Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom is responsible for holding the work of the UK government to account. Its members, elected and unelected, discuss and vote on all proposed laws, and allow the government to tax the people. Through parliamentary sovereignty, the parliament is supreme above all other bodies within the UK and its territories. Parliament is bicameral, consisting of two houses, the 'lower' elected Commons and the 'upper' appointed Lords, and is ultimately ceremonially headed by the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Members of each house meet at the Palace of Westminster in London, with its clock tower housing Big Ben, the famous bell.

(CC) Photo: UK Parliament
The monarch visits Parliament annually in a ceremony to begin parliamentary proceedings. During this State Opening of Parliament, the Queen's Speech sets out her government's intentions for the coming year.

Of its two Houses, the Commons is more powerful because it is directly elected by the people. Unlike many other democracies, Parliament does not have a fixed term of office. The maximum length of a Parliament is five years. By convention, most government ministers are Members of Parliament, though some are drawn from the Lords and membership of Parliament is not required to serve. The Lords can delay, but not block, proposed laws, and has no role in scrutinizing Budget legislation; these bills rest with the Commons and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the UK's finance minister.

The UK Parliament developed over many centuries, and through the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations has become the model for several other parliaments around the world. Its roots are in mediaeval councils, which led to an English Parliament and eventually the establishment of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707, when England and Wales were united with Scotland into one state. Nowadays, much legislation applied only to Scotland goes through the Scottish Parliament instead, since its creation in 1999.

House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the legislative branch of government. 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) sit in the Commons, and each is elected using the first past the post electoral system by a constituency of voters. Almost all MPs are members of a political party, and the party which forms the majority of seats in the Commons usually forms the Government, with the head of the majority party as Prime Minister. The Opposition, being the largest minority party, sits opposite the Government. The monarch, at the request of the Prime Minister or after a maximum of five years, dissolves Parliament and a general election is held to decide the makeup of the House of Commons and, by extension, the Government. Debates in Parliament are often broadcast on radio and television, and a formal publication is made daily of the business of both Houses in Hansard.

The House itself is a chamber of green benches. More senior politicians usually sit closer to the floor (though a 'frontbencher' is a government minister, and will also sit near the despatch boxes, from where major speeches are made), while lowlier members are positioned further back ('backbenchers'). Members of the governing party ideally face those of other parties; as there are not enough seats for all 650 MPs, in well-attended debates many must stand or sit on the stairs. The chamber often has a lively atmosphere, with members cheering on or heckling speakers; debates are brought to order by the Speaker.

Members of Parliament

Members of Parliament must be over 18, be a citizen of the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth, and satisfy various other criteria (such as not being a lunatic). Once elected, MPs cannot technically resign, but must seek disqualification through being given a Crown appointment in order to leave.

Members of Parliament can introduce legislation to the Commons through a variety of methods, including Early Day Motions and through formal bills. They also able to sit on a variety of committees which draft legislation and conduct a variety other business. Most legislation is proposed by the government, and the passage of bills through the House is overseen by the 'Leader of the House of Commons', a government minister. MPs may introduce their own 'private member's bill', but a full debate or vote is unlikely without government support.

Speaker of the House of Commons

The Speaker is the House's chair, responsible for keeping debates to order and ensuring that proper parliamentary procedure is followed, and also acts as ceremonial spokesperson for the House, typically to convey good wishes or other messages to the monarch. The Speaker sits high up in a chair close to the despatch boxes, and from this position can call on MPs to speak or, if necessary, cease their address. The Speaker has the power to suspend proceedings in the event of serious disorder. The 'Speaker's procession' occurs daily when the Speaker, formally attired, walks from their official residence through the Palace of Westminster to the House.

The Speaker is an MP who is no longer affiliated to their party. Following a general election, the Speaker is elected through a vote by all members. Candidates make speeches organised by the 'Father of the House', i.e. the MP with the longest record of continuous parliamentary service. Traditionally, the elected Speaker makes a show of physically resisting the office, and is light-heartedly dragged to the Speaker's chair by other MPs. This reflects past times when being Speaker might incur the wrath of the monarch or others (between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, several were killed). From this point, the new Speaker must sever all ties to their old party. The Speaker also has three deputies, who are also MPs and generally do not vote.

House of Lords

The 'House of Lords is the upper chamber of Parliament. Its members, who sit on red benches, are appointed or originally inherited their position. Not all lords are entitled to sit in the House - since the House of Lords Act 1999, only 92 hereditary peers are allowed to sit in the House, the rest being life peers. The total number of peers sitting in the House is about 745. Of those sitting, there are two types - Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. The latter are there by virtue of their ecclesiastical office in the Church of England and the Church of Ireland. There are also the twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (commonly referred to as Law Lords), who are members of the House, but do not exercise any legislative powers - instead judging cases which have reached the House in its status as the final national court of appeal.

Under the 1911 Parliament Act, the House of Commons, despite being the lower house, has supremacy and places a limit on the amount of delay that the Lords can have on bills enacting manifesto pledges. Ultimately, the House of Lords can only hold up, not block, almost all legislation, although legislation which is unpopular in the upper house is often modified in order to satisfy complaints from the Lords.