A Bill is Passed

Until very recently, a lot of people undoubtedly thought of the House of Commons as pretty much a rubber-stamp, at least as far as legislation was concerned. The Government introduced a Bill, it then used its majority to make sure the Bill was passed, and that was that. Parliament has been made to seem a good deal more powerful by Labour’s troubles with its Industrial Relations Bill three years ago, and in 1971–72 by the present Government’s narrow escapes over the Common Market. But, even so, most people are probably unaware of just what the role of the House of Commons is in the passage of a major piece of legislation, and probably tend to underestimate the impact the House can have.