aka. “The Mother of all Parliaments”
Main Functions
Parliament is the UK’s main legislative (law-making) body. It is made up of the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Monarch.
Their job is to:
- Produce legislation
- Represent the people
- Scrutinise the government/executive (hold to account)
- Deliberate (discuss)
The monarch’s role is limited to giving Royal Essent for legislation and appointing the Prime Minister (has the appoint the largest party, if not done, uproar would ensure).
Comparison of Houses
| House of Commons | House of Lords |
|---|---|
| Composed of largely green & wood Largest house, ask questions Speaker sits on a chair | Composed of largely red, wood & gold Speaker sits on a wool-sack Richly made chairs. |
| Designed to be a tense environment in order to foster more debate | Mimics the House of Commons, much more posh. |
| Two facing sides rather than circular us vs. them The right-side is for the governing party, the left-side is for the opposition. | Decision chambers are content and no content. |
| The despatch box is a position for speaking. Fun-fact: Churchill used to bang it with his hands. | Committee rooms are much smaller and decisive with more in-depth discussion. These rooms are used for much more in-depth scrutiny. |
| Voting on laws is done physically - you have to go into the division lobby. MPs are counted physically. Whips are stood at the doors. | There are religious leaders. |
| Decision chambers are composed of aye and no |
Hansard
The Hansard is the recording of what has happened within parliament.
The House of Lords
Hereditary Peers
Hereditary peers are members of the Lords who hold titles that can be inherited. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill 2024-25 is set to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, following a 1999 law that already removed the rights of all but 92 of them. This new bill proposes to end hereditary peerages completely.
Religious Influence
- The Lords Spiritual are made up of the Archbishops of Canterbury and of York, the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester as well as specific bishops of the Church of England.
- The Lords Temporal are made up of life peers who are appointed by the PM/previous PMs.
Issues
- Temporal are lifelong, unelected.
- Spiritual is religious and only represents one religion.
- Hereditary are born into affecting law.