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But it's only convention that the Chief Whip of the party of the departing MP tables the motion. Any party whip/backbencher could do it if they thought Reform were delaying for some reason. But breaking with convention is regarded as a big step as it can rebound on you in the future...

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Motion for a writ has precedence over other business so can be taken anytime, but usually at a convenient moment where there's a break between different items of business. Warrant & issuing of writ is then day 0 in the by-election timetable countdown. So if convention is followed, Reform control it

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There are some procedural hoops to complete. Farage has to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and ask to be appointed to the Manor of Northstead. If and when that is granted the Speaker would be informed and by convention it would be for the Reform Whip to move a motion for the writ.

Yes, except they were different types of breach under investigation and therefore different processes. Johnson was investigated by the Privileges Committee for a contempt of the House. Farage is under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for a breach of the Code of Conduct.

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publications.parliament.uk

3/ The outcome of the by-election result might of course affect the resulting rectification measure or sanction that can be proposed. The relevant protocol is here: publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cm... ⬇️

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2/ ...the 12 months before becoming an MP in 2024. The investigation would be suspended while he was no longer an MP. If he won the by-election, it would resume. If he lost, it could still be resumed...

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Hansard Society @hansardsociety.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

🧵 Amid all the speculation about Nigel Farage's 2pm statement, it's worth noting paragraph 40 of the Procedural Protocol to the MPs' Code of Conduct. If he announces he's resigning and seeking a by-election, that would not automatically end the investigation into whether he breached the Code in...

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Reposted by Ruth Fox

192 Urgent Questions were granted in the last parliamentary session (2024–26). The relevant Secretary of State answered just 14% of them. Which departments faced the most Urgent Questions - and who was answering them? Read the latest analysis by @ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social ⬇️ buff.ly/8DYfiiH

buff.ly

Are there too many Urgent Questions in the House of Commons?

Urgent Questions have grown substantially since 2010 and are now a routine feature of House of Commons business. In this blog, Ruxandra Serban analyses the scale of that growth, which departments…

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Hansard Society @hansardsociety.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

🧵 £1.15 trillion. That's how much public spending MPs will be asked to approve this week when they debate and vote on the Main Estimates. Find out more in our latest Parliament Matters Bulletin - the essential guide to the week ahead in Westminster. Link in next post below👇

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Hansard Society @hansardsociety.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

NEW podcast episode: 10 years after the Brexit referendum we talk to historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about why it unleashed a full-blown democratic crisis and why Parliament and the major political parties appear to have learned so little from the experience. 🎧 👇 buff.ly/Ebc11iE

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

4/ If you enjoy the podcast, the biography is well worth reading. Published by Bloomsbury Books, it offers a fresh look at a pioneering politician whose contribution to British public life deserves to be better remembered. Find out more: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/margaret-...

bloomsbury.com

Margaret Bondfield

A groundbreaking biography of Margaret Bondfield, the remarkable political pioneer and working-class woman who rose to become the first female Cabinet Minister…

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

2/ As crisis split the Labour Party, her reputation never recovered. Her biographer @nansloane.bsky.social tells the story of Bondfield’s extraordinary rise from shop-floor worker to Cabinet minister, and re-examines the choices that defined her legacy. We spoke to Nan for our podcast....👇

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

1/ 97 years ago Margaret Bondfield was appointed as the first woman Cabinet Minister. She is one of the most overlooked figures in British political history. A trade unionist who became the first woman in the British Cabinet, she took office just as the Great Depression struck. 🧵👇

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Matthew England @matthewengland.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The Government has tabled the motion naming this session's 13 sitting Fridays for Private Member's Bills. 4 September 11 September 16 October 13 November 27 November 4 December 15 January (2027) 29 January 5 February 26 February 5 March 12 March 19 March

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Hansard Society @hansardsociety.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

1/ What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 👇 Private Members’ Bill ballot — will one of the successful MPs revive the assisted dying bill? Select Committee hearings on: • the security of undersea cables • the role of the OBR • the Afghan data breach & superinjunction

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

It's probably going to make a heck of a mess of my stats for the number of bills in / out of the King's Speech that are passed each session. At this rate it will probably end up being another two year session. They never think about the data gatherers....🤣

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

It was great fun - looking forward to round 2 next month!

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Just going to leave this excellent podcast episode with @robertsaunders.bsky.social here. No particular reason.😂 But worth a listen tonight, because the person in the office is only part of the problem. www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam...

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

The UK may soon have a 7th prime minister in just 10 years. Before 2016 the UK had 8 PMs in 52 years. Whether it's the calibre of those appointed, the preparation they receive or the conditions of the job, something is badly wrong. We discussed what here. www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam...

Is being Prime Minister an impossible job? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 121

Why do UK Prime Ministers seem to burn out so quickly? We are joined by historian Robert Saunders to examine why the role has become so punishing in recent years. From Brexit and COVID to fractured pa...

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

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Hansard Society @hansardsociety.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

WEDNESDAY: What's on Parliament's agenda today? ❓ Prime Minister's Questions 💰 Pension Schemes Bill (Lords amendments) 🏛️ Peers expected to pass English Devolution Bill 📄 Select committee hearing on WPQs More detail below 🔽 buff.ly/8QBUm5k

Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 13-16 April 2026

Ministerial Statements are expected on developments during the recess, particularly in the Middle East and on Russian submarine activity. The English Devolution Bill completes its final Lords stages,…

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Hansard Society @hansardsociety.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Today the House of Lords is debating motions relating to a 'Statement of Changes' to the Immigration Rules. We discussed the legislative process for changing the Immigration Rules in a recent episode of our podcast. www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam...

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

And six MPs representing constituencies in that region - each among the top ten for signatures - spoke in the debate. 3/3

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

By comparison, the e-petition proposing a "new disclosure and safeguarding mechanism for at-risk children" - aka “Maya’s Law”, following the death of Maya Chappell in 2022 in Durham - saw support concentrated in the North East of England. 2/3

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Ruth Fox @ruthfox.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

🧵 Two e-petitions debated in the House of Commons yesterday - each signed by more than 100K people - show a notable contrast when mapped geographically. The e-petition calling for "statutory menstrual leave for people with endometriosis and adenomyosis" attracted support from across the UK. 1/3

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17/ How secondary legislation works - the legislative lifecycle - is covered in my book, The Devil is in the Detail: Parliament and Delegated Legislation. Some detail is now dated but the parliamentary processes have not changed. Free to download 👇(THE END) www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications...

The Devil is in the Detail: Parliament and Delegated Legislation

This 2014 book was the first comprehensive study of the delegated legislation system at Westminster in nearly a century. The book opens up the process, through the presentation of detailed research an...

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16/ @darcyxtip.bsky.social and I will be discussing this in the next episode of our Parliament Matters podcast (Fri am). Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts if you want to really understand what’s going on and what’s at stake. www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam...

Parliament Matters: A podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy

Join two of the UK’s leading parliamentary experts, Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox, as they guide you through the often mysterious ways our politicians do business and explore the running controversies abou...

15/ But again, it's usually less effective scrutiny than would apply if the equivalent change were made through a new Bill rather than a Statutory Instrument, not least because a Bill can be amended and an SI cannot.

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14/ That means a debate and vote in one or both Houses is required before the Statutory Instrument can be made. So in practice, Henry VIII powers are often paired with more, not less, formal parliamentary scrutiny than most secondary legislation gets.

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13/ But an important clarification to the media write-ups today... Where secondary legislation is made using a Henry VIII power, it will usually be subject to the affirmative scrutiny procedure.

12/ This is especially concerning where Henry VIII powers in Acts give Ministers wide “supplementary powers”, including the ability to amend the Act itself. That hands Ministers significant discretion to reshape legislation after the fact.

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11/ But not all Henry VIII powers are benign. Some go to the heart of how Parliament works. If Ministers can come back later and amend an Act via Statutory Instrument, it raises an obvious question: what was the point of Parliament’s detailed scrutiny in the first place?

10/ In some cases, Henry VIII powers serve a practical purpose, for example, allowing Ministers to update references across the statute book after Parliament has already approved a policy change.

9/ The concern is constitutional: it shifts law-making power away from Parliament to Ministers. Henry VIII powers are now a regular feature of modern legislation, but their use is not always contentious.

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8/ A Henry VIII power in an Act of Parliament, gives Ministers the power to amend or repeal primary legislation (Acts) via secondary legislation (usually Statutory Instruments), which leads to less scrutiny than the equivalent change made through a new Act.

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7/ Second: Henry VIII powers are being widely misdescribed. They do not “allow ministers to approve laws without full scrutiny.” That’s not what they are.

6/ Secondary (or delegated) legislation is generally subject to either: - the negative procedure, where it becomes law unless Parliament objects within a set period (usually 40 days), or - the affirmative procedure, where it must be debated and approved before it can become law.

5a/ - Scrutiny procedures are superficial and often a waste of time, particularly in the House of Commons. - There is no penalty for poor-quality Explanatory Memoranda and other supporting documentation.

5/ Just a few examples of the problems... - Parliament has no power of amendment, and the risk of an SI being rejected is negligible. - Government control of the House of Commons agenda restricts MPs’ ability to secure debates on Statutory Instruments of concern.

4/ Parliament does have oversight mechanisms for secondary (aka delegated or subordinate legislation) but these are ineffective, even in those cases where a debate and vote is required.

3/ So claiming something is problematic because it won’t get a “normal parliamentary vote" misunderstands how the system already works.

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2/ In practice, most secondary legislation (usually in the form of Statutory Instruments) is never voted on at all. Around three quarters passes through Parliament without a vote, EU-related or not. And even when a vote is required, it’s often nodded through without a division.