Publications / Briefings

Back to Business: Procedure at the start of a new Parliament

8 Jun 2017
First sitting of the House of Commons after the State Opening of Parliament

This June 2017 briefing paper sets out the procedures and events that mark the first days and weeks of a new Parliament after a General Election and shape the operation of the Parliament thereafter, with reference to the start of the 2017 Parliament.

The paper covers institutional steps required at the start of a new Parliament, such as the election of the House of Commons Speaker and Deputy Speakers, the swearing-in of MPs, and the establishment of select committees in both Houses and the election or appointment of their chairs and members. The paper also addresses the handling of the first items of business, such as the Queen's Speech, a possible Budget, and the Private Members’ Bill ballots in both Houses.

The paper's concluding section identified 11 institutional and procedural issues facing the Parliament elected in 2017.

  • Introduction

  • First Week: Speaker's Election

  • First Week: Swearing-In

  • The Queen's Speech

  • Election of Deputy Speakers

  • Select Committees

  • Opposition Parties

  • The Budget and Estimates

  • Private Members' Bill Ballots

  • Issues for the 2017 Parliament

Blog / Assisted dying bill: What will happen at Second Reading on Friday 19 September?

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - the Bill to legalise assisted dying - has passed through the House of Commons and now reached the House of Lords. A rare two-day Second Reading debate began on Friday 12 September and is due to resume on Friday 19 September. In this blog, we explain what happened during the first day of debate and what to expect when it resumes. We outline each of the key motions and amendments on which the House will vote, and how these votes may shape the character of later stages.

17 Sep 2025
Read more

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 15-19 September 2025

Peers will vote on the assisted dying bill’s Second Reading, while MPs will question the new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood MP and Lord Chancellor David Lammy MP. The Commons will debate the Employment Rights, English Devolution and Community Empowerment, and Sentencing Bills, as Peers examine the Planning and Infrastructure and Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bills. Committees will hear evidence on arms exports to Israel and the Online Safety Act. MPs will also debate an e-petition on SEND support and consider a Ten Minute Rule Bill on child poverty strategy, including removing the two-child limit for Universal Credit. The youngest minister in nearly two centuries will make his first appearance before a Select Committee. ❓ We value your thoughts. Please click here to let us know what you think of the Parliament Matters Bulletin in our reader survey.

14 Sep 2025
Read more

News / Assisted dying bill - special series #16: The Bill makes its debut in the House of Lords - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 106

As Peers embark on a marathon two-day Second Reading debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – the measure that would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales – we are joined by former Clerk of the Parliaments, Sir David Beamish, to decode the drama. With more than two hundred members of the House of Lords lining up to speak, Sir David explains why, despite the intensity of the arguments, no one expects the Bill to be rejected at this stage. Instead, the real fight will come later, after Peers get into the clause-by-clause detail and see what defects can be remedied. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

13 Sep 2025
Read more

Briefings / The assisted dying bill: A guide to the legislative process in the House of Lords

Having passed through the House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - the Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales - must now go through its legislative stages in the House of Lords. This guide explains the special procedures for legislation in the House of Lords, and for Private Members’ Bills in particular. It answers some frequently asked questions, including how Peers might block the Bill, and gives an explanation of each stage of the process, from Second to Third Reading.

10 Sep 2025
Read more

Briefings / Delegated powers in the assisted dying bill: Issues for the attention of the House of Lords

Like many pieces of primary legislation, the assisted dying bill leaves much of the practical and policy detail to be worked out later by Ministers through regulations. After the Bill’s Second Reading in the House of Commons, we published a briefing which drew attention to two of its delegated powers. But since then the Bill has been heavily amended, prompting new questions: how have its delegated powers evolved, do these changes strengthen or weaken the approach to the delegation of ministerial power, and are further amendments needed and if so, why?

29 Aug 2025
Read more