How UK Parliament Makes Laws

Only By Completing a Stringent Process Can a Bill Become a Law

Jun 4, 2008

In Britain a new law is created after a Bill has passed through both the Commons and the Lords and has been given Royal Assent.

New laws are always being created and old ones updated to deal with the needs of a constantly changing society. In Britain, Parliament if arguably the most important lawmaking body since Statute Laws are created once a nominated Bill has passed through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and has then been given Royal Assent.

Public Consultation

Having been democratically elected, the Government then has a mandate from the people to act as their representative and so there is no need for public consultation about every law that the Government wishes to enact. Given the vast numbers of laws that are created or amended every year, full public consultation on every one of them would be a next to impossible task.

Sometimes, often when the issue being considered is particularly divisive, Parliament does decide to consult the public and so will gauge opinion through a referendum. Referendums take a lot of time to organise and are very expensive so they are not particularly regular events. A referendum was, however, held in September 1997 when the electors of Scotland and Wales voted to have their own Parliament and assemblies.

Elected Representatives

On average, Parliament has to consider around two hundred and fifty proposals for new laws every year and it would be impractical, not to say impossible, to rely on a referendum in every case and so Parliament must make a decision on the proposed new law on the behalf of the public. As a whole, Parliament is eminently capable of making legal decisions for the benefit of the public as a whole, the House of Commons is made up of elected representatives while the House of Lords (although not democratically elected) is made up of a variety of experts from all walks of life who can give the benefit of their experience.

The Formal Lawmaking Process

New laws cannot be creating by Parliament unless they have passed a number of stages in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and have been agreed upon by both Houses. While it is travelling through Parliament, the proposed new law is known as a Bill, usually either a Private Bill or a Public Bill (which can be either a Government Bill or a Private Members’ Bill).

Although now only a formality, Royal Assent must also be given in the form of the Queen signing either the Letters Patent or a Commission. Only once a Bill has received Royal Assent does it become a new law or Act of Parliament.

McLean, I. and McMillan, A. (2003) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics (2nd Rev Ed.) (Oxford University Press)

Kingdom, J. (2003) Government and Politics in Britain: An Introduction (3rd Ed.) (Polity Press)

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