Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice

Last updated

A Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament
Erskine May - Parliamentary Practice 1844 titlepage.png
First edition
Author Thomas Erskine May
LanguageEnglish
SubjectGreat Britain – Parliament – Rules and practice
PublisherCharles Knight & Co
Publication date
1844
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
Pages496
OCLC 645178915
328.41 22
LC Class JN594 .M24 1844
Website https://erskinemay.parliament.uk/
Erskine May:
Parliamentary Practice
Erskine May's Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament
Erskine May - Parliamentary Practice 24th edition cover.jpg
24th edition
AuthorMalcolm Jack (editor) et al
LanguageEnglish
SubjectGreat Britain – Parliament – Rules and practice
Publisher LexisNexis
Publication date
2011
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
Pages1097
ISBN 978-1-4057-5106-3
OCLC 699769590
328.41 22
LC Class KD4354 .M38 2004 (23rd ed)

Erskine May (full title: Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice, original title: A Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament) is a parliamentary authority originally written by British constitutional theorist and Clerk of the House of Commons, Thomas Erskine May (later the 1st Baron Farnborough). [1] [2]

Contents

Erskine May is considered to be the most authoritative and influential work on parliamentary procedure and the constitutional conventions affecting the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form a major part of the uncodified British constitution. It is not a rigid set of rules but a description of how the procedure evolved and of the conventions. [2] Such is the authority of the text that it is regarded as analogous to part of the British constitution itself. [3]

Since its first publication in 1844, the book has frequently been updated. Erskine May edited nine editions of the book in his lifetime. Updates have continued into the present day; the 25th edition was published on 28 May 2019. The Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy recommended in 2015 that "Erskine May, the definitive guide to parliamentary procedure, should be freely available online by the time the next edition is produced." [4] This took effect in July 2019 with the 25th edition. [5]

The work has been influential outside the United Kingdom, particularly in countries that use the Westminster system.

Editions

EditionYearEditor
A Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament [6]
1st1844Thomas Erskine May, Esq
("Barrister at Law; Assistant Librarian of the House of Commons")
A Practical Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament [7]
2nd1851Thomas Erskine May, Esq
("of the Middle Temple; Barrister-at-Law; one of the examiners of petitions for private bills, and taxing officer of the House of Commons")
3rd1855Thomas Erskine May, Esq
(Taxing Master for both Houses of Parliament)
4th1859Thomas Erskine May, Esq
(Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons)
A treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings, and Usage of Parliament
5th1863Thomas Erskine May, Esq, CB
(Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons)
6th1868Sir Thomas Erskine May, KCB
(Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons)
7th1873Sir Thomas Erskine May, KCB
(Clerk of the House of Commons)
8th1879Sir Thomas Erskine May, KCB, DCL
(Clerk of the House of Commons)
9th1883Sir Thomas Erskine May, KCB, DCL
(Clerk of the House of Commons)
10th1893Sir Reginald F. D. Palgrave (Books I and II);
Alfred Bonham-Carter (Book III)
11th1906T. Lonsdale Webster (Books I and II);
William Edward Grey (Book III)
12th1917T. Lonsdale Webster
13th1924Sir T. Lonsdale Webster
14th1946 Sir Gilbert Campion
Sir Thomas Erskine May's Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament
15th1950 The Lord Campion
16th1957Sir Edward Fellowes; T. G. B. Cocks;
The Lord Campion (editor consultant)
Erskine May’s Treatise on The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament
17th1964Sir Barnett Cocks
18th1971Sir Barnett Cocks
19th1976Sir David Lidderdale
20th1983Sir Charles Gordon
21st1989 Sir Clifford Boulton
22nd1997 Sir Donald Limon; William McKay
23rd2004 Sir William McKay KCB
("formerly Clerk of the House of Commons")
24th2011 Malcolm Jack
("Clerk of the Journals, House of Commons")
25th2019 Sir David Natzler KCB ("Former Clerk of the House of Commons");
Mark Hutton ("Clerk of the Journals, House of Commons")

Contents of the book

Contents of 1st edition

Contents of 24th edition

See also

References

  1. "Rules and traditions of Parliament". UK Parliament.
  2. 1 2 "What is Erskine May?". New Statesman . 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  3. "Clerk of the House". BBC News. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2009. The most famous clerk of the House was Sir Thomas Erskine May (1871–86) who wrote the Parliamentary bible, Parliamentary Practice, which bears his name.
  4. "A fully digital Parliament - Open up! - Report of the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy". www.digitaldemocracy.parliament.uk.
  5. "Parliamentary rule book available online for free". 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  6. 1 2 1st edition at Google Books
  7. 2nd edition at Google Books
  8. "25th edition at LexisNexis bookstore". store.lexisnexis.co.uk.
  9. Item 1 for 'Identifier: 9781405751063' - Copac. LexisNexis. 2011. ISBN   9781405751063.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)