Revisiting Rebuilding the House

This report reviews progress since 2009 on the recommendations of the Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons - known as the Wright Committee after its Chair, Dr Tony Wright - and looks forward. It concludes that: Commons select committees are more effective, and election of select committee chairs and members by MPs in a secret ballot, instead of being appointed by the whips, as recommended by Wright, have brought greater transparency and democracy; the Backbench Business Committee, another suggestion of Wright, has been a success, giving backbenchers the chance to decide the subjects of debates covering about a quarter of the House's time; another key Wright recommendation - a House Business Committee which would give backbenchers an influence on the rest of the House's agenda - can be and should be introduced without delay. The Coalition Agreement said in 2010 that the Committee would be established by the third year of this Parliament; the House's petitions procedure is failing to meet public expectations. There is too much confusion between the roles of Government and Parliament. The Committee argues that there is still a case for the establishment of a petitions committee and recommends that officials work up a detailed and costed proposition which could then be put to the House for its endorsement