Gloucestershire MPs to present bills in Parliament

Three Gloucestershire MPs are set to present separate bills before Parliament after being among 20 backbenchers drawn from a ballot to get the chance to do so.

Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham, Lib Dem) Roz Savage (South Cotswolds, Lib Dem) and Alex McIntyre (Gloucester, Lab) will put forward issues that matter to them on Wednesday.

The two Liberal Democrats are focusing on energy and the environment, with Wilkinson wanting mandatory solar panels on all new homes, and Savage attempting to bring the Climate and Nature Bill back to Parliament. McIntyre will submit a bill on controlled drugs to target spiking.

The first seven backbenchers drawn from the ballot are the most likely to get a day of debate in the House of Commons.

Those drawn highest in the ballot to present their bills usually have the best chance of making progress. The first seven backbenchers in the list of 20 are the most likely to get a day of debate in the House of Commons.

Of his solar panel plan, Wilkinson said: "Unofficially, we're calling this the sunshine (cost of living) bill."

He added the bill would "mean we're generating from our nation's rooftops much more renewable energy, but also it will help to lower the energy bills of people moving into those new homes".

The Climate and Nature Bill was first tabled by Green MP Caroline Lucas in 2020 before now being presented by Savage.

"It is really pushing for a joined-up strategy that recognises that our issues around climate, nature loss and diversity are absolutely interconnected," she said.

"We absolutely have to put the environment at the heart of all of our decision-making across the board from now on."

Those drawn highest in the ballot to present their bills usually have the best chance of making progress.

McIntyre was the ninth MP drawn and his controlled drugs bill is aimed at supporting the government and police to tackle drug-related crime, building on former Gloucester Conservative MP Richard Graham's work on spiking.

Any bill that gets debated will have to get a majority in the Commons to pass and get through to the House of Lords.

Among the other bills being formally introduced to Parliament on Wednesday is one that proposes giving terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to choose to end their life, which has received much attention in the media.