On 13 sitting Fridays each parliamentary session, the House of Commons debates private members’ bills (PMBs) between 9:30am and 2:30pm. There are vastly more PMBs put down for debate than can realistically be debated in the time available.  

The House therefore has rules to prioritise which PMBs are debated. The vast majority of PMBs never receive a second reading debate (on the bill’s principles), let alone complete their passage through both Houses and become law.  

What are private members’ bills? 

Private members’ bills (PMBs) are proposals for primary legislation sponsored by parliamentarians who are not members of the government. In the Commons this includes backbenchers and opposition MPs. A PMB can be introduced in the Commons in one of three ways: 

  • following a member’s success on the PMBs ballot at the start of a parliamentary session 

To become law, a PMB must complete the same legislative scrutiny stages as government bills. This typically includes, in each House, a second reading debate (on the principles), a committee stage (for clause-by-clause scrutiny), a report stage (for further amendment) and a third reading debate (on whether to pass the bill as amended). 

Private members’ bills should not be confused with private bills, which are a different type of legislation promoted by groups outside of parliament. 

How does the House of Commons prioritise PMBs? 

On average, there are more than 150 PMBs introduced in a regular parliamentary session. On any given sitting Friday, there are typically between 20 and 50 bills listed on the Order Paper (the House’s agenda) and all are therefore theoretically able to be debated. 

In practice, there is rarely time for more than a handful of bills to be debated, and sometimes only one or two bills are debated on a sitting Friday. 

There were 35 PMBs on the Order Paper for Friday 11 July 2025, for example, but only four were debated. 

The standing orders enable some PMBs to take priority over others. This improves their chances of completing all scrutiny stages and becoming law: 

  • On the first seven sitting Fridays, one or more ballot bills are usually debated at second reading. 
  • On the remaining PMB Fridays, bills that have already completed their committee stage or made further progress through their parliamentary stages take priority over bills that have yet to receive a second reading debate. 

What happens at 2:30pm on a Friday? 

At 2:30pm on a Friday, the House of Commons reaches the moment of interruption. After that time, no business that is opposed by any MP can continue. If a debate is still ongoing at 2:30pm, it will be paused, without any decision being taken. 

The promoter of the interrupted bill will be asked to nominate a future sitting Friday for the bill to continue its progress through the Commons. In practice, however, it is very unlikely that the House will return to discussing such a bill on that future nominated day. 

Example

Friday 24 January 2025: debate on Gambling Act 2005 (Monetary Limits for Lotteries) Bill, promoted by Wendy Chamberlain (Lib Dem). Debate interrupted at 2:30pm while minister (Stephanie Peacock) is still speaking. MP in charge invited to nominate a future sitting day for second reading debate to be resumed.

Click here to see it.

Bills reached after the moment of interruption 

Most PMBs on a Friday are only reached after 2:30pm. If business is reached after the moment of interruption and any MP opposes it, it cannot continue. The House can still progress a PMB reached after 2:30pm, but only by unanimity.  

How does an MP “object” after the moment of interruption? 

Any MP can object to business being taken after the moment of interruption. The chronology in the chamber is as follows: 

  • the MP in charge of the bill says “now” (or a similar expression like “I beg to move”) 
  • another MP shouts “object” (or a similar expression of dissent like “no”) 

The objection of just one MP demonstrates that the business is opposed. That stops proceedings and means that no decision can be taken on the bill. The MP in charge of the bill is then asked by the Speaker (or Deputy Speaker) to nominate a future sitting Friday for their bill to be considered. 

Example

Friday 11 July 2025: another MP seeks to move the motion on second reading on behalf of Ben Obese-Jecty (Con) for the Interpersonal Abuse and Violence Against Men and Boys (Strategy) Bill. It is after 2:30pm and the government whip “objects”. The MP is invited to nominate a future sitting day for the bill to be brought back.

Click here to see it.

Why might an MP “object” to a PMB? 

The effect of objection is to prevent the progress of a PMB on that day. An MP might want to object for reasons specific to a bill or on a wider point of principle.  

An MP might oppose the principle or detail of the bill: what it is trying to achieve or how it proposes to achieve it. They might have concerns about the scope of a bill or the way it has been drafted. 

Alternatively, an MP might be broadly neutral or even sympathetic to a bill’s provisions, but believe it is too important or controversial for the legislation to proceed without a debate. 

Why does the government object to PMBs so often? 

There is no formal record kept of which MP objects to each bill. However, the government whip can often be observed in the chamber objecting to all, or almost all, of the bills reached after 2:30pm on a Friday. There are several possible reasons why successive governments, regardless of party, have adopted this approach, over and above the reasons why any MP in general might object to one or more PMBs. 

The government will often object to bills even if it is neutral towards or broadly supportive of their policy intentions. Government departments may have specific concerns, for example, about a bill’s drafting, resource implications, or its interaction with existing legislation. Departments may wish to undertake policy development work of their own before actively endorsing or facilitating legislation prepared by others.  

The government may also object to PMBs if they overlap with or contradict its own intended legislative programme. Both the practices of talking out (sometimes called ‘filibustering’) bills on a Friday and routinely objecting to bills reached after 2:30pm prevent rival legislative proposals from cutting across the government’s policy agenda. 

The apparent default approach taken by the government can also influence the extent to which ministers feel compelled to publicly justify action taken in specific cases. Although there is no blanket objection policy, ministers might find it easier to avoid disclosing the reasons for objecting to a specific PMB if objection is a normal or routine scenario, rather than an exceptional one. 

One consequence of this approach is that, in the vast majority of cases, backbenchers can be reasonably certain that bills reached after 2:30pm will in fact be objected to. This gives MPs greater flexibility to spend sitting Fridays in their constituencies, especially if they were not already planning to participate in a bill debate. 

Can PMBs progress past second reading without a debate? 

PMBs can receive a second reading (approval of its principles) without a debate. However, this is unusual, and will normally only happen if the government actively supports a bill. 

Even if the government wishes for a PMB to proceed without a debate, any other MP can object after the moment of interruption. It is open to the government to make time for debate on a PMB on another weekday, but it is under no obligation to do so. 

Example

Friday 16 May 2025: two handout bills are proposed by backbenchers for their respective second reading, one after another, after 2:30pm. Both bills pass second reading without a debate as no MP raises an objection.

Click here to see it.

Handout bills are more likely to progress 

Progress after 2:30pm on a Friday is more common with handout bills. Although these bills are nominally sponsored by individual MPs, in reality they form part of the government’s legislative agenda.  

As the Cabinet Office’s Guide to Making Legislation notes, proposed handout bills are cleared by a Cabinet sub-committee (within government) before being offered (mainly) to MPs who were successful on the Commons PMB ballot. 

Handout bills are drafted with significant government assistance and oversight. The responsible government department also prepares other supporting materials, like explanatory notes and, where relevant, impact assessments. 

Further reading

About the author

Graeme Cowie is the Head of the Parliament, Public Administration and Constitution Hub, and a constitutional law specialist, in the House of Commons.

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