Private Members' Bills

All Acts of Parliament start as bills. 

There are many different types of bill: 

1. Public Bills

2. Private Members Bills

3. Private Bills

4. Hybrid Bills

In this blog I am going to consider private members bills. 

Private Members bills are introduced by backbench MPs who are not members of the government.  Special rules apply to these types of bills.  For example, they cannot contain any provision which would result in the expenditure of public money. 

The backbenchers who bring these bills forward are selected following a ballot.  Twenty private members are able to introduce their measures following the ballot. 

For a private members bill to stand a chance, it must either be supported by the government or at the very least not actively resisted by the government. 

Over the last 15 years, about 8 of 20 Private Members' bills have become Acts of Parliament each year.