Members of Parliament
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on Members of Parliament. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 02.08.2013 | PIL: Living Former MPs |
| A list of all known living former Members as at 30/05/2013. | |
| 02.08.2013 | House of Commons Background Paper: Father of the House |
| The Father of the House is a title that is by tradition bestowed on the senior Member of the House, which is nowadays held to be the Member who has the longest unbroken service in the Commons. This Standard Note discusses the duties associated with the post and its history. It also refers to the opposite title of 'Baby of the House', held by the youngest Member. | |
| 18.07.2013 | House of Commons Background Paper: Resignation from the House of Commons |
| Under a Resolution of the House of 2 March 1624, Members of Parliament cannot directly resign their seat. The only means by which a Member's seat may be vacated during the lifetime of a Parliament are through death; expulsion by resolution of the House; or disqualification, either by the voiding of the Member's election or through accepting one of a number of offices which are incompatible with membership of the House of Commons. Members who resign in this way may contest the subsequent by-election. | |
| 18.07.2013 | Recall Elections |
| Recall is a term used to describe a process whereby the electorate can petition to trigger a vote on the suitability of an existing elected representative to continue in office. There is no recall procedure in the UK. The Government has stated that it will legislate to introduce a power of recall. This note explains the process of recall as commonly understood and briefly examines its usage in different countries. | |
| 16.07.2013 | Civil servants' and MPs' salaries |
| Historically MPs' pay was linked to the salary scales of certain civil service grades. Although this is no longer the case, there is a continued interest in how these rates of pay have moved relative to each other. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 01.08.2013 | House of Commons Trends |
| This paper sets out key statistics about the House of Commons. The aim is to provide comparisons over time, though periods may vary according to relevance and the availability of consistent data. Some are for Parliamentary sessions, some by calendar year and some by financial year. This should be borne in mind when comparing different sets of information. | |
| 31.05.2013 | Members' pay and expenses - current rates from 1 April 2013 |
| This Research Paper reviews recent developments in Members' pay and expenses, and in ministerial salaries. It sets out current rates and provides a summary of expense limits, from 2010/11, under the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's MPs' Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses. | |
| 10.09.2012 | Mental Health (Discrimination) (No 2) Bill |
| This briefing has been prepared for the Second Reading of the Mental Health (Discrimination) (No 2) Bill on 14 September 2012. The Bill is sponsored by Gavin Barwell MP, who was fourth in the 2012-13 ballot for Private Members' Bills. | |
| 07.08.2012 | UK Election Statistics: 1918-2012 |
| This paper presents an overview of results from UK elections since 1918, including elections to the House of Commons, the European Parliament, devolved bodies and local government. | |
| 22.05.2012 | Members' pay and expenses - current rates and a review of developments since 2009 |
| This Research Paper reviews changes in Members' pay and allowances/expenses since 2009. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 14.09.2011 | Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. |
| Public Accounts Committee report [Commons] | |
| 12.07.2011 | Leaks relating to the case of Mr David Laws. |
| Standards and Privileges Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 12.07.2011 | John Healey. |
| Standards and Privileges Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 14.06.2011 | Former Members sentences to imprisonment. |
| Standards and Privileges Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 10.05.2011 | David Laws. |
| Standards and Privileges Select Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 05.12.2011 | PROPOSED COMMONS TWITTER HASHTAG |
| That this House notes that it is important to keep up with modern communication techniques; further notes that hon. Members are now allowed to tweet from the Chamber; believes that ... | |
| 22.11.2011 | MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES |
| That this House believes Ministers who cannot control their Departments should not run Government Departments; further believes that Ministers have ultimate responsibility for their ... | |
| 14.11.2011 | ACTIONS OF BASILDON COUNCIL IN RESPECT OF RICHARD HOWITT MEP |
| That this House notes with concern the forcible removal of East of England MEP, Richard Howitt, from the official media area of Dale Farm by officials of Basildon Council during the ... | |
| 01.11.2011 | CONTACT BETWEEN HON. MEMBERS AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS |
| That this House recognises the importance of events such as Parliament Week; acknowledges movesamong some hon. Members to engage which members of the public via social networking sites; ... | |
| 20.10.2011 | PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS |
| That this House notes the Procedure Committee's recommendations to limit hon. Membersto e-table only five written Parliamentary Questions a day; and believes that this is an affront ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 21.07.2011 | House of Lords Reform: Chronology 1900-2010 |
| This Library Note provides a chronology of key developments in the reform of the House of Lords since 1900. | |
| 20.08.2010 | Maiden Speeches LLN 2010/019 |
| This House of Lords Library Note provides the text of selected recent maiden speeches to illustrate the range of styles and subjects covered by new Members in their first contribution in the Chamber. It also includes an index of Members' maiden speeches in the Lords since 2006. | |
| 28.06.2010 | House of Lords reform 1997-2010: a chronology. LLN 2010/015 |
| House of Lords reform 1997-2010: a chronology This House of Lords Library Note sets out in summary form the principal developments in House of Lords reform under the Labour Government of 1997-2010 | |
| 25.06.2010 | Possible implications of House of Lords reform LLN 2010/014 |
| Possible Implications of House of Lords Reform: The purpose of this House of Lords Library Note is to consider the possible consequences of House of Lords reform. An implicit assumption in the Note is that future proposals to reform the Lords will be based on a fully or mainly elected Second Chamber. The major focus of the Note concerns the impact of such reform upon the House itself, its relationship with the House of Commons and Government, but also with the electorate and society more generally. | |
| 23.10.2009 | The Weatherill Amendment: Elected Hereditary Peers (updated October 2009) |
| The House of Lords Bill 1998-99 sought to abolish the right of all hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, and represented the most significant attempt to reform the House for some years. During the Lords consideration of the Bill, Lord Weatherill moved an amendment to allow 92 hereditary peers to remain as Members of the House. Thus the amendment, which was accepted in both Houses and became part of the House of Lords Act 1999, has become known as the 'Weatherill amendment'. This Library Note provides a history of the amendment and outlines developments since 1999. | |
| 24.07.2008 | Peerage creations 1958-2008. LLN 2008/019 |
| This Note presents detailed information on all peerage creations since the first list of life peers was published on 24th July 1958. It updates earlier Notes to the situation at 24th July 2008. |
