Military Action Against Iraq (Parliamentary Approval) Bill
Encyclopedia
The Military Action Against Iraq (Parliamentary Approval) Bill was a private member's bill
introduced into the United Kingdom House of Commons by Tam Dalyell
MP
under the Ten Minute Rule
. It received its formal first reading on 26 January 1999. The bill sought to transfer the power to authorise military strikes against Iraq
from the monarch to Parliament
. The long title
of the bill was a Bill to require the prior approval, by a simple majority of the House of Commons, of military action by United Kingdom forces against Iraq. It was presented by Tam Dalyell and supported by Tony Benn
, Harry Cohen
, Jeremy Corbyn
, George Galloway
, Neil Gerrard
, Dr Ian Gibson
, John McAllion
, Alice Mahon
, Robert Marshall-Andrews, Dennis Skinner
and Audrey Wise
.
The bill
became Bill 35 in the 1998/1999 Parliamentary session, and was initially scheduled for second reading on 16 April 1999. As a bill modifying the monarch
's prerogative powers
, the Queen's
consent was required before it could be debated in Parliament. This is an instance of one situation in which more direct monarchical assent than the rather technical Royal Assent
is required for a bill to become an Act of Parliament
.
The Queen, acting upon the advice of her government, refused to grant her consent for the introduction of the bill. The second reading was initially postponed from 16 April until 23 July 1999. Due to the Crown
's continuing refusal to signify its consent to the bill, it could not receive its second reading on 23 July 1999. In the absence of a request for a further postponement, the bill was automatically dropped before it obtained its second reading.
When military action against Iraq
was eventually organised in 2003, the government sought Parliamentary approval
on 18 March 2003, one day before the invasion began, although no powers under the royal prerogative were thereby transferred to Parliament.
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
introduced into the United Kingdom House of Commons by Tam Dalyell
Tam Dalyell
Sir Thomas Dalyell Loch, 11th Baronet , known as Tam Dalyell, is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005, first for West Lothian and then for Linlithgow.-Early life:...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
under the Ten Minute Rule
Ten Minute Rule
The Ten Minute Rule, also known as Standing Order No. 23, is a procedure in the British Parliament for the introduction of Private Member's Bills in addition to the 20 per session normally permissible. It is one of the ways in which a bill may receive its first reading.Any MP may introduce a bill...
. It received its formal first reading on 26 January 1999. The bill sought to transfer the power to authorise military strikes against Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
from the monarch to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. The long title
Long title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
of the bill was a Bill to require the prior approval, by a simple majority of the House of Commons, of military action by United Kingdom forces against Iraq. It was presented by Tam Dalyell and supported by Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
, Harry Cohen
Harry Cohen
Harry Michael Cohen is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead from 1983 to 2010.-Early life:...
, Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Islington North since 1983.-Early and personal life:...
, George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, Neil Gerrard
Neil Gerrard
Neil Francis Gerrard is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Walthamstow from 1992 until 2010.-Early life:...
, Dr Ian Gibson
Ian Gibson (politician)
Ian Gibson is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich North from 1997 to 2009...
, John McAllion
John McAllion
John McAllion is a former Labour Party convener of Tayside Regional Council, Member of Parliament and Member of the Scottish Parliament , and a campaigner for Oxfam in Scotland...
, Alice Mahon
Alice Mahon
Alice Mahon is a British former Labour Party politician and trade unionist.She was Member of Parliament for Halifax from 1987 until 2005. She is a left-winger who was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and is a Eurosceptic...
, Robert Marshall-Andrews, Dennis Skinner
Dennis Skinner
Dennis Edward Skinner is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Bolsover since 1970, the Chairman of the Labour Party from 1988 to 1989, and has sat on the National Executive Committee numerous times since 1978.Born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, Skinner is the...
and Audrey Wise
Audrey Wise
Audrey Wise was a British Labour Party politician...
.
The bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
became Bill 35 in the 1998/1999 Parliamentary session, and was initially scheduled for second reading on 16 April 1999. As a bill modifying the monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
's prerogative powers
Royal Prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
, the Queen's
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
consent was required before it could be debated in Parliament. This is an instance of one situation in which more direct monarchical assent than the rather technical Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
is required for a bill to become an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
.
The Queen, acting upon the advice of her government, refused to grant her consent for the introduction of the bill. The second reading was initially postponed from 16 April until 23 July 1999. Due to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
's continuing refusal to signify its consent to the bill, it could not receive its second reading on 23 July 1999. In the absence of a request for a further postponement, the bill was automatically dropped before it obtained its second reading.
When military action against Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
was eventually organised in 2003, the government sought Parliamentary approval
18 March 2003 Parliamentary approval for the invasion of Iraq
The Parliamentary approval for the invasion of Iraq was given by the elected members of the British House of Commons to Tony Blair's government on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq in a series of two votes on 18 March 2003.-Constitutional background:...
on 18 March 2003, one day before the invasion began, although no powers under the royal prerogative were thereby transferred to Parliament.
Further reading
- Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice (2004), page 605, ISBN 0-406-97094-7