I write this while the Renters Rights Bill is making its way through Parliament.
It has reached the House of Lords, and we are currently waiting for the date for the committee state to be announced.
It is at the committee states in both the Lords and the Commons that most amendments to bills are made.
However there is a difference between an amendment being proposed and actually making it and becoming part of the bill.
Government and Members’ amendments
It is open to any MP to submit a draft amendment to be considered for a bill. That amendment can either be accepted or rejected. However, for it to be a part of the final bill it has to have been agreed by both houses. The government will also usually have their own amendments – these are far more likely to reach the statute book!
Where the government has a big majority, as is the case at the moment, any amendment which is not a government amendment is unlikely to be voted through.
Amendments in the House of Lords
Then there is the ‘Salisbury Doctrine’. This is a convention which ensures that major government bills will get through the Lords if it is putting into effect a government manifesto commitment.
The Renters Rights Bill was an important part of the Labour Party manifesto in 2024, and so is certain to become law.
This is what the manifesto said:
Security also means having a secure roof over your head. That is not the case for too many renting their homes privately. Labour will legislate where the Conservatives have failed, overhauling the regulation of the private rented sector. We will immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, empower them to challenge unreasonable rent increases, and take steps to decisively raise standards, including extending ‘Awaab’s Law to the private sector.
So, none of those issues can be blocked by the Lords.
Ping pong
This is when amendments go back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords in the final stages of the bill’s progress through Parliament until a form of wording is agreed.
However, as the current government has such a large majority, it will inevitably get the bill in the form that it wants.
And finally
This means that when reading proposed amendments to a bill you need to look and see whether it is a member amendment or a government amendment.
If it is a government amendment, it will almost certainly be voted through. If it is a member amendment, almost certainly not, unless it is accepted by the government.