Legitimacy Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 28 July 1959.
Mr David Renton
, Huntingdonshire
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
This Amendment, and that in line 3, leave out "in other respects," stand together, and the Title of the Bill has to be amended so as to refer expressly to the object of Clause 2, which, as the House now knows, legitimates the children of a void marriage if either parent was ignorant that the marriage was void.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
