UK Par liam ent
3 par ts of Par liam ent
H ouse of Com m ons - Parliament's democratically elected chamber. MP's
represent constituencies across the UK, scrutinise government and vote on
legislation. As the democratic body representing the nation, the House of
Commons can also dismiss a government if it loses a parliamentary vote of
confidence.
H ouse of Lor ds - the unelected Chamber of the Westminster Parliament.
Composed of life peers, elected hereditary peers and Anglican bishops, it does
not possess democratic legitimacy and so its focus is on scrutinising the work
of the House of Commons.
PM & Executive – in the British parliamentary system, the executive sits
within the legislature and is responsible for the government of the country
Functions of the House of Com m ons
Legislation – one of the roles is to pass legislation. The House of Commons must
agree to enact a bill if it is to become law. If it decides not to vote for legislation, then
it will fail to pass.
Pr ovidin g Min ister s – There is a convention that the main office holders in
government are members of the House of Commons, because of their democratic
legitimacy. This allows MPs to pr0ve their abilities in the legislature and persuade to
executive of their fitness for government office. However, the way in which
Parliament provides the front benches for the government and opposition does
significantly restrict choice.
Scr utin y an d debate – more specifically the governments legislative
programmes, which allows MPs to weigh up the likely impact of Public Bills such as
the highly controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The Par liam en t
B ackbench business com m ittee was established in 2010 allows backbench MPs
35 days a year where they can control parliamentary business. For example, in 2021-
22 they debated on Black History Month and on St Patrick’s Day in 2022, the role of
the Irish in Britain. The Petition s Com m ittee was created in 2015 to schedule
debates on petitions that had reached 100,000 signatures. In March 2022, they
scheduled the debate on waiving visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees. Ear ly
Day Motions are introduced by MPs urging debates on a specific issue. Most do not
reach the floor of the House of Commons, however. Em er gen cy Debates is where
an MP may request 3 minutes to make the case in the chamber, under the House of
Commons standing order 24. If the speaker allows it, the House can decide whether
the emergency debate will take place. Ur gen t Question s are for when MPs believe a
minister needs to address it at once. If the speaker decides that this will serve the
, public interest, a minister is required to explain ‘what the government is doing on the
issue raised’. For example, in 2022, speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle granted Angela Rayner
an urgent question to the Prime Minister on whether he had knowingly broken
lockdown restrictions by attending Downing St parties during the COVID-19
pandemic. effectiveness of parliamentary scrutiny and debate is disputed. On a three-
line whip, MP's can just as much swayed by the witches by arguments and admits off
in front of an almost empty chamber. Many debates such as E positions and
opposition day motions also like the force to change law.
Repr esen tation - The House of Commons is responsible for Parliament
representative function. Since the MP represents a single constituency, MP should
work hard to ensure that the interests of their constituents are raised in the House.
However, in the past, the representative role of MP's has been criticised on the
grounds of the House of Commons is not sufficiently reflective of the social
configuration of the UK today since it is too influenced by privately educated white
middle-class males. Despite this, the membership of the House that was elected in
2019 with the most socially representative in Parliament to history, with the highest
number of female MPs (34%), the highest proportion of BAME MPs (10%) and the
highest number of LGBTQ+ MPs (7%). However, 27% of MP's are privately educated,
when nationally this is just 6%.
Legitim ation - Parliament was established to provide the consent that would
legitimise the decisions of the Monarch. Although the Crown has nwt been replaced
by democratically elected government, legitimation remain Parliament's main
constitutional function. Those parliamentary goals require the consent of the House
of Commons before the United Since that Parliament Act 1911, the House of
Commons has exclusive right to approve the budget.
Functions of the House of Lor ds
Legislation – most bills begin in the House of Commons and then proceed to the
Lords. As a non-elected chamber, they cannot stop any bills passed in the HoC, but
they can propose amendments, which are often highly important due to the expertise
of the HoL. They are also often not influenced by whips, due to lots being life-peers,
so can address the legislation with an open mind. Due to the parliament acts of 1911
and 1949, the government can still pass bills that have been objected by the HoL. For
example, in 2000 the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill that reduced the age of
consent for gay sex from 18 to 16 was objected by the HoL, but the government still
passed it due to the 1949 parliament act. Heavy defeats in the HoL often are and are
not listened to, depending on the size of the majority in the HoC. For example, the
HoL criticism that the Internal Market Bill in 2020 did not recognise the authority of
devolved governments to determine goods and services led to government making
some changes. However, following Boris Johnson’s 80-seat majority in 2019, in Jnan
2020 the government rejected all 5 of the amendments by the HoL to the EU
(withdrawal agreement) Bill.
3 par ts of Par liam ent
H ouse of Com m ons - Parliament's democratically elected chamber. MP's
represent constituencies across the UK, scrutinise government and vote on
legislation. As the democratic body representing the nation, the House of
Commons can also dismiss a government if it loses a parliamentary vote of
confidence.
H ouse of Lor ds - the unelected Chamber of the Westminster Parliament.
Composed of life peers, elected hereditary peers and Anglican bishops, it does
not possess democratic legitimacy and so its focus is on scrutinising the work
of the House of Commons.
PM & Executive – in the British parliamentary system, the executive sits
within the legislature and is responsible for the government of the country
Functions of the House of Com m ons
Legislation – one of the roles is to pass legislation. The House of Commons must
agree to enact a bill if it is to become law. If it decides not to vote for legislation, then
it will fail to pass.
Pr ovidin g Min ister s – There is a convention that the main office holders in
government are members of the House of Commons, because of their democratic
legitimacy. This allows MPs to pr0ve their abilities in the legislature and persuade to
executive of their fitness for government office. However, the way in which
Parliament provides the front benches for the government and opposition does
significantly restrict choice.
Scr utin y an d debate – more specifically the governments legislative
programmes, which allows MPs to weigh up the likely impact of Public Bills such as
the highly controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The Par liam en t
B ackbench business com m ittee was established in 2010 allows backbench MPs
35 days a year where they can control parliamentary business. For example, in 2021-
22 they debated on Black History Month and on St Patrick’s Day in 2022, the role of
the Irish in Britain. The Petition s Com m ittee was created in 2015 to schedule
debates on petitions that had reached 100,000 signatures. In March 2022, they
scheduled the debate on waiving visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees. Ear ly
Day Motions are introduced by MPs urging debates on a specific issue. Most do not
reach the floor of the House of Commons, however. Em er gen cy Debates is where
an MP may request 3 minutes to make the case in the chamber, under the House of
Commons standing order 24. If the speaker allows it, the House can decide whether
the emergency debate will take place. Ur gen t Question s are for when MPs believe a
minister needs to address it at once. If the speaker decides that this will serve the
, public interest, a minister is required to explain ‘what the government is doing on the
issue raised’. For example, in 2022, speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle granted Angela Rayner
an urgent question to the Prime Minister on whether he had knowingly broken
lockdown restrictions by attending Downing St parties during the COVID-19
pandemic. effectiveness of parliamentary scrutiny and debate is disputed. On a three-
line whip, MP's can just as much swayed by the witches by arguments and admits off
in front of an almost empty chamber. Many debates such as E positions and
opposition day motions also like the force to change law.
Repr esen tation - The House of Commons is responsible for Parliament
representative function. Since the MP represents a single constituency, MP should
work hard to ensure that the interests of their constituents are raised in the House.
However, in the past, the representative role of MP's has been criticised on the
grounds of the House of Commons is not sufficiently reflective of the social
configuration of the UK today since it is too influenced by privately educated white
middle-class males. Despite this, the membership of the House that was elected in
2019 with the most socially representative in Parliament to history, with the highest
number of female MPs (34%), the highest proportion of BAME MPs (10%) and the
highest number of LGBTQ+ MPs (7%). However, 27% of MP's are privately educated,
when nationally this is just 6%.
Legitim ation - Parliament was established to provide the consent that would
legitimise the decisions of the Monarch. Although the Crown has nwt been replaced
by democratically elected government, legitimation remain Parliament's main
constitutional function. Those parliamentary goals require the consent of the House
of Commons before the United Since that Parliament Act 1911, the House of
Commons has exclusive right to approve the budget.
Functions of the House of Lor ds
Legislation – most bills begin in the House of Commons and then proceed to the
Lords. As a non-elected chamber, they cannot stop any bills passed in the HoC, but
they can propose amendments, which are often highly important due to the expertise
of the HoL. They are also often not influenced by whips, due to lots being life-peers,
so can address the legislation with an open mind. Due to the parliament acts of 1911
and 1949, the government can still pass bills that have been objected by the HoL. For
example, in 2000 the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill that reduced the age of
consent for gay sex from 18 to 16 was objected by the HoL, but the government still
passed it due to the 1949 parliament act. Heavy defeats in the HoL often are and are
not listened to, depending on the size of the majority in the HoC. For example, the
HoL criticism that the Internal Market Bill in 2020 did not recognise the authority of
devolved governments to determine goods and services led to government making
some changes. However, following Boris Johnson’s 80-seat majority in 2019, in Jnan
2020 the government rejected all 5 of the amendments by the HoL to the EU
(withdrawal agreement) Bill.
