Petition · past parliament
Revoke parliamentary rules allowing one MP to shout "object" to block a bill.
Rejected
10 signatures
What the petition asks
A single MP can block a bill's progress through parliament by shouting "object". This privilege is being abused by MPs who use it to block bills, regardless of content, on point of principle. This is an undemocratic waste of time, money and energy, and should be curtailed as soon as possible.
On 15 June 2018 Sir Christopher Chope blocked a bill aiming to make the practice of "upskirting" a crime. This MP has a history of blocking bills, regardless of their content, because they "have not been debated". He could, of course, research prior to the first reading, but chooses not to. Not only does this delay implementation of many sensible laws, but it can also cause hurt, and leaves parliament open to ridicule. This is an obscure privilege which has little place in the 21st century.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. In particular, we're not sure how you'd like the rules to be changed.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do.
If you want to change the rules so that objections to Private Members' Bills need to be seconded, you may wish to sign this petition instead: Reform Private Member's Bill procedure so that an objection needs to be seconded
You may be interested to know that a group of MPs called the House of Commons Procedure Committee looked at the rules for Private Members Bills in 2016. You can read its report and recommendations here:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmproced/684/68402.htm
You can watch MPs debate the Committee’s report on Parliament TV:
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9ff57b89-d23c-44a7-85a3-5a9872c0ed31?in=16:02:20
You can read the debate on the Committee’s report here:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-04-18/debates/16041810000002/PrivateMembers%E2%80%99Bills
You can find out more about the different stages of a bill on the Parliament website:
http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. In particular, we're not sure how you'd like the rules to be changed.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do.
If you want to change the rules so that objections to Private Members' Bills need to be seconded, you may wish to sign this petition instead: Reform Private Member's Bill procedure so that an objection needs to be seconded
You may be interested to know that a group of MPs called the House of Commons Procedure Committee looked at the rules for Private Members Bills in 2016. You can read its report and recommendations here:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmproced/684/68402.htm
You can watch MPs debate the Committee’s report on Parliament TV:
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9ff57b89-d23c-44a7-85a3-5a9872c0ed31?in=16:02:20
You can read the debate on the Committee’s report here:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-04-18/debates/16041810000002/PrivateMembers%E2%80%99Bills
You can find out more about the different stages of a bill on the Parliament website:
http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/
Timeline
| 15 Jun 2018 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 20 Jun 2018 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
10
Status
Rejected
Rejected
20 Jun 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.