The Backbench Business Committee of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

was created on 15 June 2010 through the adoption of a new standing order.House of Commons Votes and Proceedings, 15 June 2010
/ref> It was created soon after 2010 general election, but had been proposed during the previous Parliament by the

Wright Committee The Reform of the House of Commons Committee (known informally as the Wright Committee after its chair, Tony Wright) was a Select committee of the UK Parliament. It was established in 2009 to improve the procedures and relevance of Parliament. It ...

on Reform of the House of Commons in its report of 12 November 2009.

Remit

The committee is responsible for determining, on behalf of backbench members (i.e., members who are not

Ministers of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...

or shadow ministers), the business before the House for approximately one day each week. This includes Thursday sittings in the parallel debating chamber, known as Westminster Hall, which are considered half days. The amendments to Standing Order 14 give the committee 35 days per session, of which at least 27 are taken on the floor of the House (as opposed to Westminster Hall). The one-and-one-half-hour Topical Debates, which count as quarter days, are also within the ambit of the committee.

Membership

As set out by Standing Order 152, the committee consists of a chair and seven other members to be elected at the beginning of each session. The chair, who must be an opposition member, is elected under the

alternative vote Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...

method in a manner similar to other select committee chairs. The other members are selected under the

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

method with the stipulation that the eight members (including the Chair) reflect a distribution of the seats made by the Speaker, which is to reflect the party composition of the House of Commons. In addition, at least two men and two women must be elected. Ministers of the Crown, Parliamentary Private Secretaries, and 'principal opposition frontbench spokespersons' are prohibited from standing for election as chair or as a member. The Committee's Chair is currently

Ian Mearns James Ian Mearns (born 21 April 1957) is a British Labour Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gateshead since the 2010 general election. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. Early l ...

. As of November 2022, the membership is as follows:

Changes since 2021

2020 election

The chair was elected on 27 January 2020, with members being announced on 2 March 2020.

Changes 2020-2021

2017 election

The chair was elected on 12 July 2017, with members being announced on 11 September 2017.

Changes 2017-2019

2016 election

The chair was elected on 24 May 2016, with members being announced on 13 June 2016.

Changes 2016-2017

2015 election

The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 20 July 2015.

Changes 2015-2016

2014 election

The chair was elected on 11 June 2014, with members being elected on 30 June 2014.

2013 election

The chair was elected on 15 May 2013, with members being elected on 10 June 2013.

Changes 2013-2014

2012 election

The chair was elected on 16 May 2012, with members being elected on 12 June 2012.

2010 election

The chair was elected on 22 June 2010, with members being elected on 29 June 2010.

By-elections 2010-2012

Review

When it created the committee, the House resolved to review the committee‘s work at the beginning of the 2011/12 session. The

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...

Sir George Young George Samuel Knatchbull Young, Baron Young of Cookham, (born 16 July 1941), known as Sir George Young, 6th Baronet, from 1960 to 2015, is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 2015, h ...

, stated that the purpose of the review was to help reach the next phase of implementing the Wright Committee report: setting up a committee to manage substantially all House business.House of Commons Debates 15 June 2010 v511 c782
/ref>

References

{{UKParliamentCommittees Select Committees of the British House of Commons 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom