Summary UK Parliament revision notes

Parliament
The Make-up of Parliament

House of Commons:
Composition:
 Single-member constituency
 FPTP
 650 MP
 330 Conservatives
 229 Labour
 54 SNP
 8 Lib Dem
 1 UKIP
 1 Green
 1 Speaker (a conservative MP): stay impartial

Power:
 politically and legally dominant chamber
o supreme legislative power: Commons can make, unmake and amend
any law
- Lords can delay laws
- Legal sovereignty is exercised by Commons
o Commons alone can remove the govt: based on the convention of
collective ministerial responsibility
- A govt that is defeated in a vote of confidence is obliged to resign or
call a general election

House of Lords:
Composition:

 814 + 36 on leave of absence
 250 Conservative
 212 Labour
 108 Lib Dem (appointed through the coalition, lacks democratic legitimacy
as there are only 8 MPs, but the party has a big influence in the lords)
 2 UKIP
 0 SNP
 29 Nonaffiliated (independent)
 178 Cross-bencher




o Life Peers: