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| An Introduction To Parliament |
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| The UK Parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world, having its origins in the mid-13th Century. From the 14th Century, parliamentary government in the United Kingdom has been based on a two-chamber system. The House of Lords (the upper House) and the House of Commons (the lower house) sit separately and are constituted on entirely different principles. The relationship between the two Houses is governed largely by convention but is in part defined by the Parliament Acts. The legislative process involves both Houses of Parliament and the Monarch. |
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| The main functions of Parliament are to: |
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| - make all UK law |
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| - provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government; |
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| - protect the public and safeguard the rights of individuals |
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| - scrutinise Government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure |
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| - examine European proposals before they become law, |
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| - hear appeals in the House of Lords, the highest Court of Appeal in Britain, |
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| - debate the major issues of the day. |
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| Parliament has a maximum duration of five years. At any time up to the end of this period, a general election can be held for a new House of Commons. There are devolved Parliaments/Assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland created by legislation passed by the UK Parliament. |
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| The Palace of Westminster |
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| The site of the Houses of Parliament is the Palace of Westminster, a royal palace and former residence of kings. The layout of the Palace is intricate, with its existing buildings containing nearly 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases and well over 3 kilometres (2 miles) of passages. Among the original historic buildings is Westminster Hall, used nowadays for major public ceremonial events. |
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| The Palace of Westminster was the principal residence of the kings of England from the middle of the 11th century until 1512. In medieval times kings summoned their courts wherever they happened to be. But by the end of the 14th century the court in all its aspects - administrative, judicial and parliamentary - had its headquarters at Westminster. Although the Lords were accommodated in the Palace, the Commons originally had no permanent meeting place of their own, meeting either in the chapter house or the refectory of Westminster Abbey. After the Chantries Act 1547 abolished all private chapels, the Royal Chapel of St Stephen within the Palace of Westminster was handed over to the Commons. |
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| The Commons assembled in St Stephen's until 1834 when the Palace was burned down. This fire destroyed almost all of the Palace except Westminster Hall the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel, the adjacent cloisters and the Jewel Tower. The present Houses of Parliament were built over the next 30 years. They were the work of the architect Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) and his assistant Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-52). The design incorporated Westminster Hall and the remains of St Stephen's Chapel. |
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| The House of Commons Chamber was destroyed in a German air attack in 1941. It was rebuilt after the Second World War, taking care to preserve the essential features of Barry's building - the architect was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The new Chamber was completed in 1950. |
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| Major Parliamentary Occasions |
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| Much of the media attention received by Parliament focuses on major occasions rather than the routine work of the two Houses. Perhaps the regular occasions of which the general public is most aware are the Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, and Prime Minister's question time, held every Wednesday when the House of Commons is sitting. |
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| The State Opening of Parliament marks the start of the parliamentary session. It occurs when Parliament reassembles after a general election, and each subsequent year; it is normally in November. It is the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary year, attracting large crowds, both in person and watching on television. The Queen drives in state from Buckingham Palace to Westminster and delivers the speech from the Throne in the House of Lords. The speech is given in the presence of members of both Houses, the Commons being summoned to hear the speech by an official known as 'Black Rod'. In a symbol of the Commons' independence, the door to their chamber is slammed in his face and not opened until he has knocked on the door with his staff of office. |
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| Although the speech is made by the Queen, the content of the speech is entirely drawn up by the Government and approved by the Cabinet. It contains an outline of the Government's policies and proposed legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. Following the State Opening, the government's programme is debated by both Houses. In the Commons the motion is that the House send an address to the Queen thanking her for the speech, but the debate, which lasts several days, is in fact a chance for MPs to speak on any matter of government policy. |
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| The Party System |
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| The system of Political Parties, which has existed in one form or another since at least the 18th century, is an essential element in the working of the constitution. For the past 150 years a predominantly two-party system has existed - in the last half century or so these have been Conservative and Labour. |
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| The party winning most seats - usually but not necessarily the party which gets the most votes at a General Election - or which has the support of a majority of MPs usually forms the Government. The largest minority party becomes the official Opposition. |
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| Seating arrangements in both Houses reflect the nature of the party system. Both debating chambers are rectangular in shape. At one end is the seat of the Speaker (or in the Lords the Woolsack), and at the other end a formal barrier, known as the 'Bar'. Benches for the members run the length of the chamber, on both sides. Benches to the right of the Speaker (Lord Chancellor in the Lords) are used by the Government and its supporters; those to the left are occupied by the Opposition and members of the other parties. In the House of Lords there is also the bishops' bench on the Government side and a number of cross- benches for peers who do not wish to be associated with a political party. Leaders of the Government and the Opposition sit on the front benches, with their supporters - 'backbenchers' - sitting behind them. |
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| The Role of the House of Commons |
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| The House of Commons is traditionally regarded as the lower house, but it is the main parliamentary arena for political battle. A Government can only remain in office for as long as it has the support of a majority in the House of Commons. As with the House of Lords, the House of Commons debates new primary legislation as part of the process of making an Act of Parliament, but the Commons has primacy over the non-elected House of Lords. 'Money bills', concerned solely with taxation and public expenditure, are always introduced in the Commons and must be passed by the Lords promptly and without amendment. When the two houses disagree on a non-money bill, the Parliament Acts can be invoked to ensure that the will of the elected chamber prevails. |
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| The House also scrutinises the work of the Government - it does that by various means, including questioning ministers in the Chamber and through the Select Committee System. |
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| Debates and Divisions |
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| Parliamentary procedure is based on custom and precedent. The system of debate is similar in both Houses. Every subject starts off as a proposal or 'motion' made by a member. This may or may not be a substantive proposal on which the House will be asked to vote. Motions to 'take note' (of a report, for example), to adjourn the House, or, in the Lords, to 'move the papers'', are all, in effect, opportunities for MPs and Peers to debate a matter without a concluding vote. |
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| During debates in the House of Commons all speeches are addressed to the Speaker or one of the Deputy Speakers. MPs speak from wherever they have been sitting and not from a rostrum, although front-bench members usually stand at one of the despatch boxes on the Table of the House. |
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| Divisions |
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| At the end of the debate the Speaker 'puts the question' whether to agree with the motion or not. The question may be decided without voting, or by a simple majority vote. Voting is supervised by the Speaker who announces the result. Votes may be taken by acclamation - the norm for uncontroversial business. However, if MPs wish to 'divide the House', which generally happens on more controversial votes, then a division is held. MPs have to file through one of two division lobbies, one for the Ayes to vote yes, one for the Noes to vote no. The numbers going through each lobby are counted and the result given to the Speaker by the 'tellers' (MPs appointed to supervise the vote). |
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| Deferred Divisions |
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| In November 2000 the House agreed, on an experimental basis, to allow for some divisions to be deferred until another sitting day. This means that Members can vote on a series of motions using ballot papers at a convenient time instead of holding divisions immediately at the end of a debate when the hour is already late. |
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| House of Lords |
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| The House of Lords is the second chamber of the U.K. Houses of Parliament. Members of the House of Lords (known as 'peers') consist of Lords Spiritual (senior bishops) and Lords Temporal (lay peers). Law Lords (senior judges) also sit as Lords Temporal. Members of the House of Lords are not elected. Originally, they were drawn from the various groups of senior and influential nobility in Britain, who advised the monarch throughout the country's early history. |
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| Following the House of Lords Act 1999 there are only 92 peers who sit by virtue of hereditary peerage. The majority of members are now life peers and the Government has been consulting on proposals for further reform of the Lords. |
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| There were 700 peers in total in February 2002. |
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| In general, the functions of the House of Lords are similar to those of the House of Commons in legislating, debating and questioning the executive. There are two important exceptions: members of the Lords do not represent constituencies, and are not involved in matters of taxation and finance. The role of the Lords is generally recognised to be complementary to that of the Commons and it acts as a revising chamber for many of the more important and controversial bills. |
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| All bills go through both Houses before becoming Acts, and may start in either House. Normally, the consent of the Lords is required before Acts of Parliament can be passed, and the Lords can amend all legislation, with the exception of bills to raise taxation, long seen as the responsibility of the Commons. Amendments have to be agreed to by both Houses. The House of Lords is as active as the Commons in amending bills, and spends two-thirds of its time revising legislation. |
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| Following the Lords' rejection of the Liberal Government's budget of 1909, the Parliament Act of 1911 ended their power to reject legislation. A power of delay was substituted, which was further curtailed by the Parliament Act of 1949. The House of Commons can present a bill (except one to prolong the life of Parliament) for Royal Assent after one year and in a new session even if the Lords have not given their agreement. There is also a convention (known as the 'Salisbury' convention) that the Government's manifesto commitments, in the form of Government Bills, are not voted down by the House of Lords at second reading. |
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| The House of Lords is also the final court of appeal for civil cases in the United Kingdom and for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Only the Lords of Appeal (Law Lords) - of whom there are 12 employed full-time - take part in judicial proceedings. |
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| Legislation |
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| A draft law takes the form of a parliamentary bill. It must go through the necessary stages in both Houses of Parliament. T he Queen must signify her approval, which is a formality. The Bill then becomes an Act and enters into force on the day the Bill receives the Royal Assent, unless the Act provides for other dates. |
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| Why are new laws needed? |
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| The law undergoes constant reform in the courts as established principles are interpreted, clarified or reapplied to meet new circumstances. Occasionally old laws become outdated, and there is pressure on the Government to update the law. The Government may also wish to introduce new laws in line with its policies. During the late 1990s, for example, a series of Acts were passed in line with the Labour Government's programme for constitutional reform. |
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| Sometimes new laws are needed to ensure that the UK complies with International or European Law. The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are recent examples of this. |
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| Who is consulted about changes to the law? |
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| Before Bills are introduced into Parliament, there has often been consultation or discussion with interested parties such as professional bodies, voluntary organisations and pressure groups. Proposals for legislative changes may be contained in government White Papers. These may be preceded by consultation papers, sometimes called Green Papers, which set out government proposals that are still taking shape and seek comments from the public. There is no requirement for there to be a White or Green Paper before a bill is introduced into Parliament. |
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| Parliamentary Committees |
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| Each House of Parliament has a system of committees. The most widely known are select committees, which in the House of Commons often shadow the main Departments of Government. House of Lords select committees generally cover broader issues; current examples include select committees on the constitution, economic affairs, the European Union, and science and technology. |
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| The Select Committee System |
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| Select committees examine subjects by taking written and oral evidence and, after private deliberation, present a report to the House. They are empowered to summon witnesses to give evidence or to produce documents. |
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| Select committee reports are often very detailed and include memoranda submitted by interested parties. The committees build up considerable expertise in their subjects of inquiry. Reports are considered by the Government, which in due course normally issues a response to the issues and recommendations raised by the committee. |
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| To help Parliament with the control of the executive by examining aspects of public policy, expenditure and administration, 15 committees of backbench MPs examine the work of the main government departments and their associated public bodies. This system of departmental select committees was set up in 1979. The committees are constituted on a basis which is in approximate proportion to party strength in the Commons, but the chairman is not necessarily drawn from the governing party. |
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| The Committee of Selection chooses members to serve on select and standing committees. In preparing its lists it consults, among others, the Whips of the various parties. Each Committee elects its own Chairman. |
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