Standing orders in the Parliament of the United Kingdom

A standing order is a rule of procedure in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Both the House of Commons and the House of Lords can set standing orders to regulate their own affairs. These contain many important constitutional norms, including the government's control over business, but it ultimately rests with a majority of members in each House.

House of Commons

The House of Commons Standing Orders concerns the following topics.^[1]

• Election of the Speaker
• Sittings of the House
• Questions, motions, amendments and statements
• Motions for Bills
• General debates
• Public money Bills
• Programming of Bills
• Grand committees and select committees
• Public petitions
• Parliamentary papers

House of Lords

The House of Lords Standing Orders contain similar rules to the Commons. Rules 9 and 10 also govern the election of hereditary peers.^[2]

See also

• UK constitutional law