The ballot for Commons Private Members' Bills for the 2019-20 session took place at 9am on Thursday 24 October. Conservative MP Nigel Mills' name was drawn in first place.

The Chairman of Ways and Means, Lindsay Hoyle MP, drew the names of 20 MPs in reverse order. The Member drawn at position one has the first choice of a Private Members' Bill Friday to debate their Bill.

Position in the ballot:

The ballot for Private Members' Bills gives MPs the chance to be one of the first 20 to introduce a Private Members' Bill on a subject of their choice this session. Those drawn higher in the ballot are more likely to get time to debate their Bill and therefore their Bills will have a higher chance of becoming law.

Presentation of Bills



The Ballot Bills will have their First Reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday 13 November 2019 and will then be considered on sitting Fridays.

The dates of sitting Fridays in the 2019-20 session have yet to be announced.

Success of Private Members' Ballot Bills

In the 2017-19 session, the following nine Bills from the Private Members' Ballot became law:

Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP commented:

“Success in the Private Members' Ballot empowers backbench MPs with a real opportunity to affect true legislative change or, at the very least, bring public awareness to an issue they feel passionate about. I am looking forward to seeing which colleagues and causes will appear on the Order Paper on sitting Fridays, and I wish all of my colleagues the very best of luck and success in the ballot”.

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