This blog post is intended to support the UK Parliament Rules of Procedure document, which you can access here with the Background Guides, using the password that has been emailed to you. The UK Parliament RoP document at the link above should be read in full and used as the primary source for the rules of the House.
Any delegate who has sat in a MUN committee before will know the standard rhythm of debate: a general speakers’ list, motions for moderated and unmoderated caucuses, and working papers that grow into draft resolutions. Oxford Global’s UK Parliament committee keeps the spirit of our standard UN committees, but replaces many of the mechanics, transforming the committee room into the House of Commons and creating a uniquely interactive atmosphere for debate. Delegates become Members of Parliament, the Chair becomes the Speaker, and debate is built around a single bill rather than a stack of competing resolutions.
We’ve already looked at what the UK Parliament is, which you can read here. In this blog post, we look at the mechanics of the committee and explain how it differs from the other committees.
What Stays the Same
The foundations will feel familiar. A Dais still presides over the room, led by the Speaker and supported by Deputy Speakers and Clerks, who track speeches, process paperwork, and keep debate moving forward. As in any committee, the aim is productive debate and negotiation, ending in a vote.
Similar Things, Different Terminology
The full RoP document begins with a glossary to outline the terminology that we will be using to make this committee distinctly parliamentary. If you are familiar with our standard committee RoP, many of these terms translate pretty directly into parliamentary language. A good example is the House being directed by ‘the Speaker’ instead of ‘the Chair’. Other examples include:
‘The House’ instead of ‘The Committee’
‘Member of Parliament’ instead of ‘Delegate’
‘The Bill’ instead of ‘Draft Resolution’
‘Division’ instead of ‘Vote’
‘Move to a…’ instead of ‘Motion for a…’
‘Order of Business’ instead of ‘Agenda’
‘Green Paper’ instead of ‘Working Paper’
Who You Are and How You Speak
In most committees, delegates represent countries. In the House of Commons however, you represent a constituency and a political party.
MPs are encouraged to refer to one another by seat rather than by name, using language such as “the Honourable Member for [constituency]”, or “the Right Honourable Member” for ministers. Speeches should begin with “Thank you, Mister/Madam Speaker”, and in this manner, remarks should be directed towards the Speaker rather than at one another. Where another committee’s chair might call for decorum, the Speaker famously calls “Order, order!”.
Westminster is also a rowdier place than most MUN committee rooms. We strongly encourage you to watch some videos online of parliamentary debate in the House of Commons. Appropriate and brief heckling is permitted, and a well-timed “Hear, hear!” is part of the atmosphere. Any language that crosses the line will be ruled “unparliamentary”.
Speeches
To give the committee more of a parliamentary atmosphere, the Speaker has discretion over speaking order and pace, so the committee spends far less time on motions than a standard MUN format. Debate will include more unmoderated debate and negotiation time (which is in the form of the Suspension of the Sitting), as well as slightly longer speeches (of a maximum of two minutes rather than one-and-a-half).
In place of a speakers’ list that delegates join by placard, MPs rise to ‘catch the Speaker’s eye’ by ‘bobbing’, which involves
The Deputy Speaker will be keeping a running list of speakers behind the scenes to keep things fair.
One Bill, Many Amendments
The biggest change is what the committee is working to produce. Rather than drafting working papers in blocs, delegates work on a single, deliberately short bill. The substance of the committee comes from changing that initial text through amendments.
During the First Reading, two bills (each on one of the topics in the background guide) will be read out to the House, and the House will have to choose which one they would like to debate. During the Second Reading, the House will debate and amend the selected bill. During the Third Reading, the House will vote on the amended bill.
An amendment is submitted in writing to the Speaker and sets out precisely which clause is changing and how. Each amendment gets a short debate and its own vote. When one passes, the Speaker updates a live ‘Master Bill’ on the screen, so that everyone can see the exact text on the floor at any moment.
Position Papers
The content of a position is slightly different. You should include the following:
Party position: the official stance of the MP’s party on the topic and its major arguments and priorities.
Constituency interests: the practical interests of the constituency represented by the MP which may shape the MP’s priorities, such as whether the constituency is urban, rural, coastal, or industrial, and the constituency’s demographic profile, major local industries, and levels of employment and deprivation.
Individual political interests: the MP’s broader personal priorities and areas of particular interest which might lead the MP to depart from or especially support their party line.
Public positions: any current or previous ministerial responsibilities or other public positions which might shape how the MP approaches the topic.
We would like to remind you that the deadline for position papers is this Friday 13th November, 11:59pm UK time!
These position papers are the best form of preparation for the conference, since the strongest MPs will be those who know their party line, understand their constituency, and can work out whose support they need to turn a clause on a page into law.
We look forward to welcoming you into OG’s very own House of Commons. Please don’t hesitate to email info@oxfordglobal.org with any questions relating to the Rules of Procedure for the UK Parliament committee.