Government Drafting and Handling of Legislation

Abstract

This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the government’s role in the Westminster legislative process, drawing both from the public record and interviews with insiders. It demonstrates that government is more responsive to parliament than is often assumed. The chapter begins by explaining some of the key contributors to the process inside government—including ministers, civil servants, and government lawyers. It provides a summary of the limited literature on these actors, and more generally on government’s role in the process. It summarizes the pre-parliamentary development of the 12 case study bills, including ‘agenda setting’ ‘policy formulation’, and legislative drafting. It also discusses government’s role during the parliamentary stages. It emphasizes that throughout the process government is mindful of parliament’s likely response (‘anticipated reactions’), which creates hidden forms of parliamentary power. It also discusses the sources of government amendments, showing that these are often driven by parliamentary concerns.