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.