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The government's main difficulty in the Commons in 2004 came over the passing of the higher education bill. The government also suffered a string of defeats in the Lords, where opposition over hunting was only overcome through the use of the Parliament Act.

This article evaluates British parliamentary sessions in 2000, especially the effects of the reform of the House of Lords. Issues include the complexity of legislation and their controversy which created a log-jam in parliament, and political party opposition is also highlighted, especially from backbench Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the Commons.

The backbench voting of the year 2003 in UK and its causes are discussed. Labor MPs caused problems to the government in the House of Commons over a range of domestic issues.

The scenario about the elections of the defeated and selected parties and the socio-economic composition is discussed. The Queen's speech mainly focused on Education, Health, and Crime. The level of backbench rebellions remained significant during 1997-2001 parliaments, which was hold by Robin Cook the leader of the house.

The prime function of the Commons is to determine which party will enter government, and then to maintain that administration in power. The Commons as described by Bagehot is the 'assembly that chosses our president'.

A response is presented by Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart, authors of the article "Party Rules, OK: Voting in the House of Commons on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill" published in a 2010 issue, to a review published in this issue. The authors contend they were misquoted in the review, leading it to misrepresent several of the important points in their article, particularly their conclusion that a British government led by the Conservative Party would lead to the introduction of legislation limiting abortion.

The year saw the government face a noticeable increase in dissent from its backbenchers. The session saw 76 separate rebellions by Labour backbenchers, more than in the first session of any previous Labour government and including substantial rebellions over asylum, anti-terrorism legislation, education policy, and Iraq. Backbench pressure also forced the government to withdraw its proposals for stage 2 of Lords reform. The Conservatives also saw their own high profile backbench rebellions, whilst the Liberal Democrats continued their journey away from consensus with Labour. Parliament also continued its post-1997 process of reform. Stage 2 of Lords Reform may have stalled, but the stage 1 Lords continued to inflict defeats on the government. The parliamentary year saw the government defeated 56 times, more than in any session since Labour came to power (indeed, more than in any session since that of 1977-78). Modernisation of the Commons (indeed, also of the Lords) continued, with the Commons seeing more substantial reforms that would have been thought possible just a year before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the authors' comments on the journal "Parliamentary Affairs." The authors propose evolutionary development of the journal rather than revolutionary change, viewing the mix of academic and practitioner articles as a key strength of the journal. According to the authors, the journal acts as a natural source for the publication of cutting-edge, real-world research with serious policy impact.