This paper provides a summary of statistics about Parliament. It brings together figures about both the House of Commons and Lords; their membership and activities.
The aim is to provide comparisons over time, though periods may vary according to relevance and the availability of consistent data. Some are for parliamentary sessions (a parliamentary session begins each year with the Queen’s Speech) some by calendar year and some by financial year. This should be borne in mind when comparing different sets of information.
The Political Parties and Elections Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 17 July 2008 and was carried over from the 2007-08 session. The Bill received Royal Assent on 21 July 2009. This Note summarises the debates and changes made to the Bill in the House of Commons and the House of Lords after Committee stage in the Commons
This report covers the Committee Stage of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill (HL) 2008-09. The Bill implements a number of community empowerment measuresoutlined in the white paper - Communities in control: real people, real power (Cm 7427). It also implements changes in relation to regional and sub-regional economic development and planning. See also Research Papers 09/45 and 09/46.
This Note summarises the major amendments made to this Bill during its passage through both Houses. Research Paper 09/61 Parliamentary Standards Bill describes the policy background to the Bill and its content at first reading on 23 June.
On 22 January 2009, the House of Commons agreed to a new version of the Green Book, rules on Members' allowances and changes to the audit regime for Members' allowances. The new Green Book came into effect on 1 April 2009. This paper reviews developments that led to the revision of the Green Book; the background to changes made since it was published; and the decision by the Committee on Standards in Public Life to inquire into Members' expenses. See also Research Paper 09/61 which covers the Parliamentary Standards Bill.
The Bill introduces a statutory Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) and Commissioner for Parliamentary Investigations. The IPSA will be responsible for devising a scheme for Members' allowances and for determining claims. The Commissioner will investigate allegations of misuse of allowances and breaches of the financial interest rules. See also Research Paper 09/60, which covers the background to the Government's decision to implement major changes, pending the report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life expected in autumn 2009.
This Standard Note sets out details of the major FoI requests made to the House of Commons since the introduction of the right to make individual requests in January 2005. It also describes the actions taken by the House of Commons in response to the requests and subsequent decisions by the Information Commissioner, the Information Tribunal and the High Court.
This Standard Note reproduces the text of a letter and accompanying set of suggestions prepared by Robert Rogers, Clerk of Legislation, for circulation to the Leader of the House, Shadow Leaders, Whips, and Chairs of relevant Committees, and those Members intending to stand in the election for Speaker, due to take place on Monday 22 June. It is reproduced in this form for the convenience of other Members.
Elections to the European Parliament were held across the 27 states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009.
The UK elections were held concurrently with the county council elections in England on 4 June. The UK now has 72 MEPs, down from 78 at the last election, distributed between 12 regions.
The Conservatives won 25 seats, both UKIP and Labour 13 and the Liberal Democrats 11. The Green Party held their two seats, while the BNP won their first two seats in the European parliament. Labour lost five seats compared with the comparative pre-election position.
The Conservatives won the popular vote overall, and every region in Great Britain except the North East, where Labour won, and Scotland, where the SNP won. UKIP won more votes than Labour. UK turnout was 34.5%.
Across Europe, centre-right parties, whether in power or opposition, tended to perform better than those on the centre-left. The exact political balance of the new Parliament depends on the formation of Groups. The UK was not alone in seeing gains for far-right and nationalistic parties.
Turnout across the EU was 43%. It was particularly low in some of the newer Member States.
Part 1 of this paper presents the full results of the UK elections, including regional analysis and local-level data.
Part 2 presents summary results of the results across the EU, together with country-level summaries based on data from official national sources.
This paper summarises the results of the local and mayoral elections held on 4 June 2009.
Elections were held in all 27 shire counties in England (all seats) and seven English unitary authorities (Bedford, Bristol (one-third of seats), Central Bedfordshire, Cornwall, Isle of Wight, Shropshire and Wiltshire).
The Conservatives made a net gain of seven councils and 244 seats. Labour made a net loss of four councils and 291 seats. The Liberal Democrats made a net loss of one council and two seats.
The Greens gained eight seats in net terms while the UK Independence Party made a net gain of seven seats, and the British National Party made a net gain of three seats
Estimates suggest that the Conservatives won 35% of the national equivalent share of the vote, Liberal Democrats 25% and Labour 22%.
Turnout was estimated to be 35%.
There were mayoral elections in three areas and UK-wide elections for the European Parliament on the same day
On 25 June 1979 the House of Commons agreed to establish a new system of departmental select committees to scrutinise the expenditure, administration and policy of government departments. This paper briefly sets out the historical background to the departmental select committees system before charting their development over the last 30 years, considering evaluations made of the system and recent proposals for reform.
This Private Member's Bill is due for a second reading on Friday 12 June 2009. This Note gives background to its provisions which are designed to liberalise the nationality requirements for civil servants.