Private Members’ Bills: the lucky seven
It’s no secret that as a backbench MP, your ability to set the agenda in Westminster is limited. Parliament’s design centralises control with the Government, meaning that even government backbenchers can struggle to make the case for their proposals heard.
In this sense, the Private Members’ Bill Ballot is perhaps rivalled only by Urgent Questions as the strongest equaliser in the House of Commons. Successful MPs are provided a rare opportunity for personal passions or unique local concerns to drive legislation. Since 2006, 102 Ballot Bills have reached Royal Assent, almost three-quarters of all PMBs passed.
Having your name drawn in the PMB Ballot is hardly a guarantee of success though. Only the top seven MPs (the last seven names drawn) are certain to see their Bills receive a Second Reading debate; these MPs get to select one of the first seven sitting Fridays to debate their Bill, with time on subsequent Fridays prioritised for Bills that have successfully passed their Second Reading.
The lucky seven MPs from this year’s ballot are as follows:
Sir Desmond Swayne MP (Conservative, New Forest West)
Lauren Edwards MP (Labour, Rochester and Strood)
Mike Wood MP (Conservative, Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Andrew George MP (Liberal Democrat, St Ives)
Dr Luke Evans MP (Conservative, Hinckley and Bosworth)
Sir John Whittingdale MP (Conservative, Molden)
Jessica Toale MP (Labour, Bournemouth West)
The question now is how these MPs will choose to use their newfound positions of influence.
Sir Desmond Swayne MP: Infants, Parents and Carers Bill
The “winner” of this session’s ballot, Sir Demond Swayne, has made clear on his website the difficulty he faced in forming his Bill. It needs to be limited enough in scope to not require extensive scrutiny, avoid opposition from the Government, and avoid controversy, which might lead to MPs opposing its passing.
Swayne has ultimately opted to submit the Infants, Parents and Carers Bill, which, according to the Bill’s Long Title, makes provisions to “support for infants, parents and carers of infants, and prospective parents and carers, including provision relating to assessment of needs and to reporting requirements relating to such support”.
In practice, Swayne’s Bill will endorse the 1001-days concept, first coined by former Health Minister Andrea Leadsom in 2021, which covers the period from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday. In Swayne’s words, those 1001 days are “the foundation upon which everything else is built”, and the Bill would be a world first in placing a duty on the Government to assess the needs of babies, their parents, and carers during this period. According to the 1001 Critical Days Foundation, set up by Leadsom, Swayne’s Bill would provide a “legal foundation” for support already provided through Best Start Family Hubs and the Healthy Babies programme, and would cover services including maternity, infant feeding, perinatal mental health support, safeguarding, and SEND.
On his website, Swayne notes MPs from across the House of Commons who have shown support for the concept, including Labour MPs Jess Asato and Maya Ellis, Conservative Dr Kieran Mullan, and Liberal Democrat Freddie van Mierlo. Swayne also notes current Health Minister Sharon Hodgson’s work on the Early Years Commission in 2021; Hodgson retweeted a post on X in 2023 affirming her support for the concept. From the Lords, Lord Alton of Liverpool has expressed his support for the Bill, while Labour MP Kim Johnson submitted a Written Question in June 2025 asking about government policies to support children during the first 1001 days.
Second Reading Date: 4th September
Lauren Edwards MP: Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
In 2024, Kim Leaderbeater won the Private Members’ Bill Ballot and used her first-place position to implement assisted dying in the UK. The measure drew extensive debate across the country and in the Commons, and was passed by a slender margin at Third Reading in June 2025. However, upon reaching the Lords, the Bill stalled as peers submitted over 1000 amendments for Committee Stage. Even with additional time allocated, the Bill failed to complete its passage through the Lords and fell at the end of the last session.
The Bill has now returned, thanks to Edwards’ decision to retable it in the Commons. Controversially, Edwards will table the Bill in the same form it took when it passed its Third Reading in the Commons last year, which will mean that should the Bill pass in the Commons and then fall once again in the Lords, MPs could trigger the Parliament Act to ensure it passes.
Quite how this will change the nature of the Bill's passage through Parliament remains to be seen. MPs might object to the Parliament Act’s use, especially for a Private Members’ Bill, while peers may be more reserved in submitting amendments with the knowledge that failing to complete all the required stages could mean the Bill passes in a state many object to. Whether Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham will be as accommodating for the Bill as his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, could also be key. You can read more about this in our blog below.
Second Reading Date: 11th September
Mike Wood MP: Heritage Public Houses Bill
Back in 2023, the Crooked House, known as “Britain’s wonkiest pub”, became the focus of national outrage. Following a fire which gutted the building, it was unceremoniously demolished, drawing widespread criticism, a campaign for it to be rebuilt, and legal action from Staffordshire County Council.
Mike Wood, a Staffordshire MP, has introduced legislation for the second time to protect heritage pubs like the Crooked House. The Bill’s first iteration was introduced in the last session but never received a Second Reading debate. Among its key provisions was a requirement for local planning authorities to create a register of heritage pubs to be updated every twelve months, increase protections for pubs undergoing consideration to be listed, introduce restrictions on the sale of these pubs to ensure their future, and restrict the ability of owners to change the permitted use of registered pubs. Based on his announcement, Wood’s latest Bill, which has been backed by The Campaign for Real Ale, appears to be adopting a similar approach.
Second Reading Date: 16th October
Andrew George MP (Liberal Democrat, St Ives): Homes and Planning Bill
Andrew George returned to Parliament in 2024 after a nine-year absence and has submitted a spiritual successor to a Bill he attempted to pass during the coalition years.
In 2014, George tabled the Affordable Homes Bill, which looked to amend the “bedroom tax” which the Government had passed shortly after coming to power. The Bill passed its Second Reading and held two Committee Stage debates, however its progress was blocked by the Coalition Government.
In a letter published by The Spectator, then Conservative Chief Whip Michael Gove told Conservative MPs that the Liberal Democrats were demanding support for George’s Bill in exchange for passing a Money Resolution for Bob Neill’s European Union (Referendum) Bill. Gove said that George’s Bill was unacceptable to the Conservatives, and as such, it never received a Money Resolution, preventing its passage.
George has written on his website that he undertook a widespread consultation on what topic to submit his Bill on, including undertaking a vote with his constituents. The draft Bill is yet to be published, and George hasn’t offered many details of specific provisions in his Bill, but he has said that the Bill will include “planning mechanisms to make social housing more [and] planning controls where the proliferation of second and holiday homes inflate local housing markets and cut housing stock availability for local families”.
Second Reading Date: 13th November
Dr Luke Evans MP (Conservative, Hinckley and Bosworth): First Cousins (Prohibited Relationships) Bill
First cousin marriage has been on the Parliamentary agenda for the Conservative Party for a while. Luke Evans has taken on the issue from Richard Holden, who submitted various Written Questions, held a Westminster Hall Debate in June 2025, and submitted a Bill on the topic in the last session. Holden’s Bill never received a Second Reading, but Evans’ success in the Ballot means a debate is guaranteed. His Bill would ban marriage, civil partnerships and sexual relations between first cousins. Holden’s bill in the last session received cross-party support, including from fellow Conservatives Claire Coutinho, Laura Trott, Andrew Snowden and Katie Lam, Labour’s Dan Carden and David Smith and Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick and Lee Anderson.
The Bill will not come without opposition. When Holden proposed his Bill in the last session in a Ten Minute Rule Motion, Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed delivered a speech in opposition, a rarity. Mohamed argued that the ban would not be “effective or enforceable” and pressed for a “health awareness” focus, with advanced genetic screening being made more widely available.
When questioned on the issue, the Government has avoided offering a concrete position. In November 2024, a Written Question response stated the Government wanted to take the time to “properly consider our marriage law”. Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones offered a similar response in the Westminster Hall Debate in June 2025. During discussions of the Crime and Policing Bill, the Conservatives proposed an amendment and a new clause aiming to prohibit first cousins from marrying or having sexual relations. These were rejected by Davies-Jones, who, while not setting out the Government’s principle on the issue, argued that the measures would not adequately prevent either. Most recently, a Written Question response from the Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the increased health risks for children of first cousins, and stated that the Department is “in contact with other Government departments, including the Ministry of Justice, to provide further information on these as part of wider discussions.”
Second Reading Date: 15th January
Sir John Whittingdale MP: Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill
Whittingdale’s Bill is unique, in that it forms one half of a coordinated legislative effort across both the Commons and the Lords. Working with the former Leader of the Lords, Baroness Stowell of Beeston, the pair have submitted identical Bills across both Houses to tackle Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, otherwise known as SLAPPs. The measures have received support from the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, the Media Lawyers’ Association, and the News Media Association.
Government support for the legislation, at least in principle, is strong. Sir Keir Starmer wrote in The Guardian in 2024 that his Government would “tackle the use of Slapps to protect investigative journalism, alongside access to justice.” Responses in Parliament have continued to assert that the Government is looking to take action on the issue, but The Guardian has reported there is support from Ministers for the proposed Private Members’ Bills, alongside frustration a Government Bill wasn’t announced in the King’s Speech. On 30th June, Justice Secretary David Lammy said the Government would set out its position on the Private Members’ Bills in their Second Reading.
Second Reading Date: 27th November
Jessica Toale MP: Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (Amendment) Bill
Labour MP Jessica Toale has said that the aim of her Bill is to “ensure that no child falls through the cracks of our domestic abuse laws,” by bringing the protections children receive from Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) in parity with those for adults.
Introduced through the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, DAPOs are described in law as “preventing a person from being abusive towards a person aged 16 or over”, with more than 2,000 issued to date. Under Toale’s law, DAPOs would be extended to those under 16, with children either able to apply themselves or be included on an adult’s request for one. The Bill also allows young people in abusive relationships to access the same protections afforded to adults.
Second Reading Date: 4th December
What happens next?
Each Bill has now been allocated a date for Second Reading. To advance to Committee Stage, the Second Reading must pass in the Bill’s allotted time, otherwise its chances of passing will effectively end.
There are a number of pitfalls for the Bill. The obvious risk is that the Government opposes the Bill and tries to block its progress. This could be by whipping MPs, refusing to pass a Money Resolution if the Bill requires public spending, or by forcing a division on the Bill at the end of its Second Reading: if fewer than 40 MPs are present for the vote, then it cannot pass.
The strict time limit also means that MPs risk their Bill being “talked out” by opponents, preventing the debate from reaching a conclusion.
Even if the Bill passes its Second Reading, time for Private Members’ Bills is limited, and the Bill must become an Act of Parliament before the end of the session, otherwise it will fall. This means each Bill is in competition for limited time.
The Second Readings for each Bill will take place on the following dates:
Infants, Parents and Carers Bill: 4th September
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: 11th September
Heritage Public Houses Bill: 16th October
Homes and Planning Bill: 13th November
First Cousins (Prohibited Relationships) Bill: 15th January
Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill: 27th November
Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (Amendment) Bill: 4th December
PoliMonitor tracks the development of all Bills as they move through Parliament, providing real-time transcripts of debates and in-depth summaries of every stage of proceedings.
