# Parliament Bill

**A**
**B I L L**
**T O**

**Abolish the House of Lords, make other provisions concerning the Parliament; and for connected purposes.*

*BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:*

**1 House of Lords**
(1) The House of Lords is to cease to exist as an organ of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
(2) No person is to sit in the Parliament of the United Kingdom by virtue of being in the Peerage of the Realm.

**2 Enacting formula**
(1) In every bill presented to Her Majesty to receive her assent, the words of enactment are to be as follows—
> “BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows.”

(2) Any alteration of a bill necessary to give effect to this section shall not be deemed to be an amendment of the bill.

**3 Passage of bills**
(1) A bill that is passed by the House of Commons, in accordance with the procedures and standing orders that govern it, is to be sent to Her Majesty to receive the Royal Assent.
(2) A bill that is, on the day this Act comes into force, being considered by the House of Lords, is to:
(a) Be sent to Her Majesty to receive the Royal Assent in the form that it was passed by the House of Commons, if the bill was passed by the House of Commons; or
(b) Be sent to the House of Commons for its consideration in the form it was introduced, if the bill was not passed by the House of Commons.

**4 Savings**
(1) Nothing in this Act affects the validity or continuing operation of any enactment.
(2) Any Act or other instrument which requires the consent, approval, or concerns both the House of Commons and the House of Lords on the date which this Act comes into force shall be construed as solely concerning the House of Commons.
(3) Any Act or other instrument which requires the consent, approval, or concerns the House of Lords shall be construed as concerning the House of Commons.

**5 Short title, commencement, and extent**
(1) This Act may be cited as the Parliament Act 2020.
(2) This Act comes into force on the day that the Parliament in which it is passed is dissolved.
(3) This Act extends to the United Kingdom.

**This bill is authored by the Rt Hon. Dame lily-irl, MP for the East of England, on behalf of the Official Opposition, and is co-sponsored by the Solidarity Party.**

*Section 2 of this bill is inspired by the Parliament Act 1911.*

### Opening Speech

Mr Speaker, I beg to move the bill be read a second time.

Mr Speaker, honourable members, right honourable members. This House cannot be one that sticks its head in the sand. We must confront a hard truth: the truth that the House of Lords, whilst rich in history, is no longer fit for purpose.

The fact that the unelected nobility of this country still have the ability to introduce legislation, to introduce amendments to bills that this House has passed, amendments which are frequently carried into law, is something that no other democracy in the world does. Because these Lords are not accountable to the people for whom they legislate. They have no oversight beyond what the Other Place sets for itself.

Nor is the Other Place a technocratic oversight chamber that some in this House wish it was. I regret that it is still firmly a partisan institution. The Government has lords on the Government benches, the Opposition has lords on the Opposition benches. Not many sit on the crossbench. It is a partisan institution, and while I have sat in the Lords before in an exercise in *realpolitik*, as many of my Rt Hon friends do in the Solidarity Party, it cannot be denied that the House of Lords is an institution that is a relic of a bygone era.

This House has curtailed the powers of the Other Place significantly twice, once in 1911 and once in 1949. We began this process with the House of Lords Act 1999. I urge this House to finish the job. Thank you, Mr Speaker.