E-petition debate: Act to ensure Bills backed by MPs & public can complete all stages in Parliament

E-petition 752673

E-petition 752673 calls for more time to be made available for bills passed by the Commons to make progress in the Lords. The petition said:

We believe the decision of MPs must be respected, especially on matters of social change, and that unelected Lords have a responsibility to scrutinise bills, not block them. With over 1,000 amendments tabled to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, most by just a handful of Lords, we are concerned that it will run out of time. MPs have voted for it and a poll has found over 70% of the public back it. While the Government is neutral, it must uphold democracy. We believe it must act so the Bill can progress.

The petition is open until 4 August 2026. At the time of writing, it had over 114,000 signatures.

Government response

The UK Government responds to all petitions that receive over 10,000 signatures. The government’s response published on the petition’s page on 26 February 2026 said:

Parliamentary sovereignty is a fundamental principle of the UK’s constitutional settlement. This means that it is Parliament, not the Government, that holds the power to make or repeal any law. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons as a Private Member’s Bill (PMB), and on the question of assisted dying, the Government has remained neutral on the Bill throughout its parliamentary stages.

The primacy of the House of Commons, as the elected House, is an established constitutional principle, and is reflected in the provisions of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, which reduced the House of Lords’ power to delay legislation against the will of the Commons.

The House of Lords is independent of both the House of Commons and the Government. The Government respects the important role played by the Lords in scrutinising legislation according to the conventions and procedures of the Lords.

As the Leader of the House of Commons has said, once the House of Lords have completed their scrutiny of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, the Government will, if necessary, find time in this current session for the House of Commons to consider any amendments they propose.

Since the government response was published, the 2024-26 parliamentary session ended on 29 April 2026.

Bills that have not received Royal Assent fall at the end of a session and do not become law unless they are re-introduced in another parliamentary session.

How long does a bill take to be passed by both Houses of Parliament and receive Royal Assent?

There is no set time for a bill to progress through Parliament. The time a bill takes depends on the length of the bill and the number of amendments debated and voted upon. The Speaker chooses amendments for consideration in the House of Commons.

Most bills considered by Parliament are government bills, introduced by a minister. Government bills are programmed in the Commons with the government setting dates for future stages and how much time is allocated for each stage.

The government does not have the same levels of control over the business in the Lords; there is no guillotine or programming procedure. Neither is there any selection of the amendments to be discussed; all the amendments that have been tabled may be considered.

Government bills that have not completed their passage through the House of Commons can be carried over to the next session, with scrutiny of the bill restarting in the Commons at the point already reached.

Why don’t all bills introduced in Parliament become Acts?

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was introduced by a backbench MP. Hundreds of bills, known as private members’ bills (PMBs), are introduced each session by members of both Houses who are not in the government. Time set aside by the House for consideration of PMBs in the Commons is limited under Standing Order No 14(8) to 13 Fridays in each session.

PMBs are not subject to programme motions in the Commons (bills in the Lords are not programmed at all) and so are susceptible to being ‘talked out’.

What next for the bill?

If the two House are unable to agree on the text of a bill, it is possible for the House of Commons to override the House of Lords under the procedures set out in the Parliament Acts.

Under the Parliament Acts, a public bill passed by the Commons but not by the Lords may be presented again in the following session. If passed again by the Commons, in the same form, and rejected by the Lords a second time, it can be presented for Royal Assent. One year must pass between the Commons second reading in the first session and the Commons third reading in the second session.

The most recent example of the Parliament Acts being used to pass a bill not agreed to by the House of Lords was the Hunting Act 2004. See the Commons Library briefing The Hunting Bill 2003-04 and the Parliament Acts.

The Lords Library briefing Private members’ bills and the Parliament Acts looks at how the Parliament Acts apply to private members’ bills.

Further information

Commons Library briefing Successful private Members’ bills since 1983 – list of PMBs that have received Royal Assent since the start of the 1983 Parliament.

Commons Library briefing House of Commons Ballot bills since 1997 – results of the Commons ballot for private Members’ bills (PMBs) in each session since the start of the 1997 Parliament.

Commons Library briefing Public Bills – sets out how legislation is passed through the House of Commons and the House of Lords and explains the terms involved.

Commons Library briefing The Parliament Acts – sets out the procedures governing the use of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949.

Progress of public bills in Parliament – details the dates of all stages of public bills laid before Parliament each session since 2012-13

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