Despite the fact that the House of Lords has rejected Government proposals to lower the age of gay consent to 16, the Commons has been able to use the Parliament Act to push through the measures without the consent of the upper house. Two Parliament Acts, one in 1911 and another in 1949 were passed in order to deal with the scenario when the Lords and the Commons disagree. The Acts make clear that the Lords can hold up a Bill with which they disagree for a year. Thereafter, the Commons can reintroduce it in the following session and pass it without the Lords' consent. Further obstruction can occur when Lords place amendments on a Bill.
Time has to be given for further debate which causes delay.
Parliament Acts have so far only been enacted four times since 1911. Most recently, it was used in 1991, when a Commons proposal to try elderly war criminals was blocked by the Lords. A multi-faith group of religious leaders has been the strongest voice in opposing the lowering of the age of consent for gay couples. The seven signatories included the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Winning, the leader of Scotland's Roman Catholics, Archbishop of Westminster Cormac Murphy O'Connor, Yousef Bhailok, secretary-general of the Moslem Council of Britain, and Lady Jakobovitz, widow of the former Chief Rabbi. Gay rights campaigners Gay rights pressure groups see it vital for homosexual couples to have the same privileges under the law as those between a man and a woman.