The British Government

Monarch
the people

House
of Commons

PM Cabinet
MPs

Parliament
House of Lords

Lord Chancellor
Hereditary Peers
Life Peers
Law lords
Bishops,
Archbishops

United Kingdom- a Constitutional Monarchy

the sovereign reigns but does not rule
between 1649-1660-Englanda republic under the protectorship of
Oliver Cromwell

The monarchy is based on: -hereditary principle

according to the Act of Settlement of 1700-only Protestant descendants of
Princess Sophia, granddaughter of James I of England, may succeed to the
throne
The monarch is formally:
- head of state
- head of the executive
- head of the judiciary
- head of the legislature
-commander-in-chief of the armed forces
-supreme governor of the Church of England
-head of the Commonwealth [formally head of states in 17 of the
member countries (where she is represented by a Governor General )]
s/he -is politically neutral
-acts ONLY on the advice of political ministers
-CANNOT make laws, impose taxes, spend public money, act unilaterally

Royal Duties
performs executive and legislative duties:
-opening and dissolving of Parliament
-signing bills (which have been passed by
both Houses the Royal Assent-holding of audiences with the Prime
Minister
- carrying out of international duties as
head of state

Parliament
Parliament=meeting for parley or discussion
1st officially used in 1236-to describe the assembly of
barons and representatives from the towns and counties of
England- summoned by the King if extraordinary taxation
was required
1st Parliament generally accepted- that of 1264- when for
the 1st time, representatives of the towns met to discuss
general political matters
Parliament consists of:
- the Monarch
-the House of Commons
-the House of Lords

Word

State Opening of Parliament

the State Opening of

Parliament marks the
beginning of the parliamentary
session
its main purpose is for the
monarch formally to open
Parliament
in the Queen's Speech deliver
an outline of the Government's
proposed policies, legislation
for the coming session and a
review of the last session

The State Opening

the State Opening usually takes place in November or December on

the first day of the new parliamentary session
there will also be a State Opening shortly after a general election [this
depends on the timing of an election - the sessions before and after
the election can be shorter or longer than a normal session]
The State Opening
It is the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar,
attracting large crowds
the Queen's procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster
is escorted by the Household Cavalry

the Queen arrives at the Sovereign's Entrance at about 11.15am,

and proceeds to the Robing Room, where she puts on the Imperial
State Crown and parliamentary robe

a procession then leads through the Royal Gallery to the Chamber

of the House of Lords, where the Queen takes the Throne

the official known as 'Black Rod' is sent to summon the Commons

as 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.
the Members of the House of Commons follow Black Rod and the
Commons Speaker to the Lords Chamber and stand behind the Bar of
the House of Lords (at the opposite end of the Chamber from the
Throne) to hear the Queen's Speech

Who attends the State Opening ceremony in the Lords

Chamber?

members of the Lords are present as well as:

ambassadors and high commissioners - often wearing their national dress
judges from the High Court and the Court of Appeal
the Law Lords, and
MPs from the House of Commons
MPs attend the ceremony at the entrance to the Lords Chamber - often
referred to as the 'bar' because of the rail across the entrance to the
Chambermembers of the Royal Procession and others, gather around the throne
members of the public cannot attend the State Opening itself
roads around the Houses of Parliament are subject to closure before the
ceremony [members of the public can gain access to Parliament in the
afternoon - when normal business resumes]
in the afternoon, after the ceremony, Parliament goes back to work - the new
session begins
each House meets separately to begin debating the Government's
programme of legislation and policies outlined in the Queen's Speech

The House of Lords

Currently comprises 750 peers
there are four different types:
- life peers (570)
- Law Lords [The Law Lords are highly qualified, full-time judges who carry
out the judicial work of the House of Lords: the highest court of appeal in the UK]

- bishops
- hereditary peers (limited to 92 in 1999)
.
there are about 113 women entitled to sit in the House of Lords (including
Mrs. Margaret Thatcher who was made a Baroness after resigning as prime
minister)
the house is presided over by the Lord Chancellor
it has no real power but acts as an advisory council for the House of
Commons
the Lords can suggest amendments to a bill proposed by the Commons [but
after two rejections they are obliged to accept it]
it is the highest court of appeal

Bills

a Bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to change

an existing law that is presented for debate before
Parliament
Bills are introduced in either the House of Commons or
House of Lords for examination, discussion and
amendment
when both Houses have agreed on the content of a Bill it
is then presented to the reigning monarch for approval
(known as Royal Assent)
once Royal Assent is given a Bill becomes an Act of
Parliament and is law
different types of Bills can be introduced by:
-the government
-individual MPs or Lords
-private individuals or organisations
there are three different types of Bill: Public, Private and
Hybrid Bills [ these mix the characteristics of Public and Private

Bills.
the changes to the law proposed by a Hybrid Bill would affect the
general public but would also have a significant impact for specific
individuals or groups [The Bills passed concerning the construction
of the Channel Tunnel are examples of Hybrid Bills ]

there is also another kind of Public Bill called Private

Members' Bills [they are Public Bills introduced by MPs
and Lords who aren't government ministers ]

the Lords work in Parliament's second chamber - the House of Lords - and
complement and operate alongside the business of the House of Commons. It is one
of the busiest second chambers in the world
the expertise of its Members and flexibility to scrutinise an issue in depth means
the Lords makes a significant contribution to Parliament's work
the UK public does not elect Members of the Lords

Making laws
making laws takes up the bulk of the House of Lords time
Its Members are involved throughout the process of proposing, revising and amending
legislation
some Bills introduced by the Government begin in the Lords, to spread the workload
between the two Houses
Judicial work
the House of Lords is the highest court in the land: the supreme court of appeal a group of
full-time judges known as Law Lords carries out this judicial work

Checking the work of government

Lords check the work of the Government by questioning and debating decisions made by
ministers and government departments

Specialist committees
there are permanent committees investigating work relating to Europe, science and
technology, economics and the constitution

occasionally one-off committees are set up to deal with issues outside these areas

Acts

an Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an

existing law

an Act is a Bill approved by both the House of

Commons and the House of Lords and formally agreed
to by the reigning monarch (known as Royal Assent)

once implemented, an Act is law and applies to the

UK as a whole or to specific areas of the country

Putting the Act into force

an Act may come into force immediately, on a
specific starting date, or in stages

the practical implementation of an Act is the

responsibility of the appropriate government
department, not Parliament [for example, laws
relating to transport issues would come under the
administration of the Department for Transport]

Parliament or its committees may investigate how the

government implements the Act and would consider
any future Bills that amended or replaced it

Changes to Acts
future changes to the law happen through the
passing of another Act or delegated legislation
an Act can also be repealed so that its
provisions no longer apply
Parliamentary committees examine UK laws
and recommend the removal of out of date
legislation
Text of Acts as passed
texts of Acts of Parliament as originally passed
by Parliament since 1988 are available on the
Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)
website
the Parliamentary Archives has copies of
original Acts from 1497

The House of Commons

consists of Members of Parliament (MPs)

elected by the British people in general
elections held at least every 5 years
the country is divided into 659 constituencies
each of which elect one MP who then holds a
seat in Parliament
the Commons has MPs (about 120 women,
a few Asian and black MPs)
the party who wins the most seats forms the
Government
Its leader becomes Prime Minister
the Commons functions are:
- legislation and
- scrutiny of government
activities
the house is presided by the Speaker

(appointed by the government after consultation with

the leader of the Opposition)

 the Government party sits on the Speakers right

the members of opposition sit on his left
all members of the House of Commons are paid a
salary (unlike the members of the House of Lords

are not paid salaries but may claim

allowances based on attendance )
if every MP turned up at the House of Commons at
the same time there wouldnt be enough seats for
all of them to sit down!

The Parliamentary System

general elections are by secret ballot
voting is not compulsory in Britain
British, Commonwealth and Irish Republic citizens may all
vote provided:- they are residents in Britain
- aged 18 or over
- registered in a constituency
- not subject to disqualifications (certain mentally
ill patients; persons convicted of corrupt or illegal
election practices )
each political party puts up one candidate for each
constituency /the one who wins the most votes is elected MP
for that area
this system is known as the simple majority or first past the
post

The Political Parties

few political parties

main ones: Conservative Party
Labour Party
Liberal Democrats

others: -Green Party

- Scottish National Party
-Plaid Cymru (the Welsh National Party)
- the Protestant Northern Irish parties
- Sinn Fein (the Catholic Northern Irish Party)
the Conservative Party mainly represents the middle and upper classes
[a sizeable percentage of skilled and unskilled workers have always voted
Conservatives ]/ particularly strong in southern England
The Labour Party traditionally gathered its support from the Trade Unions,
the working class and some middle class backing (intellectuals and
academics)
Its electoral strongholds: south Wales, Scotland and the Midlands and
industrial cities of Northern England

The party system

nearly all MPs represent political parties

the party with the most MPs after a general election
usually forms the Government
the next largest party becomes the official
Opposition
if an MP does not have a political party, they are
known as an 'Independent
Members of the House of Lords are organised
on a party basis in much the same way as the
House of Commons but with important
differences: Members of the Lords do not
represent constituencies and many are not
members of a political party
Lords who do not support one of the three main
parties are known as Crossbenchers or
Independent Peers
there is also a small number who are not
affiliated to any of the main groups

Where do MPs sit in the Commons?

MPs from the same party tend to sit together in
the House of Commons Chamber. Because the
Chamber is a rectangular shape, the
Government and the Opposition can face each
other. The Government sits on the benches to
the right of the Speaker. The official Opposition
and MPs from other parties sit on the benches to
the left of the Speaker.

Where do Members of the Lords sit in the

Lords?

as in the Commons, the Government and the

Opposition face each other
the Government and the Bishops sit on the right
of the Lord Speaker
the Opposition parties sit on the benches to the
left of the Lord Speaker
the Crossbench Peers sit mostly on benches
that cross the Chamber of the House of Lords
behind the clerks' table

Frontbenchers and Backbenchers

in both the Commons and the Lords, Government
ministers and Opposition shadow ministers sit on the
front benches and are known as 'frontbenchers'
MPs and Members of the Lords who do not hold
ministerial positions sit towards the back of the Chamber
and are known as 'backbenchers
Independent MPs and Crossbench and Independent
Lords
MPs and Members of the Lords do not have to belong to
a political party
Instead, MPs can sit as Independents
Lords can sit as Crossbenchers or Independents

Crossing the Floor

members of either the House of Commons or
House of Lords can change political party at
any time - known as 'crossing the floor
the term comes from the fact that, traditionally,
Members of Parliament from opposing parties sit
on opposite sides of the Chamber
therefore, a Member who changes party usually
has to cross the floor of the House to sit on the
other side of the Chamber
the term is used to signify the changing of
allegiance.

The Prime Minister

the leader of the party who wins the elections is made Prime
Minister
his first job: to choose his cabinet consisting of the most
important ministers in the government
he usually sits in the Commons as do most of his ministers
they all may be questioned and held accountable for
government actions and decisions
the office of prime minister has become like an all-powerful
presidency
a greater emphasis today on prime ministerial government
rather than the traditional constitutional notions of Cabinet
government
Usually the Prime Minister takes policy decisions with the
agreement of the Cabinet

Last week in the Common Parliamentary agenda

Forthcoming business in the

House of Commons

Monday 11 May
The house will sit at 2.30pm
Oral questions - Work and
pensions, including topical
questions
Legislation - Equality bill second reading
Adjournment - Sir Alexander
Fleming's discovery of
penicillin - Des Browne

Tuesday 12 May
The house will sit at 2.30pm
Oral questions - Health, including topical questions
Ten minute rule bill - Surface water and highway drainage charges (exemption) bill Mike Hall
Legislation - Finance bill - consideration in committee of the whole house
Adjournment - Road deaths and obstructive sleep apnoea - Meg Munn

Wednesday 13 May
The house will sit at 11.30am
Oral questions - International development; prime minister
Presentation of bill - School bus (safety) bill - Malcolm Bruce
Ten minute rule bill - Goalpost safety bill - Brooks Newmark
Legislation - Conclusion of consideration in committee of the whole house
Adjournment - Adverse reactions to vaccinations against cervical cancer - Crispin
Blunt

Thursday 14 May
The house will sit at 10.30am
Oral questions - Transport, including topical questions; women and equality
Business statement - Leader of the house
Topical debate
Debate - Swine flu
Adjournment - Future of the under-10 metre fishing fleet - Michael Jabez Foster

Friday 15 May
The house will sit at 9.30am
Private members' bills
Special educational needs and disability (support) bill - John Bercow (2R)
Holocaust (stolen art) restitution bill - Andrew Dismore (2R)
Employment opportunities bill - Christopher Chope (2R)
British Museum Act 1963 (amendment) bill - Andrew Dismore (2R)
Driving instruction (suspension and exemption powers) bill - Willie Rennie (2R)
Adjournment - Government policy on reported violence and police corruption in Brazilian cities Mark Hendrick