reading, slated for 29th November 2024. This means Leadbeater—and the pro-death brigade—could have over 6 weeks to tout the Bill before the public is even allowed the “privilege” of being able to read it.

British Parliamentary Procedure:

I have learned far more about parliamentary procedures surrounding Private Members Bill than I ever wished to know!

Several points come from a Dylan Sargesson on 𝕏. The full process can be reviewed on the British parliament’s web-site.

First, the Ballot

MP’s are allowed to put their names ‘in a hat’ for a chance at one of 20 slots which will receive dedicated time for a Private Member’s Bill. This year 458 Backbenchers were involved in the Ballot!

The Backbenchers do not have to indicate which Bill they would select till after they win a slot. This means that a bias can occur if large numbers back a single Bill or if the winner ‘horse-trades’ the position.

Below is a video of this year’s ballot. (Remarkable how Leadbeater won when there has been so much hype in the media on this issue and Prime Minister Kier Starmer has voiced his support for it.)

I do not know if the list of entrants with their respective number is released ahead of time. I presume the process is run meticulously, but if the list is not released ahead, an area of potential manipulation is with the number selected corresponding to a specific name.

Also, they use a very curious process where the first ball picked gets the 20th slot. This continues till till the 20# ball gets the FIRST slot! Statistically, this mean there is a small bias favouring the remaining balls, till the 20 slots are filled.

Drafting

According to Sargesson the drafting of the Bill includes “support from the House's Public Bill Office. Officials in a Government Department can also write the Explanatory Notes (which are published with the text). Public resources like that would only be spent on a bill that's definitely going to be debated.”

I hope the British rules are different to the Scottish parliament where Liam McArthur MSP was allowed to use funds from Dignity in Dying UK, Friends at the End and the Humanist Society, Scotland to employ an assistant who drafted the Scottish Assisted Suicide Bill for him.

The stages of a Bill originating in the House of Commons include: First Reading; Second Reading; Committee stage; Report stage; Third Reading; First Reading (House of Lords); Second Reading (Lords); Committee stage (Lords); Report stage (Lords); Third Reading (Lords); Consideration of amendments and, if passed, Royal Assent.

First Reading

At the First Reading all that happens is that the short title of the Bill is read out and is followed by an order for the Bill to be printed.

Second Reading

“The next stage is second reading, the first opportunity for MPs to debate the general principles and themes of the Bill.”

A detailed analysis of specific clauses in a Bill only comes after the Second Reading. Because there is a vote at the Second Stage, the pro-death brigade will likely be able to claim a ‘victory’ in November.

Conclusion

If passed into law, this Bill will be used to make some British citizens DEAD. It is despicable that Leadbeater has ‘introduced’ the Bill while not having released an actual document for review by the public. Polite words for such behaviour include shameful; cowardly; underhand; manipulative & deceitful.

I have other words, too.

Kevin Hay

You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 / Twitter @ kevinhay77

ps: This is the second CA article, so there are 2 title images of Ms. Leadbeater.