In August 1892, William Gladstone was re-elected as Prime Minister and he depended on Irish Parliamentary Party MPs to form a majority. It was clear that he intended on re-introducing another Home Rule Bill as soon as possible.

In February 1893, he proposed the Irish Government Bill 1893, better known as the Second Irish Home Rule Bill. It stated that:

• An all-Ireland parliament would be set up to control domestic affairs.

• The parliament would consist of a legislative council with 48 councillors elected for eight years and a legislative assembly with 103 members.

This bill was different from the first bill that Gladstone introduced in 1886 because it allowed for the eighty Irish MPs to vote in Westminster but only on bills that affected Ireland.

The Bill was passed by the House of Commons on 1 September 1893, by 301 votes to 297. However when it was presented to the House of Lords it was defeated by 419 votes to 41. This was a major stumbling block for the Irish MPs because the House of Lords was controlled by the Conservative Party and there would be little chance of it getting passed by them.

See also

• Irish Government Bill 1886
• Government of Ireland Act 1914
• Government of Ireland Act 1920

• Charles Stewart Parnell
• History of Ireland (1801–1922)

References

• Robert Kee, The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism (2000 edition, first published 1972), ISBN 0140291652.
• Irish Government Bill 1893, available from the House of Lords Record Office