Second Chamber of Parliament Bill

House of Commons

Session 2004 - 05
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Other Bills before Parliament

Second Chamber of Parliament Bill

Second Chamber of Parliament Bill
Part 1 — The Second Chamber of Parliament
1

A
Bill
To
Make provision for and in connection with membership of the Second
Chamber of Parliament.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part 1
The Second Chamber of Parliament
1
Introduction
(1)
This Act provides for changes to the membership of the Second Chamber of
Parliament known as the House of Lords (in this Act referred to as “the Second
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Chamber”).
(2)
This Act does not affect—
(a)
the activities to be carried out by the Second Chamber,
(b)
its powers or privileges, or
(c)
its relationship with the House of Commons.
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2
Exclusion of peers and transitional arrangements
(1)
No person is to be a member of the Second Chamber (“Member of the Second
Chamber of Parliament” or “MSCP”) by virtue of—
(a)
a life peerage conferred under section 1 of the Life Peerages Act 1958
(c. 21) (power to create life peerages carrying right to sit in the House of
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Lords), or
(b)
being a person excepted from the operation of section 1 of the House of
Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) (exclusion of hereditary peers).
(2)
But a person falling within subsection (1) may, in accordance with the
provisions of this Act, become—
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(a)
an elected MSCP under Part 2,

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Second Chamber of Parliament Bill
Part 1 — The Second Chamber of Parliament
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(b)
an appointed MSCP under Part 3,
(c)
a spiritual MSCP, or
(d)
a peerage MSCP under Schedule 1.
(3)
Schedule 1 makes transitional provision about the membership of the Second
Chamber of persons who are Former Lords Members.
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(4)
In this Act—
“Former Lords Member” means a person who, immediately before the
commencement of the transitional period, is a member of the House of
Lords and who has not become an elected MSCP or an appointed
MSCP for any part of that period;
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“peerage MSCP” means a person who, in accordance with Schedule 1, is
elected to membership of the Second Chamber for the whole or part of
the transitional period;
“transitional period” means the period commencing with the first poll to
be held under section 9 and ending immediately before the date of the
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third such poll.
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Membership and remuneration
(1)
With effect from the end of the transitional period, the membership of the
Second Chamber is to be determined in accordance with subsections (2) and
(3).
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(2)
The Second Chamber is to have no more than 385 MSCPs at any one time.
(3)
There are to be three categories of MSCP, comprising—
(a)
270 elected MSCPs under Part 2,
(b)
99 appointed MSCPs under Part 3, and
(c)
16 spiritual MSCPs.
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(4)
A person is entitled to receive such remuneration, allowances and expenses in respect
of his activities as an MSCP as may be provided by a resolution of the House of
Commons under Schedule 2.
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Qualification for membership
(1)
No person may become an elected MSCP if—
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(a)
he has already been elected as an MSCP under Part 2, or
(b)
he has twice previously been appointed as an MSCP under Part 3.
(2)
No person may become an appointed MSCP if—
(a)
he has already been elected as an MSCP under Part 2 and appointed as
an MSCP under Part 3, or
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(b)
he has twice previously been appointed as an MSCP under Part 3.
(3)
No person may become—
(a)
an elected or appointed MSCP if he does not satisfy the conditions in
subsections (4) to (7), or
(b)
a spiritual MSCP if he does not satisfy the conditions in subsections
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(4)(a) and (5) to (7).
(4)
The first condition is that he is—
(a)
over the age of 18, and

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Part 1 — The Second Chamber of Parliament
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(b)
a Commonwealth citizen or citizen of the Republic of Ireland.
(5)
The second condition is that he is not disqualified under the provisions of
section 426A or 427 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (c. 45) (disqualification from
Parliament for certain bankrupt persons).
(6)
The third condition is that he is not detained under the Mental Health Acts.
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(7)
The fourth condition is that he has not been found guilty of one or more
offences and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained indefinitely
for more than one year in—
(a)
the United Kingdom,
(b)
the Channel Islands,
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(c)
the Isle of Man, or
(d)
the Republic of Ireland.
(8)
In this section “the Mental Health Acts” means—
(a)
the Mental Health Act 1983 (c. 20),
(b)
the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 36), and
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(c)
the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (N.I. 4).
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Period of membership of elected MSCPs or appointed MSCPs
(1)
A person is an elected or appointed MSCP from the time of his election or
appointment until his period of membership ends by virtue of this section.
(2)
Unless subsection (3) or (4) applies, the membership of an elected or appointed
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MSCP ends immediately before the date of the poll held under section 9 which
is the third such poll to be held since his election or appointment.
(3)
The membership of an elected MSCP or an appointed MSCP is to be taken as
ending prematurely if, before the end-date specified in subsection (2), he—
(a)
dies,
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(b)
ceases to satisfy any of the conditions in section 4(4) to (7), or
(c)
gives notice of his resignation in accordance with Standing Orders of
the Second Chamber.
(4)
Where an MSCP is elected or appointed to take over from someone (“P”) whose
membership has ended prematurely by virtue of subsection (3), the MSCP’s
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membership is to be taken as ending—
(a)
on the date on which P’s membership would have ended by virtue of
subsection (2) (“the proxy end-date”), or
(b)
if P was also elected or appointed to take over from someone whose
membership ended prematurely, the proxy end-date for the person
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from whom P took over (or, if that person was elected or appointed in
such circumstances, the proxy end-date for the most recent predecessor
who was not).
(5)
The validity of anything done by the Second Chamber is not affected by any
vacancy in its membership.
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Second Chamber of Parliament Bill
Part 2 — Elected Members
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Disqualification in relation to House of Commons
(1)
A person who is an MSCP is disqualified for being, or being elected as, a
member of the House of Commons for the period of five years beginning
with—
(a)
if his membership as an MSCP ends prematurely, the date on which his
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membership would have ended if it had not done so;
(b)
otherwise, the date on which his membership as an MSCP ends.
(2)
A person who—
(a)
is a member of the House of Lords immediately before the
commencement of the transitional period and does not become an
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elected, appointed, spiritual or peerage MSCP, or
(b)
is the holder of a hereditary peerage,

is not to be disqualified by virtue of that fact for being, or being elected as, a
member of the House of Commons.
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Entitlement to vote in relation to House of Commons
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A person who is or has been—
(a)
an MSCP, or
(b)
a person falling within section 6(2)(a) or (b),
is not to be disqualified by virtue of that fact for voting at elections to the House
of Commons.
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Part 2
Elected Members
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Electoral regions and number of elected MSCPs
(1)
For the purposes of the election in the United Kingdom of MSCPs—
(a)
England is to be divided into nine electoral regions, and
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(b)
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are each to constitute a single
electoral region.
(2)
At each poll held under section 9—
(a)
75 MSCPs are to be elected for England;
(b)
8 MSCPs are to be elected for Scotland;
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(c)
5 MSCPs are to be elected for Wales; and
(d)
2 MSCPs are to be elected for Northern Ireland.
(3)
Accordingly, the total number of elected MSCPs is to be made up as shown in
columns (2) to (5) of the Table below (the numbers in columns (4) and (5)
remaining constant as a result of a regular turnover of one third of the number
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of elected MSCPs by virtue of section 5(2) and (4)).

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Part 2 — Elected Members
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Table: Number of elected MSCPs

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

First poll
Second poll
Third poll
Subsequent poll

England
75
150
225
225

Scotland
8
16
24
24

5

Wales
5
10
15
15

Northern
2
4
6
6

Ireland

Cumulative
90
180
270
270

total

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(4)
Schedule 3 (which makes provision for the electoral regions in England and for
the number of MSCPs to be elected for each region) has effect.
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Elections
(1)
Unless subsection (2) applies, the poll at each election to the Second Chamber
in all electoral regions is to be the same as the date of the poll at a parliamentary
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election.
(2)
No account is to be taken of a poll at a parliamentary election if the poll is held
following a writ of general election which is issued before the end of the
minimum period.
(3)
“Minimum period” means the period of two years commencing with the date
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of the last poll to be held under this section.
(4)
An election involves the holding of an election for the return of such number
of elected MSCPs as are necessary to fill—
(a)
vacancies for elected MSCPs arising by virtue of section 5(2) or (4), and
(b)
premature vacancies for elected MSCPs arising by virtue of section 5(3).
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(5)
There are to be no by-elections.
(6)
References in this Act to the first, second or third poll are to the first three polls
to be held under this section.
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Electors
A person is entitled to vote as an elector at an election to the Second Chamber
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if, on the day of the poll—
(a)
he would be entitled to vote as an elector at a parliamentary election in
a parliamentary constituency wholly or partly comprised in an
electoral region, and
(b)
the address in respect of which he is registered in the relevant register
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of parliamentary electors is within the electoral region.