Case study: Sir Desmond Swayne gets a Ballot Bill

Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne has won first place in the House of Commons' private members bill (PMB) ballot, giving him the best chance to create his own piece of legislation.

The PMB ballot is held at the start of every parliamentary session, where each backbench MP who enters is allocated a numbered white ball, and 20 balls are randomly pulled from a goldfish bowl.

What Sir Desmond Swayne will do is yet to be decided, but in 2024 he wrote of how he hoped "like hell" to be unsuccessful each time he entered the ballot.

Last session, the winner was Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who brought forward the controversial Assisted Dying Bill, which ran out of time to pass into law.

The PMB ballot is the best way a backbench MP can hope to bring forward a new law by winning cross-party support for a cause or, ideally, having the bill adopted by the government.

Notable PMB successes include the legalisation of abortion (David Steel), homosexuality (Leo Abse) and securing the abolition of the death penalty (Sydney Silverman).

However Sir Desmond's 2024 blog railed against the PMB system, saying his view is "we already have too many laws and that we should be taking time to repeal some of them rather than making even more".

He added: "Nevertheless, every year I obey the instructions of my whip and put my name into the ballot, then I hope like hell that, once again, I will be unsuccessful.

"The unfortunates, who do come in the top ten, will be inundated with pleas from every good cause to sponsor a bill to address some perceived evil."

Asked for his thoughts on winning the PMB ballot, Sir Desmond responded with a single word, written in bold, bright red type: "Regrets".

Pressed on whether he had an issue in mind for his Bill, he added: "Not yet! I need time to think and read the countless email supplications."

Sir Desmond, who is known for his pithy remarks in the Commons, has represented New Forest West for nearly 30 years.

Only the last seven MPs selected are guaranteed debating time, and there are only 13 sitting Fridays set aside in the parliamentary session to deal with PMBs, so they are vulnerable to running out of time.

This is what happened last month, when Leadbeater's Assisted Dying Bill that had been approved by MPs last summer was effectively talked out in the House of Lords and failed to pass its final legislative hurdle.

Supporters will now be looking for a backbencher willing to take that unfinished legislation forward for a second go.

Sir Desmond voted against assisted dying in the Commons, as did the third pick, Conservative MP Mike Wood, so they are both very unlikely to be willing to do so.

However, the second PMB pick, Lauren Edwards, voted in favour of the Bill last time, so the Labour MP for Rochester and Strood seems a more likely candidate to pick it back up.

The fourth pick was Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, who told the BBC the option for him to bring back the Bill "is there as a possibility" but that he "won't be rushing to make a decision".

The Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives previously voted in favour of assisted dying, and said he "probably has a dozen subjects" for a Private Members Bill.

George said if he were to take on the Assisted Dying Bill, he "feels it's important the House of Commons demonstrates to the House of Lords we are not prepared to put up with the abuse of power we saw when they aborted the Bill only weeks ago".

A campaign to cement rights to services for babies and toddlers is being picked up by a Hampshire MP who has won the right to propose a new law.

Although Desmond Swayne is not a fan of private members' bills, he introduced his first private members' bill, the Babies Bill.Sir Desmond Swayne won first place in the House of Commons'giving him the best chance to create his own piece of legislation.

The bill would endorse the so-called 1001-Days concept, advocated by childcare professionals. It suggests the government should have a duty to ensure babies and children up to age two, and their parents and carers, have access to midwifery checks and health visits.

Sir Desmond said his "babies bill" should "give children the best start in life".

The 1001 Days concept includes emotional wellbeing support to prepare for parenting before birth, help with infant feeding, parental mental health checks and assistance with parent-infant relationships. 

Sure Start, launched in 1999 under Tony Blair's Labour government, became a universal service for all families with children under five and led to the opening of thousands of children's centres by 2010.

But many councils closed centres during austerity.

"When money was tight, the government took the ring fencing for funding away and that meant local authorities could spend as they wish," said Sir Desmond.

In 2021 under the Conservative government, the "Best Start for Life" campaign was launched.

It was designed to improve the offer to new parents including the creation of family hubs.

Last year the Labour government committed to opening 1,000 Best Start family hubs by 2028, designed to be one-stop shops for parents seeking support - including on breastfeeding, housing issues or children's early development and language.

At the time the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said many families had been "navigating the pressures of parenthood without the support they need".

"We are bringing back that support reimagined for a new generation of families," she added.

Sir Desmond said his bill would put into law the current Best Start and Healthy Babies programmes, protecting the schemes from future cuts.

"Everything comes down to money in the end," he said.

Only 3-8% of PMBs become law, and most flounder without government backing, but the New Forest West MP said he felt his bill was something politicians from all parties could get behind.