The UK constitution: Parliament

Question 1

What is Parliament?

Answer 1

Parliament is the supreme legislative (law-making) body in the UK. Sitting at Westminster in London, it consists of two ‘Houses’, under and within the symbolic power of the King.

The King-in-Parliament
The sovereign in his legislative role, acting with the advice and consent of Parliament.

· The House of Commons
A representative elected body of 650 members from different political parties.

· The House of Lords
An unelected body of appointed life peers, hereditary peers and bishops.

Question 2

What does Parliament do?

Answer 2

• Debate and scrutinise proposed legislation
• Propose amendments to legislation
• Extract information from the executive and hold it to account on its policies and acts
• Scrutinise public expenditure and taxation

Question 3

In practice, most - but not all - legislation begins…

Answer 3

… with a proposal by the executive (the government).

Question 4

What do MPs do?

Answer 4

Each MP has a ‘constituency’. This is the geographical area they were elected by the people to represent in Westminster. MPs can represent people’s interests by, for example, asking questions of the government in debates and voting on proposed laws.

MPs divide their time between working in the House of Commons, for their political party, and in their constituency.

Constituency work usually takes the form of a weekly ‘surgery’ – either in their constituency office or (in more remote and inaccessible areas) in public venues such as village halls or pubs. Local people can talk to their MP about any problems or matters which concern them and MPs and their staff then make representations on their behalf.

Question 5

Explain the House of Common

Answer 5

Members of the House of Commons – ‘MPs’ – are elected by the public in a ‘general election’. Or, occasionally, via a by-election.
Under section 4 of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, Parliament will be automatically dissolved after a five-year period.

Most MPs are members of political parties. The main UK-wide political parties are the Conservatives, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party. Following the 2019 general election, ten political parties were represented in Parliament, including a number of regional parties from the three devolved parts of the UK. The SNP is the third largest of all the UK parties in Westminster.

Question 6

A general election can otherwise be triggered earlier in one of two ways:

Answer 6

• Following a request by the Prime Minister to the monarch for him to exercise his prerogative power to dissolve Parliament. This is effectively a tactical dissolution, conditioned by political considerations.
• Following a ‘vote of no confidence in His Majesty’s Government’ (i.e. the current government)

Question 7

Which Political party will form the government?

Answer 7

The political party which wins an overall majority of seats in the House of Commons at a general election will form the government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister.

Question 8

What does Overall Majority mean?

Answer 8

‘Overall majority’ means that the number of seats won by the winning party is more than the combined number of seats for all the other parties in the new Parliament

Question 9

if no single party wins a majority of seats…

Answer 9

… a ‘hung Parliament’ will ensue.

The biggest party can form a minority government or enter a coalition with another party in order to create an overall majority

Question 10

In order for the government of the day to carry out its legislative agenda effectively…

Answer 10

… it will need a majority of seats (i.e. MPs who are members of the ruling party, who will vote for its legislative proposals) in the House Commons.

Question 11

When can there be a change of prime minister?

Answer 11

There can be a change of Prime Minister other than as a result of a general election, for example when the incumbent resigns.

In that event, the Prime Minister will be elected by the members of his or her political party. A new general election is not necessary.

Question 12

Who is the Prime Minister?

Answer 12

It is usually the case that the leader of the ruling political party becomes the Prime Minister when his or her party wins a general election.

The Prime Minister is the King’s principal adviser, chairs the Cabinet – the group of senior Ministers in charge of government departments – and has overall responsibility for the policy and operation of the government (the central executive)

Question 13

One of the key functions of the House of Commons is…

Answer 13

…To hold the government to account. Each Wednesday at midday, when Parliament is sitting, Prime Minister’s Question Time – PMQs – takes place in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister fields questions from MPs on current political issues. It can be a rowdy and verbally combative event.

Question 14

Who is the Speaker of the House?

Answer 14

The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to the office by other MPs. By convention, the Speaker remains politically impartial and so must resign from their political party on appointment. They still work as an MP.

The Speaker has full authority to enforce the rules of behaviour in the House of Commons, for example by suspending MPs who refuse to behave appropriately.

He manages and controls – as far as possible – the direction and tone of the debate.

Question 15

What is the purpose of parliamentary committees?

Answer 15

The purpose of these committees is to scrutinise the work of the government and examine proposals for primary and secondary legislation.

Question 16

What are the two main types of parliamentary committees?

Answer 16

There are two main types of Parliamentary committee:
· Select committees
Permanent committees that investigate the work of individual government departments or broader policy areas.
· Public bill committees
Appointed to debate and amend proposals for new legislation.

Question 17

What is The House of Lords?

Answer 17

The House of Lords is not an elected body. It consists of nearly 800 ‘peers’.

A peer is someone with a high-ranking inherited noble title, such as a Duke, Marquess or Earl, or anyone who has been made a peer during their lifetime, a ‘life peer’.

Question 18

How is Peerage granted?

Answer 18

Peerages have always been granted by the sovereign. Hereditary peerages are passed down through families. Life peerages are also granted by the monarch, on the advice of the Prime Minister - this is an example of a prerogative power.

For centuries, hereditary peers had the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

In 1999, the House of Lords Act reduced the number of hereditary peers who may sit and vote in the House to 91. The remainder of members are life peers (granted peerage by the Sovereign, for life), and bishops.
Many peers are also members of political parties. However, there are also over a hundred ‘crossbench’ peers, who are not party-political.

Question 19

Until the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the most senior court in the UK…

Answer 19

…was a part of the House of Lords

Question 20

The ‘Lords of Appeal in Ordinary’, or the ‘law Lords’ as they were commonly known, were…

Answer 20

… 12 judges appointed as members of the House of Lords to hear appeals from the lower courts, as the ‘Appellate Committee of the House of Lords’.

This reflects the historical origins of the House of Lords as advisers to the monarch, who also had judicial powers.

Question 21

In 2005 the House of Lords’ judicial function was separated from Parliament. This also marked the end of the…

Answer 21

… Lord Chancellor’s combined role as head of the judiciary, a member of the executive, and Speaker of the House of Lords.

Question 22

In 2009, the House of Lords’ judicial function was formally transferred to the Supreme Court (‘UKSC’). The incumbent law Lords became…

Answer 22

… the first Justices of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court sits in Westminster, in a building on the opposite side of Parliament Square to the Houses of Parliament. Its proceedings are live-streamed, and members of the public can attend hearings.

Question 23

The House of Lords is sometimes known as the ‘Upper House’, but…

Answer 23

… this does not mean it has more power than the House of Commons. As the House of Commons is democratically elected, it is the focus of power and authority in the United Kingdom.

Question 24

The House of Lords may…

Answer 24

…scrutinise and make amendments to legislation approved by the House of Commons. As we will see, its powers are regulated by the application of important conventions.

Question 25

Most types of primary legislation (Bills) require approval by…

Answer 25

… the House of Lords before the Sovereign gives ‘royal assent’ and the Bills become Acts of Parliament.

Question 26

Government defeats in the Lords – when legislative proposals by the government are…

Answer 26

… not accepted – usually result in amendments to the legislation by government, rather than wholesale defeat of the Bill.

Question 27

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 led to…

Answer 27

… reorganisation of the House of Lords and established the Supreme Court.