Submitted on Friday 15th June 2018
Rejected on Wednesday 20th June 2018
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: no-action (see below for details)
Revoke parliamentary rules allowing one MP to shout "object" to block a bill.
A single MP can block a bill's progress through parliament by shouting "object". This privilege is being abused by MPs who use it to block bills, regardless of content, on point of principle. This is an undemocratic waste of time, money and energy, and should be curtailed as soon as possible.
On 15 June 2018 Sir Christopher Chope blocked a bill aiming to make the practice of "upskirting" a crime. This MP has a history of blocking bills, regardless of their content, because they "have not been debated". He could, of course, research prior to the first reading, but chooses not to. Not only does this delay implementation of many sensible laws, but it can also cause hurt, and leaves parliament open to ridicule. This is an obscure privilege which has little place in the 21st century.
You can't sign this petition because it was rejected. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!
The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. In particular, we're not sure how you'd like the rules to be changed.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do.
If you want to change the rules so that objections to Private Members' Bills need to be seconded, you may wish to sign this petition instead: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/222338
You may be interested to know that a group of MPs called the House of Commons Procedure Committee looked at the rules for Private Members Bills in 2016. You can read its report and recommendations here:
publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmproced/684/68402.htm
You can watch MPs debate the Committee’s report on Parliament TV:
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9ff57b89-d23c-44a7-85a3-5a9872c0ed31?in=16:02:20
You can read the debate on the Committee’s report here:
hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-04-18/debates/16041810000002/PrivateMembers%E2%80%99Bills
You can find out more about the different stages of a bill on the Parliament website:
http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/
18.216.32.116 Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:27:34 +0100
