A report examined the process of law-making and the problems caused by the sheer volume of new legislation, the attitude of government to the legislative process, and the lack of time that Parliament had to scrutinize Bills. It said that Parliament should decline to consider Bills if consultation, drafting, and scrutiny were inadequate; and it recommended the creation of a Legislative Standards Committee to assess the necessity of legislation and whether the technical quality of Bills met minimum standards.
Source: Ruth Fox and Matt Korris, Making Better Law, Hansard Society
Links: Hansard Society press release
Date: 2010-Dec
A report (by the only Green Party MP) called for a programme of parliamentary reform, including: the introduction of electronic voting in parliament; a systematic overhaul of parliamentary language; and measures to prevent the 'talking out' of private members' Bills.
Source: Caroline Lucas MP, The Case for Parliamentary Reform, Green Party of England and Wales
Links: Report | Green Party press release | BBC report
Date: 2010-Nov
An article examined the attitudes of peers (members of the House of Lords) to social policy issues, including a comparison with the views of Members of Parliament (House of Commons).
Source: Hugh Bochel and Andrew Defty, 'Power without representation? The House of Lords and social policy', Social Policy and Society, Volume 9 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Jul
The new coalition government announced plans for a referendum on moving to an 'alternative vote' voting system for parliamentary elections. The number of parliamentary constituencies would be reduced, and constituency sizes equalized.
Source: Debate 5 July 2010, columns 23-46, House of Commons Hansard/TSO
Links: Hansard | Liberal Democrats press release | IPPR press release | Unlock Democracy press release | BBC report
Date: 2010-Jul
The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government announced (in the Queen's Speech) plans for a Parliamentary Reform Bill, providing for a referendum on a choice between 'first past the post' and the 'alternative vote' as the system for electing the House of Commons, and introducing fixed-term parliaments of five years.
Source: Queen's Speech, 25 May 2010
Links: Text of Speech | Unlock Democracy press release | ERS press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Telegraph report
Date: 2010-May
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 was given Royal assent. The Act created a statutory basis for the civil service. Many other parts of the relevant Bill had to be abandoned following a failure to reach cross-party agreement prior to the general election.
Source: Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, Ministry of Justice/TSO
Links: Text of Act | Explanatory notes | MOJ press release
Date: 2010-Apr
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to place the Civil Service Code of impartiality and professionalism on a statutory footing, and make any change to the Code subject to Parliamentary approval; remove the hereditary principle from the House of Lords, and allow for the disqualification of peers found guilty of serious criminal offences; repeal the legislation that limited protests around Parliament; and remove the Prime Minister from involvement in all judicial appointments in England and Wales.
Source: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, Ministry of Justice/TSO | Debate 2 March 2010, columns 829-915, House of Commons Hansard/TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2010-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that the practice of appointing ministers from outside Parliament via the House of Lords should be exceptional and subject to more checks and balances. Any further moves in this direction would require a wider review of the constitutional issues.
Source: Goats and Tsars: Ministerial and other appointments from outside Parliament, Eighth Report (Session 2009-10), HC 330, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Mar
The Prime Minister announced plans for legislation that would require the holding of a referendum, by no later than October 2011, on the introduction of the 'alternative vote' system in United Kingdom parliamentary elections.
Source: Speech by Gordon Brown MP (Prime Minister), 2 February 2010
Links: Text of speech | Downing Street press release | ERS press release | NLGN press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Feb
A report by a cross-party committee of MPs said that the profile of parliamentary representatives was too white, middle-class, heterosexual, male, and able-bodied. It recommended that mandatory legal quotas should be set for the number of female parliamentary candidates if there were not a significant increase in female MPs at the 2010 general election, and that political parties should be required by law to publish targets on the representation of women, black people, and disabled people.
Source: Speaker's Conference (on Parliamentary Representation): Final Report, HC 239, House of Commons/TSO
Links: Report | EHRC press release | Fawcett Society press release | Stonewall press release | Rethink press release | Hansard Society press release | Compass press release | Guardian report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2010-Jan