What is a Ballot Bill and how does the PMB ballot in the House of Commons work?

Publications / Guides

What is a Ballot Bill?

13 Dec 2019

Sarah Davies, Clerk Assistant in the House of Commons, with one of the numbered ballot balls drawn in the PMB ballot on 9 January 2020. (© House of Commons / Jessica Taylor)

At the start of a new parliamentary Session backbench MPs can enter the PMB ballot. The 20 MPs whose names are drawn may introduce a Bill of their choice. Ballot Bills have the best chance of becoming law because they have priority over other PMBs when time is allocated for debates.

Last updated: 4 May 2022 MPs who wish to enter the ballot do so by signing their name against a number in the PMB Ballot Book.

MPs do not need to provide any details of their proposed bill at this stage: they do not need a title for the bill, and they do not need to specify the subject area or what they are seeking to achieve.

The Private Members’ Bill ballot is usually drawn on the second Thursday of each Session (there have been exceptions: for example, in both the 2010-12 and 2015-16 Sessions the ballot was moved to the third Thursday of the Session). The date and time of the ballot is usually highlighted in advance in the Future Business Paper, and the details will be confirmed on the Order Paper for the requisite day. The ballot is public and is usually live-streamed on Parliamentlive TV. It may also be broadcast live on BBC Parliament.

The principal Deputy Speaker, the Chairman of Ways and Means, presides over the ballot, aided by the Clerk Assistant. Balls with numbers corresponding to the Members' names in the Ballot Book are placed in a bowl.

The names of 20 MPs are drawn in reverse order and announced immediately.

The Deputy Speaker (Chairman of Ways and Means) the Rt Hon Dame Eleanor Laing MP drew 20 numbered ballot balls and read out the names of the successful MPs in ascending order

The 20 MPs whose names are drawn in the ballot have the opportunity to introduce a PMB of their choice during the Session. Those drawn highest in the ballot have the best chance of getting their bill onto the statute book.

The Public Bill Office in the House of Commons provides drafting support to all 20 MPs. A sum of £200 - fixed in 1971 and never revised - is also made available to those MPs who occupy the top 10 places in the ballot. The money is provided to assist with drafting costs but in practice is rarely drawn upon. To ensure the quality of legislation, the government may also provide drafting resources through the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for bills which are deemed likely to pass.

Guides / What is a Private Members' Bill?

Private Members' Bills (PMBs) are bills introduced by MPs and Peers who are not government ministers. They provide backbenchers with an opportunity to address public concerns and to set a policy agenda that is not determined by the executive. But the procedures, often a source of controversy, are different to those that apply for government bills.

Guides / What is a Ten Minute Rule Bill?

Ten Minute Rule Bills are essentially policy aims put into legislative language in order to secure a 10-minute speaking slot during 'primetime' in the House of Commons Chamber after Question Time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (but not on Budget day).

Guides / What is a Presentation Bill?

Any MP is permitted under Standing Order No. 57 to introduce a bill of his or her choice, having given prior notice to the Public Bill Office. Presentation Bills are formally 'presented' during a Friday sitting, and only after all the Ballot Bills on the Order Paper have been presented.

Some MPs, rather than generating their own legislative proposals, may instead choose to adopt a government 'handout' bill. These bills generally make technical changes or discrete additions to existing laws. They are bills that the government may have been unable to find time for in its own legislative programme, or which for political reasons it does not wish to steer through Parliament itself. Such legislation is handed to an MP (or Peer) by ministers to take through as a PMB. As handout bills have government support, they have a higher-than-average chance of becoming law.

All 20 MPs must formally present their bills on a subsequent Wednesday which is allocated for presentation of PMBs; this is usually the fifth Wednesday of the Session. At presentation (or First Reading) stage, only the short and long-title of the bill is required.

Guides / Why are Private Members' Bills debated on a Friday?

Thirteen Friday sittings are set aside in the House of Commons each Session for consideration of PMBs, signifying a commitment to provide some freedom from the normal constraint that 'Government business shall have precedence at every sitting' (Standing Order No.14(8)). Unless the House decides otherwise, these are the only Friday sittings held each Session. Last updated: 4 May 2022

Guides / Private Members' Bills: What are the legislative stages in the House of Commons?

PMBs in the Commons go through the same legislative stages as Government bills, but the procedures that apply at each stage are different. The lack of programming and absence of time limits on speeches facilitate filibustering rather than effective debate and scrutiny. And low yet complex procedural and voting thresholds enable even limited opposition to thwart popular bills. Updated: 4 May 2022

Guides / Private Members' Bills: What are the legislative stages in the House of Lords?

At the start of each new parliamentary Session, a PMB ballot is held in the House of Lords. This ballot determines the order in which PMBs will receive their First Reading and on what days. Once all the Ballot Bills have been introduced, a Peer can introduce a PMB on any sitting day. There is no fixed time for consideration of PMBs although generally they are considered on sitting Fridays.

Each of the 20 MPs must choose one of the allocated PMB Friday sittings for the Second Reading of their bill. MPs can postpone their allocated Second Reading day, but they may not bring their Second Reading forward to an earlier day.

Cite this

Hansard Society (2022), Guide to Private Members' Bills, (Hansard Society: London)

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