Private Members' Bills (PMBs) are public bills introduced by MPs and Lords who are not government ministers. As with other public bills, their purpose is to change the law. A minority of Private Members' bills become law but, by creating publicity around an issue, they may affect legislation indirectly.
One of the ways MPs can introduce a Private Members' bill in the House of Commons is via a Ballot. This type of PMB has the best chance of becoming law, as they get priority for the limited amount of debating time available. The names of MPs applying for a bill are drawn in a ballot, held on the second sitting Thursday of a new parliamentary session and the first seven ballot bills are most likely to get a day's debate. This session's ballot took place on Thursday 21 May 2026.
Richard was able to implement real change when he was successful in the ballot and few years ago and introduced a Private Members Bill on Hare Coursing. An issues that was affecting many famers in Bedfordshire and across East Anglia. That Bill was adopted by the Government of the day and resulted in far stiffer penalties, including prison sentences, for those convicted of that awful crime. You can read more about this at https://www.richardfuller.co.uk/campaigns/hare-coursing
Richard entered the ballot this week but sadly was not successful. despite receiving some excellent suggestions for potential bills from constituents. You can see the full list of 20 MPs whose names were drawn here.
