The British Parliament

The British Parliament

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Кузнецовой Светланой Ивановной.

What is Parliament?

Parliament is where politicians (MPs) meet to decide laws and make decisions for the United Kingdom.

It is not the same as the Government (which runs the country).

One of the jobs Parliament does is to check that the Government is running the country properly.

What is the job of Parliament?

The main functions of Parliament are:

• to pass laws
• to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government
• to scrutinice government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure
• to debate the major issues of the day

Parliament is made up of three parts:

• The Queen
• The House of Lords
• The House of Commons

The Queen is the official Head of State. Britain has a constitutional monarchy where the Queen only rules symbolically; in reality, power belongs to Parliament.

The Queen herself plays no part in determining decisions made in Parliament.

The Queen has the final say on whether a bill becomes law. 

The House of Lords

The House of Lords is made up of people who have inherited family titles and those who have been given titles because of their outstanding work in one field or another.

There are 675 members of the Lords.

The House of Commons

Who sits in the House of Lords?

A person who sits in the House of Lords is a  peer

What is the job of the peers in the House of Lords?

The main job of the House of Lords is to 'double check' new laws to make sure they are fair and will work.

Who sits in the House of Commons?

A person who sits in the House of Commons is called a Member of Parliament (MP).

The House of Commons has 650 members (MPs) who have been elected by local residents to represent an area of the country in Parliament.

Each MP represents one of 650  constituencies  (areas) in the UK and is a member of a political party, such as New Labour or the Conservative party.

What happens in the House of Commons?

The Commons is the most important place for discussing policies and making laws.

Interesting Fact

No King or Queen has entered the House of Commons since 1642, when Charles l stormed in with his soldiers and tried to arrest five members of Parliament who were there.

What are the red lines on the carpet

in front of each set of benches for?

MPs hold most of their debates in the House of Commons Chamber. The Speaker, who controls proceedings, sits on a raised chair at one end of the Chamber.

The Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition party MPs occupy the benches on the Speaker's left.

The Opposition's job is to oppose the Government. The biggest Opposition party sits directly across from the Government benches.

The red lines in front of the two sets of benches are two-sword lengths apart; a Member is traditionally not allowed to cross the line during debates.

The lines are there to prevent either side attacking the other during a debate.