Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons

Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons
Name	Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons
Type	Select committee
Chamber	House of Commons
Established	2017
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom Parliament
Membership	cross-party MPs
Chair	Anna Soubry (first chair)

Contents

Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons. The Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons was a temporary cross-party committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom established to review and recommend changes to the composition, procedures, and accountability of the House of Commons following the 2015 and 2017 electoral cycles. Its remit engaged with constitutional actors and institutions including the Cabinet Office, Privy Council, Electoral Commission, Committee on Standards in Public Life, and Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010-related frameworks.

Background and Establishment

The committee was formed in the aftermath of political events such as the 2015 United Kingdom general election, the 2016 European Union referendum, and the 2017 United Kingdom general election, which prompted debates involving figures like Theresa May, David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson, and Nicola Sturgeon. Parliamentary precedent drew on inquiries by the Public Administration Select Committee, the Procedure Committee, and the Committee on Standards while interacting with institutions such as the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Serjeant at Arms, and the House of Lords. Parliamentary procedure and reform discourse referenced reforms implemented after the Representation of the People Act 1918, the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and the Wright Committee recommendations.

The committee's mandate combined remit elements from historic bodies including the Modernisation Committee and the Procedure Committee, and its powers derived from standing orders of the House of Commons. It could take evidence from individuals and organisations such as the Electoral Commission, the National Audit Office, the Cabinet Office, the Institute for Government, and academics from institutions like Oxford University, Cambridge University, London School of Economics, and University College London. The committee issued calls for written evidence, held oral sessions with MPs and peers including members of the Conservative Party (UK), Labour Party (UK), Liberal Democrats (UK), Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, and engaged civil society actors such as Transparency International UK and the Hansard Society.

Membership combined seasoned parliamentarians and backbenchers drawn from parties represented in the House of Commons, including chairs and members formerly associated with the Procedure Committee, the Backbench Business Committee, and the Treasury Committee. Initial leadership included MPs notable for procedural reform and cross-party work; subsequent chairs and members have been compared to figures active in earlier reform efforts such as Tony Wright, Meg Russell, Sir Christopher Chope, Yvette Cooper, and Ed Miliband. Secretariat support was provided by clerks of the House including staff linked to the House of Commons Library and the Parliamentary Digital Service.

The committee launched inquiries into subjects including candidacy selection rules referenced in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the role of select committees similar to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the Home Affairs Select Committee, the scheduling of parliamentary business including Opposition Days and urgent questions akin to precedents set by the Sewel Convention, and transparency measures comparable to reforms sought by the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Evidence sessions featured contributions from former leaders and officials such as John Major, Gordon Brown, Michael Heseltine, Jack Straw, Alan Duncan, and representatives from think tanks like the Institute for Government, the Social Market Foundation, and the Resolution Foundation. Published reports proposed measures touching on reform of standing orders, recall mechanisms analogous to the Recall of MPs Act 2015, committee resource allocation similar to changes in the Public Accounts Committee, and changes to representation logistics influenced by precedents in the Local Government Act 1972 and international examples such as the United States House of Representatives and the Bundestag.

Reactions spanned across parliamentarians, press outlets like the BBC, the Guardian, the Times, and broadcast commentators including contributors to Channel 4 News and Sky News. Advocacy groups such as Representation2020 and the Electoral Reform Society engaged with the committee's proposals, while critics from within the Conservative Party (UK), Labour Party (UK), and the Democratic Unionist Party emphasized continuity with historical practices associated with the Westminster system. Academic commentary from scholars at King's College London, Queen Mary University of London, and the Institute of Historical Research situated the committee's recommendations in the wider context of reforms following the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 and the post-war settlement linked to the Labour Party (UK) manifesto 1945.

Some recommendations influenced subsequent procedural changes implemented by the House of Commons through amendments to standing orders and guidance from the Speaker of the House of Commons and administrative adjustments led by the Clerk of the House of Commons. Specific outcomes included adjustments to select committee resourcing analogous to reforms in the Public Accounts Committee, proposals for fixed timetabling reflecting debates around the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, and steps toward enhanced transparency in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and standards advocated by the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The committee's work informed later cross-party efforts and debates in the House of Lords and contributed to ongoing reform conversations involving actors such as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), and devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.