Gillan wins chance to set own law

Mrs Gillan was contacted within hours by various interest groups

Conservative Cheryl Gillan has won the annual ballot of MPs vying for a chance to get introduce their own laws.

The shadow Welsh secretary topped the private members' bill ballot but does not have to decide what bill to take forward until 20 January.

Lib Dem MP David Heath came second and Labour's Lindsay Hoyle came third.

They will get parliamentary time to launch their bills, which will need to win government backing and cross-party support to succeed.

It's an early Christmas present. You can go through an entire Parliamentary career without ever getting drawn in the ballot Cheryl Gillan

The MPs will not have to decide on the subject of their bills until 20 January, but in the meantime will be the focus of intense lobbying from pressure groups, campaigners and their own colleagues.

Within hours of winning the ballot Mrs Gillan's office had already been contacted by several campaign groups trying to persuade her to take on their causes.

She said she did not have a firm idea about what she would want to take forward as, after 16 years of entering the ballot, "it's not something you ever really expect to win".

"It's an early Christmas present. You can go through an entire parliamentary career without ever getting drawn in the ballot," she told the BBC.

No taxes

Mrs Gillan's bill will be the first to be debated - possibly as early as 27 February.

She said she was particularly interested in ideas around helping people through the expected recession.

Although she is shadow Welsh secretary, she added: "This is the UK Parliament, it's Westminster so I will be looking at issues that affect everybody."

TOP TEN FROM BALLOT Cheryl Gillan David Heath Lindsay Hoyle Peter Luff Evan Harris Malcolm Wicks Peter Ainsworth David Mundell Jacqui Lait Paul Beresford

The rules of private members' bills are that they can relate to any subject suitable for public legislation but can not include any "charge upon the people" like tax raising measures or "charge upon the public purse" - a new cause for public spending.

Last year's ballot winner, Conservative MP Michael Fallon, introduced a planning and energy bill which allows councils in England and Wales to impose higher energy efficiency standards on new homes and offices. It received Royal Assent in November.

The ballot is held every year, on the second Thursday of the parliamentary session.

A ballot is necessary because time for private members' bills is limited and it allows for a degree of prioritising. Several Fridays are set aside for debates.

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