Parliament Act

(1911 and 1949)

   The Parliament Act 1911 was introduced by the pre-World War One Liberal Government. Passed after the House of Lords had rejected the radical People’s budget of 1909, the statute removed the permanent veto, so that the second chamber lost its power of absolute delay over legislation. In future, any Bill which passed the House of Commons in three successive sessions would automatically become law. In addition, it took away the power of delay over money Bills which were to become law one month after leaving the Commons, irrespective of whether they had been approved by the Lords or not. It also reduced the maximum time period between general elections from seven to five years. The package effectively confirmed the subordinate position of the second chamber in statute. The Parliament Act 1949, introduced by the post-1945 Labour Government, further limited the delaying power of the Lords, so that any Bill that passed in two successive sessions now became law. This effectively curtailed the delaying power to between eight and nine months and made it more difficult for the upper house to frustrate the wishes of the elected one. It has been used on four occasions, most recently for the passage of the Bill that abolished fox-hunting.