I’ve put in for a Private Members Bill – the ballot is drawn this Thursday by the Speaker. Let’s hope number 10 is drawn (and hopefully it’s top of the list if it is)!
A Private Members Bill allows for backbench MPs to move a law of their own, and is rare to be drawn, so I’ll manage my own expectations.
The last time I was successful I worked with the Oldham Youth Council to draft the Bill which gave Votes at 16 and political education in schools. That was more than a Bill, it was much more of a campaign. It led to the formation of the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) on Votes at 16 and into Labours subsequent manifestos… and is now set to become law!
Realistically even when drawn in the ballot you would need to be quite high up on the list, in the top 5 or 6 because PMBs are notoriously talked out by their opponents so they don’t actually complete their passage through parliament, and with so much of that time taken on earlier Bills, later ones are lucky to get beyond Second Reading.
An odd system, but judging by the queue, one that does get MPs interest!
Jim McMahon OBE MP 