Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949

The Parliament Act 1911, amended by the Parliament Act 1949, fundamentally reformed the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The 1911 Act removed the Lords’ power to veto money bills and limited their power to delay other public bills to two years (reduced to one year by the 1949 Act). The preamble to the 1911 Act stated the intention to replace the hereditary House of Lords with a wholly elected second chamber, a reform never fully implemented. The Acts were passed after the Liberal government’s ‘People’s Budget’ of 1909 was rejected by the Conservative-dominated House of Lords, triggering a constitutional crisis. The Acts established the primacy of the elected House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords, making it possible for the Commons to enact legislation without the Lords’ consent.

Legal area: Constitutional law establishes the framework of government and the fundamental principles by which a state is governed, including the relationship between different branches of government and the rights of citizens.

Citation: Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 (1911 c 13)

Full text: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1911/13

Key Provisions

• Section 1: Money bills requiring Commons certificate cannot be amended or delayed by Lords
• Section 2: Other public bills can be passed without Lords consent after delay
• Section 2(1): Maximum period of delay is two years (1911) or one year (1949)
• Section 3: Parliament’s maximum duration extended from seven to five years
• Section 7: Preamble declaring intention to substitute second chamber on popular basis
• Parliament Act 1949 reduced delaying power from two sessions to one session:

Significance

The Parliament Acts resolved a major constitutional crisis by curbing the House of Lords’ power and confirming Commons supremacy. The Acts have been used sparingly but significantly: the 1949 Act itself was passed under the 1911 Act’s provisions; the War Crimes Act 1991; the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999; the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000; and the Hunting Act 2004 were all passed under the Acts. The Parliament Act 1949 was challenged in R (Jackson) v Attorney General (2005), where the House of Lords held that the 1949 Act was valid primary legislation. The case established that the Parliament Acts are a legislative route distinct from ordinary parliamentary procedure.