Commonwealth of Britain Bill
The Commonwealth of Britain Bill
was introduced by Tony Benn
, who was then a Labour MP in the House of Commons
, first in 1991
It proposed abolishing the British monarchy, with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland becoming a 'democratic, federal and secular commonwealth', in effect, a republic with a written constitution. Under the bill
- The constitutional status of the Crown would be ended;
- The Church of England would be disestablished;
- The head of state would be the President, elected by a joint sitting of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament;
- The Privy Council would be abolished, and replaced by a Council of State;
- The House of Lords would be replaced by an elected House of the People, with equal representation of men and women;
- The House of Commons would similarly have equal representation of men and women;
- England, Scotland and Wales would have their own National Parliaments; and
- British jurisdiction of Northern Ireland would be ended.
It has been read in Parliament a number of times since, and has never achieved a second reading.