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The UK Parliament

The UK Parliament is located in London in a building by the River Thames called the Palace of Westminster. Parliament's role is to represent the electorate, make laws, and oversee the government's work. It is made up of two houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Drawing: We see a coloured drawing of the Palace of Westminster. It is a large building with many towers. In front of the building is a bridge. A red double-decker bus is driving across the bridge. — The Palace of Westminster in London is home to the British Parliament.

The UK Parliament

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Lyd: Radio Metro AS

Separation of powers

The UK has separation of powers, but a doctrine of parliamentary supremacy ensures that Parliament has more power than the executive and judiciary branches.

The doctrine may be summarised in three points:

Parliament can make laws concerning anything.
No Parliament can bind a future Parliament (that is, it cannot pass a law that cannot be changed or reversed by a future Parliament).
A valid Act of Parliament cannot be questioned by the Supreme Court. It is only Parliament that can make or remove laws.

Members of Parliament

There are 650 members of Parliament, called MPs for short. The MPs are elected by the people. Each MP represents a constituency. An MP must reside in their constituency. They regularly return there to hold 'surgeries'; that is, one-to-one meetings with the people in their constituency so they can hear about their problems and issues.

The government

The party that wins the most seats in Parliament in a general election is invited by the sovereign (the king or queen) to form the government. Since 1901, it has been the custom that the prime minister and cabinet ministers must be members of Parliament. The prime minister must meet in Parliament once a week to answer questions from the MPs. This is called the Prime Minister's Question Time. The government must have the support of Parliament to rule.

Devolution

In the late 1990s, national assemblies were created in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Power was transferred from the UK Parliament to these parliaments so that they can make decisions regarding issues specific to these countries. This process is called devolution. England does not have a separate parliament. Issues related to England, issues related to the UK as a whole, as well as foreign affairs are debated and decided in the UK Parliament.

The role of the Parliament

The Parliament has four primary functions:

check and challenge the work of the government.
check and approve government spending.
make and revise laws.
debate important issues.

The House of Commons

650 members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the people sit in the House of Commons. MPs consider and propose new laws and can scrutinise government policies by asking ministers questions about current issues, either in the Commons chamber or in committees. The House of Commons also approves the country's budget.

The leader of the largest party in the House of Commons is invited by the sovereign to form the government. If no party has majority in the House of Commons, a coalition government is formed.

The House of Commons chamber

Here, you see an image of the House of Commons chamber. This is where debates are held. Click on the question marks to learn more about what you see.

The speaker

During debates in the House of Commons, order is maintained by the speaker. The speaker determines which members may speak and which amendments are selected for consideration, and they may also punish members who break the rules of the House. Speakers remain strictly non-partisan and renounce all affiliation with their former political parties when taking office.

Photo: We see a man with grey hair dressed in elaborate old-fashioned clothes. He is wearing a long, black cloak, edged with broad gold ribbons. His shirt has a lot of lace. On his stomach, we can see a plastic ID card hanging from a green and white lanyard. A man is walking behind him, holding up his cloak. The man is also dressed in old-fashioned clothes; he wears a lace collar and lace cuffs and white gloves. — Here we see the speaker of the House of Commons in ceremonial clothes. (Sir Lindsay Hoyle became speaker in 2019.)

The House of Lords

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. It plays an important role in examining bills, questioning government action, and investigating public policy. Members of the House of Lords are appointed by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister.

Currently, there are about 800 members who are eligible to take part in the work of the House of Lords. The majority of the members of the House of Lords are life peers. A life peer is someone who holds a noble title for the duration of their lifetime. There are also a small number of hereditary peers who can attend the House of Lords.

The House of Lords is meant to be a check on the power of the House of Commons; they can delay decisions and send bills back to the House of Commons to be revised. The House of Lords does not have the power to block decisions made in the House of Commons.