These Pages are intended to give a helpful overview of the various stages in the law-making process at the UK Parliament.

The pages will take a virtual tour through the lifetime of Parliamentary Bill - the name given to an Act of Parliament before it becomes law.

At the bottom of the page you will see a list of the various Parliamentary stages a Bill must pass through before it can receive Royal Assent and become law. You can jump to these pages at any time by just clicking on the relevant word below.

   Click here to begin...

Paul has consistently campaigned for a reformed House of Lords that is largely elected. Following the 2001 General Election, with Robin Cook as Leader of the House of Commons - genuine reform of the House of Lords came closer to being a reality than at any time since 1911.

The option of a House of Lords, with 80% of its Members directly elected was defeated by just four votes! A majority of all MPs voted for a majority elected upper House, and yet the Government has seemingly lost interest in real reform.

In February 2005, Paul launched a report - Reforming the House of Lords - Breaking the Deadlock (click to order); and introduced to the House of Commons a draft Bill with cross party support.