The ballot of Members of Parliament who will have preference in introducing legislation of their own was drawn this morning (21 May).

There are three mechanisms MPs who are not members of the government can use to introduce legislation, known as private members’ bills, but only one of these – without full backing from the government of the day – carries a realistic prospect of a full debate and an opportunity for a bill to make it on to the statute books. These are sometimes known as ‘ballot bills’, introduced by the winners of private member’s bill ballot held at the start of each parliamentary session.

MPs can enter the ballot without having to declare the subject of any legislation they might introduce. Those drawn in the top seven places are key, since they are virtually guaranteed up to a full day’s Second Reading debate on one of the Fridays allocated to this type of bill. This session, the top seven places have gone to:

1. Sir Desmond Swayne, New Forest West, Con
2. Lauren Edwards, Rochester and Strood, Lab
3. Mike Wood, Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, Con
4. Andrew George, St Ives, LD
5. Dr Luke Evans, Hinckley and Bosworth, Con
6. Sir John Whittingdale, Maldon, Con
7. Jessica Toale, Bournemouth West, Lab

The remaining 13 ballot winners are less well favoured because their bills will be scheduled for debate second on their allotted Friday. If the bill that came first was controversial and had a lot of other members wanting to speak about it, time might run out and the opportunity be lost. If, on the other hand, the first bill could be decided on quickly enough there might well be time for another full debate, in which case their bill might yet be able to progress.

The remaining ballot winners were:

1. Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Solihull-West and Shirley, Con
2. Gareth Snell, Stoke-on-Trent Central, Lab
3. Lincoln Jopp, Spelthorne, Con
4. Patricia Ferguson, Glasgow West, Lab
5. Robert Jenrick, Newark, Ref
6. Damian Hinds, East Hampshire, Con
7. Alistair Strathern, Hitchin, Lab
8. Clive Jones, Wokingham, LD
9. Victoria Atkins, Louth and Horncastle, Con
10. Munira Wilson, Twickenham, LD
11. Steff Aquarone, North Norfolk, LD
12. Paul Foster, South Ribble, Lab
13. David Pinto‑Duschinsky, Hendon, Lab

If a bill does clear Second Reading, procedural hurdles mostly fall away, and the issue becomes winning votes in both Houses of Parliament. Any bill is, of course, highly unlikely to be passed without support from the government, but even a failed bill offers a prime opportunity to air an issue and build support.

The Countryside Alliance has already approached all 20 ballot winners to offer them our expertise should they wish to bring a bill that will make a positive difference for rural communities. As ever, we stand ready to work with politicians of all parties for the benefit of the countryside.