Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee

The Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee was a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015.

Remit

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The committee was created in response to changes to the machinery of government intended to give the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, responsibility for political and constitutional reform. The functions given to the Deputy Prime Minister were as follows:

  • Introducing fixed-term Parliaments
  • Legislating to hold a referendum on the alternative vote system for the House of Commons and to create fewer and more equal sized constituencies, see Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011
  • Supporting people with disabilities in becoming MPs
  • Introducing a power for people to recall their MPs
  • Developing proposals for a wholly or mainly elected second chamber
  • Speeding up implementation of individual voter registration
  • Considering the "West Lothian question"
  • Introducing a statutory register of lobbyists
  • Reforming party funding
  • Supporting all postal primaries

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister had ministerial responsibility for the Boundary Commissions, the Electoral Commission, and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.[1] All these matters were within the remit of the committee.

Membership

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As of 30 March 2015, the membership of the committee was as follows:

Member Party Constituency
Graham Allen MP (Chair) Labour Nottingham North
Christopher Chope MP Conservative Christchurch
Fabian Hamilton MP Labour Leeds North East
Paul Flynn MP Labour Newport West
Andrew Turner MP Conservative Isle of Wight
Tracey Crouch MP Conservative Chatham and Aylesford
Mark Durkan MP Social Democratic & Labour Party Foyle
Duncan Hames MP Liberal Democrat Chippenham
David Morris MP Conservative Morecambe and Lunesdale
Bob Neill MP Conservative Bromley and Chislehurst
Chris Ruane MP Labour Vale of Clwyd

Source: Political and Constitutional Reform Committee

Changes

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Occasionally, the House of Commons orders changes to be made in terms of membership of select committees, as proposed by the Committee of Selection. Such changes are shown below.

Date Outgoing Member
& Party
Constituency New Member
& Party
Constituency Source
2 November 2010 Nicholas Boles MP (Conservative) Grantham and Stamford Andrew Griffiths MP (Conservative) Burton Hansard
8 November 2010 Catherine McKinnell MP (Labour) Newcastle upon Tyne North Fabian Hamilton MP (Labour) Leeds North East Hansard
1 April 2011 Sir Peter Soulsby MP (Labour) Leicester South
Vacant
Vote and
Proceedings
12 July 2011
Vacant
Yasmin Qureshi MP (Labour) Bolton South East Hansard
12 December 2011 Yasmin Qureshi MP (Labour) Bolton South East Paul Flynn MP (Labour) Newport West Hansard
31 October 2013 Eleanor Laing MP (Conservative) Epping Forest Tracey Crouch MP (Conservative) Chatham and Aylesford TheyWorkForYou [1] [2]
31 October 2013 Tristram Hunt MP (Labour) Stoke-on-Trent Central Mark Durkan MP (SDLP) Foyle TheyWorkForYou [3] [4]
31 October 2013 Andrew Griffiths MP (Conservative) Burton
Vacant
TheyWorkForYou
31 October 2013 Stephen Williams MP (Liberal Democrat) Bristol West
Vacant
TheyWorkForYou
10 December 2013
Vacant
Bob Neill MP (Conservative) Bromley and Chislehurst TheyWorkForYou
2014
Vacant
Duncan Hames MP (Liberal Democrat) Chippenham parliament.uk
20 January 2014 Sheila Gilmore MP (Labour) Edinburgh East Chris Ruane MP (Labour) Vale of Clwyd TheyWorkForYou parliament.uk
20 January 2014 Simon Hart MP (Conservative) Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire David Morris MP (Conservative) Morecambe and Lunesdale TheyWorkForYou [5] [6]

See also

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References

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