Any MP who isn’t a minister can introduce a Private Member’s Bill. They can be about any topic, but the main purpose can’t be to create a new tax or increase Government spending.
There are three ways to introduce your bill:
- Win one of 20 places in the Private Member’s Bill Ballot: these bills are given priority on the 13 Fridays set aside for debating Private Members’ Bills. The ballot takes place towards the start of a session (a session starts with the King’s Speech).
- Apply for a Ten-Minute Rule Bill: this gives you ten minutes to talk about your bill in the Chamber.
- Apply for a Presentation Bill: the title of your bill will be read out in the Chamber, but there’s no opportunity for a speech.
To introduce a bill, you need to give it a short title (a name) and a long title (a description of what it does). You don’t need any other text to introduce a bill, but you must have a text by second reading, if there is one. The Public Bill Office handles applications for Private Members’ Bills and can help you with the process, including helping you to write titles for your Bill.
You can have up to 11 supporters of your bill, but you don’t have to. You should give the names of your supporters to the Public Bill Office before you introduce the bill. After the bill has been introduced, names can’t be changed or removed.