Standing Orders for Parliament - Discussion Thread

[Blair]

Yeah the two biggest problems with Atlasia was that firstly bills took too long to sort out and pass, especially if you had amendments which required waiting 24 hours. I mean I know we can't copy it but the House of Commons gives you 15 minutes to vote (Ministers have missed votes through being stuck in toilets before) So if we can keep it quick, and actually make it about the government  v the rest then we could get it going.

The only thing I'm skeptical of is committees, because there an absolute pain to organize however it gives people a reason to stay in parliament

[Blair]

Well, it's up to the party and I know people hate them but we need a whipping system, especially since a parliament is much more party based.

[Blair]

Wait, only government ministers can introduce legislation? I'd rather we open it to anyone introducing legislation. I'm not sure why that would lead to things where we try to "make everyone agree"--as long as it only needs a simple majority to agree, we don't need any more than 11/21.

I like the committee idea. That sounds like it would be quite fun.

Because that's how a parliament works...

[Blair]

Wait, only government ministers can introduce legislation? I'd rather we open it to anyone introducing legislation. I'm not sure why that would lead to things where we try to "make everyone agree"--as long as it only needs a simple majority to agree, we don't need any more than 11/21.

I like the committee idea. That sounds like it would be quite fun.

Because that's how a parliament works...

Yeah, I get that, but status quo is never good enough reasoning, in my mind. I'm just struggling to connect the dots of "anyone can introduce bills" to "make everyone agree," although it's seeming that Barnes and Cranberry look at the two as going hand-in-hand.

As long as we have some sort of private members bill mechanism, like Hagrid suggested, it should be okay.

Why does everything have to be a battle? It's how a parliament works, because the party with the majority of the house is the government. In Atlasia we had no government agenda-the government didn't exist. Hopefully that won't happen here

[Blair]

A Westminster speaker isn't as oppressive as an American speaker, but they also are members of the governing party/coalition. Either way, the rules will be agreed upon by the House before business is done..

IIRC the Speaker is completely neutral, and doesn't have to be a member of the governing party. Betty Boothroyd was a labour MP and Speaker from 1992-2000 when he had a Conservative Government for 5 years of that.

The Speaker can end the debate, as seen when the condom of purple paint was thrown onto Tony Blair. However the government has large control of the Agenda, and set's the various motions. The Speaker is largely powerless