Commonwealth of Britain Bill explained
Type: | act |
Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
Year: | 1996 |
Introduced Commons: | Tony Benn |
Status: | not_passed |
The Commonwealth of Britain Bill was a bill first introduced in the House of Commons in 1991 by Tony Benn,[1] then a Labour Member of Parliament (MP). It was seconded by the future Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.
The Bill proposed abolishing the British monarchy, with the United Kingdom becoming a "democratic, federal and secular Commonwealth of Britain", or in effect a republic with a codified constitution. It was introduced by Benn a number of times until Benn's retirement in 2001, but never achieved a second reading. Under the Bill:
- The monarchy would be abolished and the constitutional status of the Crown ended;
- The Church of England would be disestablished;
- The head of state would be a president, elected by a joint sitting of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament;
- The functions of the royal prerogative would be transferred to Parliament;
- The Privy Council would be abolished, and replaced by a Council of State;
- The House of Lords would be replaced by an elected House of the People, with equal representation of men and women;
- The House of Commons would similarly have equal representation of men and women;
- England, Scotland and Wales would have their own devolved National Parliaments with responsibility for devolved matters as agreed;
- County Court judges and magistrates would be elected; and
- British jurisdiction over Northern Ireland would be ended.
- The judiciary would be reformed and a National Legal Service would be created.
- The Constitution would be codified and an amendment process established.
- The voting age would be lowered from 18 to 16.
- MPs and other officials would swear oaths to the Constitution, not the Crown.[2]
See also
Bibliography
Notes and References
- Web site: Early day motion 1075 – COMMONWEALTH OF BRITAIN BILL. UK Parliament. en. 2017-01-29.
- Web site: COMMONWEALTH OF BRITAIN (Hansard, 20 May 1991). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). en-GB. 20 May 1991. 2017-01-29.
- https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/397cb7cd-719f-46e6-bebe-a363e58d22a9/1005905.pdf
- Web site: COMMONWEALTH OF EUROPE BILL (Hansard, 12 February 1993). 12 February 1993. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).