Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee
The committee was created in response to changes to the machinery of government intended to give the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, responsibility for political and constitutional reform. The functions given to the Deputy Prime Minister are as follows:
- Introducing fixed-term Parliaments
- Legislating to hold a referendum on the alternative vote system for the House of Commons and to create fewer and more equal sized constituencies, see Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011
- Supporting people with disabilities in becoming MPs
- Introducing a power for people to recall their MPs
- Developing proposals for a wholly or mainly elected second chamber
- Speeding up implementation of individual voter registration
- Considering the "West Lothian question"
- Introducing a statutory register of lobbyists
- Reforming party funding
- Supporting all postal primaries
In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister has ministerial responsibility for the Boundary Commissions, the Electoral Commission, and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. All of these are therefore within the remit of the committee.
As of 30 March 2015, the membership of the committee was as follows:
Occasionally, the House of Commons orders changes to be made in terms of membership of select committees, as proposed by the Committee of Selection. Such changes are shown below.