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Parliament of the United Kingdom

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge
   Enlarge
   The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge

   The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
   Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and
   British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty.
   At its head is the Sovereign.

   The parliament is bicameral, with an upper house, the House of Lords,
   and a lower house, the House of Commons. The House of Lords includes
   two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual (the senior bishops
   of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal (members of the
   Peerage); its members are not elected by the population at large. The
   House of Commons is a democratically elected chamber. The two Houses
   meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster (commonly known
   as the "Houses of Parliament"), in the City of Westminster in London.
   By constitutional convention, all government ministers, including the
   Prime Minister, are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords.

   Parliament evolved from the early medieval councils that advised the
   sovereigns of England and Scotland. In theory, power is vested not in
   Parliament, but in the " Queen-in-Parliament" (or
   "King-in-Parliament"). The Queen-in-Parliament is often said to be a
   completely sovereign authority, though such a position is debatable. In
   modern times, real power is vested in the House of Commons; the
   Sovereign acts only as a figurehead and the powers of the House of
   Lords are greatly limited.

   The United Kingdom Parliament is sometimes called the "Mother of
   Parliaments", as the legislative bodies of many states, most notably
   those of the members of the Commonwealth, are modelled on it. However,
   it is a misquotation of John Bright, who had actually remarked on 18
   January 1865 that "England is the Mother of Parliaments", in the
   context of supporting demands for expanded voting rights in a country
   that he considered had pioneered parliamentary government.

History

   In the Middle Ages and early modern period there were three kingdoms
   within the British Isles — England, Scotland and Ireland — and these
   developed separate parliaments. The 1707 Acts of Union brought England
   and Scotland together under the Parliament of Great Britain, and the
   1800 Act of Union included Ireland under the Parliament of the United
   Kingdom.

Parliament of England

   English parliament in front of the king c. 1300
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   English parliament in front of the king c. 1300

   The English Parliament traces its origins to the Anglo-Saxon
   Witenagemot. In 1066, William of Normandy brought a feudal system,
   where he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and
   ecclesiastics before making laws. In 1215, the tenants-in-chief secured
   the Magna Carta from John, which established that the king may not levy
   or collect any taxes (except the feudal taxes to which they were
   hitherto accustomed), save with the consent of his royal council, which
   slowly developed into a parliament.

   In 1265, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester summoned the first
   elected, Parliament. The franchise in parliamentary elections for
   county constituencies was uniform throughout the country, extending to
   all those who owned the freehold of land to an annual rent of 40
   shillings ( Forty-shilling Freeholders). In the boroughs, the franchise
   varied across the country; individual boroughs had varying
   arrangements. This set the scene for the so-called " Model Parliament"
   of 1295 adopted by Edward I. By the reign of Edward III, Parliament had
   been separated into two Houses: one including the nobility and higher
   clergy, the other including the knights and burgesses, and no law could
   be made, nor any tax levied, without the consent of both Houses as well
   as of the Sovereign.

   The Laws in Wales Acts of 1535– 42 annexed Wales as part of England and
   brought Welsh representatives to Parliament.

   When Elizabeth I was succeeded in 1603 by the Scottish King James VI,
   (thus becoming James I of England), the countries both came under his
   rule but each retained its own Parliament. James I's successor, Charles
   I, quarrelled with the English Parliament and, after he provoked the
   Wars of the Three Kingdoms, their dispute developed into the English
   Civil War. Charles was executed in 1649 and under Oliver Cromwell's
   Commonwealth of England the House of Lords was abolished, and the House
   of Commons made subordinate to Cromwell. After Cromwell's death, the
   Restoration of 1660 restored the monarchy and the House of Lords.

   Amidst fears of a Roman Catholic succession, the Glorious Revolution of
   1688 deposed James II (James VII of Scotland) in favour of the joint
   rule of Mary II and William III, whose agreement to the English Bill of
   Rights introduced a constitutional monarchy, though the supremacy of
   the Crown remained. For the third time, a Convention Parliament, i.e.
   one not summoned by the king, was required to determine the succession.

Parliament of Scotland

   Parliament House in Edinburgh, the former home of the Estates of
   Scotland.
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   Parliament House in Edinburgh, the former home of the Estates of
   Scotland.

   From the time of Kenneth mac Alpin, the early Kingdom of Scotland (see
   Kingdom of Alba) had been ruled by chieftains and petty kings under the
   suzerainty of the King of Scots, all offices being filled through
   election by an assembly under the Gaelic system of tanistry, which
   combined a hereditary element with the consent of those ruled. After
   Macbeth was overthrown by Malcolm III in 1057 the feudal system of
   primogeniture was gradually introduced, as Scotland came increasingly
   under Norman influence.

   In the High Middle Ages the King's Council of Bishops and Earls evolved
   into the unicameral Estates of Parliament, with the colloquium at
   Kirkliston, of 1235 (the first meeting of Parliament for which records
   survive), which had both a political and judicial role. From 1326 the
   Three Estates (Scots: Thrie Estaitis) had clerics, lay tenants-in-chief
   and the burgh Commissioners (approximately equivalent to early
   burgesses, later Members of Parliament, in the contemporaneous
   Parliament of England) sitting in a single chamber, with powers over
   taxation and a strong influence over justice, foreign policy, war, and
   legislation. The Parliament chose a committee called the Lords of the
   Articles (comparable to a modern select committee) to draft
   legislation, which was then presented to the full Parliament to be
   confirmed.

   Following the Reformation and pressure from the Kirk, Catholic clergy
   were excluded from 1567, and after Protestant bishops were abolished in
   1638 (see Bishops' Wars) the Scottish Parliament became an entirely lay
   legislature. During the reign of James VI, the Lords of the Articles
   came more under the influence of the Crown, and following his accession
   to the throne of England in 1603 (see Union of the Crowns) he used them
   to run Scotland from London. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in
   the Covenanting period ( 1638– 51) the Scottish Parliament took control
   of the executive, effectively wresting sovereignty from Charles I.
   After Scotland was invaded by Oliver Cromwell, his Protectorate
   government imposed a brief Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union in 1657.

   The Scottish Parliament returned after the Restoration of Charles II to
   the thrones of England and Ireland in 1660 (he had already been crowned
   King of Scots at Scone on 1 January 1651). After the Glorious
   Revolution formally changed England's monarch in February 1689, William
   II of Scotland (William III of England) summoned a Convention of the
   Estates, which considered competing letters from both William and from
   James VII of Scotland (James II of England), set out its terms and
   conditions in the Claim of Right, and duly proclaimed William and Mary
   II to be the joint monarchs of Scotland, at Edinburgh on 11 April 1689.

Parliament of Ireland

   The Irish House of Commons by Francis Wheatley (1780).
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   The Irish House of Commons by Francis Wheatley ( 1780).

   The Irish Parliament was founded to represent the English community in
   the Lordship of Ireland, while the native or Gaelic Irish were
   ineligible to vote or stand for office, the first known meeting being
   in 1264. The English presence shrank to an enclave around Dublin known
   as the Pale.

   In 1541 Henry VIII declared the Kingdom of Ireland and embarked on the
   Tudor re-conquest of Ireland. The Gaelic Irish lords were now entitled
   to attend the Irish Parliament as equals of the majority of English
   descent. Disputes followed the introduction of Protestantism as the
   state religion, when most of the population remained Roman Catholic,
   and in 1613– 15 constituencies were fixed so that Protestant settlers
   held the majority in the Irish Parliament. After the Irish Rebellion of
   1641, Catholics were barred from voting or attending the Parliament in
   the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652.

   Under James II & VII, the Catholics regained ground and during the
   Jacobite war in Ireland he agreed to the Irish Parliament's demands for
   autonomy and restitution of lands. After the victory of William III of
   England these gains were reversed, with the Penal Laws making things
   worse. Poyning's Law of 1494 had made the Irish Parliament subordinate
   to the Parliament of England, but the Constitution of 1782 removed
   these restrictions and about a decade later Catholics gained the right
   to vote, though they were still barred from membership.

Parliament of Great Britain

   Following the Treaty of Union in 1707, Acts of Union were passed in
   both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, which
   created a new Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts dissolved both
   parliaments, replacing them with a new Parliament of the Kingdom of
   Great Britain based in the former home of the English parliament. While
   Scots law and Scottish legislation remained separate, the legislation
   was now dealt with by the new parliament.

   After the Hanoverian George I ascended the throne in 1714, power began
   to shift from the Sovereign, and by the end of his reign the position
   of the ministers — who had to rely on Parliament for support — was
   cemented. Towards the end of the 18th century the monarch still had
   considerable influence over Parliament, which was dominated by the
   English aristocracy and by patronage. At general elections the vote was
   restricted to landed gentry, in constituencies that were out of date,
   so that in many " rotten boroughs" seats could be bought while major
   cities remained unrepresented. Reformers and Radicals sought
   parliamentary reform, but as the Napoleonic Wars developed the
   government became repressive against dissent and progress toward reform
   was stalled.

Parliament of the United Kingdom

   The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801 by
   the merger of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland.

   The principle of ministerial responsibility to the lower House did not
   develop until the 19th century — the House of Lords was superior to the
   House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House
   of Commons were elected in an antiquated electoral system, under which
   constituencies of vastly different sizes existed. Thus, the borough of
   Old Sarum, with seven voters, could elect two members, as could the
   borough of Dunwich, which had completely disappeared into the sea due
   to land erosion. In many cases, members of the Upper House also
   controlled tiny constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, and
   could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. Many seats
   in the House of Commons were "owned" by the Lords. After the reforms of
   the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act of 1832, the electoral
   system in the lower House was much more regularised. No longer
   dependent on the upper House for their seats, members of the House of
   Commons began to grow more assertive.

Modern era

   Parliament, with the London Eye visible in the background.
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   Parliament, with the London Eye visible in the background.

   The supremacy of the House of Commons was clearly established during
   the early 20th century. In 1909, the Commons passed the so-called
   "People's Budget," which made numerous changes to the taxation system
   in a manner detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords,
   which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, rejected the Budget. On
   the basis of the Budget's popularity and the Lords' consequent
   unpopularity, the Liberal Party won the general election in 1910. Using
   the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry
   Asquith, introduced the Parliament bill, which sought to restrict the
   powers of the House of Lords. (He did not reintroduce the land tax
   provision of the People's Budget.) When the Lords refused to pass the
   bill, Asquith approached the King and requested the creation of several
   hundred Liberal peers so as to erase the Conservative majority in the
   House of Lords. In the face of such a threat, the House of Lords
   reluctantly passed the bill. The Parliament Act 1911, as it became,
   allowed the Lords to delay a bill for a maximum of three sessions
   (reduced to two sessions in 1949), after which it could become law over
   their objections.

   The Irish Free State became independent in 1922 and in 1927 the UK was
   renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

   Further reforms to the House of Lords have been made during the 20th
   century. In 1958, the Life Peerages Act authorised the regular creation
   of life peerage dignities. By the 1960s, the regular creation of
   hereditary peerage dignities had ceased; thereafter, almost all new
   peers were life peers only. More recently, the House of Lords Act 1999
   removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the Upper
   House (although it made an exception for 92 of them on a temporary
   basis). The House of Lords is now a chamber that is subordinate to the
   House of Commons.

   The Scottish Parliament was established as the devolved national
   unicameral legislature of Scotland by the Scotland Act 1998, and it
   held its first meeting on 12 May 1999

Composition

   At the head of Parliament is the British Sovereign. The Sovereign's
   role, however, is merely ceremonial; in practice, he or she always acts
   on the advice of the Prime Minister and other ministers, who are in
   turn accountable to the two Houses of Parliament.

   The Upper House is mostly made up of appointed members ("Lords of
   Parliament"). The whole House is formally styled The Right Honourable
   The Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled, the Lords
   Spiritual being clergymen of the Church of England and the Lords
   Temporal being Peers of the Realm. The Lords Spiritual and Lords
   Temporal are considered separate " estates," but they sit, debate and
   vote together.

   The Lords Spiritual formerly included all of the senior clergymen of
   the Church of England — archbishops, bishops, abbots and priors. Upon
   the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII the abbots and
   priors lost their positions in Parliament. All diocesan bishops
   continued to sit in Parliament, but the Bishopric of Manchester Act
   1847, and later acts, provide that only the 26 most senior are Lords
   Spiritual. These always include the incumbents of the "five great
   sees", namely the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the
   Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Winchester.
   The remaining 21 Lords Spiritual are the most senior diocesan bishops,
   ranked in order of consecration.

   The Lords Temporal are all members of the Peerage. Formerly, they were
   hereditary peers. The right of some hereditary peers to sit in
   Parliament was not automatic: after Scotland and England united into
   Great Britain in 1707, it was provided that all peers whose dignities
   had been created by English Kings could sit in Parliament, but those
   whose dignities had been created by Scottish Kings were to elect a
   limited number of " representative peers." A similar arrangement was
   made in respect of Ireland when that nation merged with Great Britain
   in 1801, but when southern Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922 the
   election of Irish representative peers ceased. By the Peerage Act 1963,
   the election of Scottish representative peers also ended, and all
   Scottish peers were granted the right to sit in Parliament. Under the
   House of Lords Act 1999, only life peerage dignities (that is to say,
   peerage dignities which cannot be inherited) automatically entitle
   their holders to seats in the House of Lords. Of the hereditary peers,
   only 92 — the Earl Marshal, the Lord Great Chamberlain and the 90
   elected by other peers — retain their seats in the House.

   The Commons, the last of the "estates" of the Kingdom, are represented
   in the House of Commons, which is formally styled The Honourable The
   Commons in Parliament Assembled (commons coming not from the term
   commoner, but from commune, the old French term for a district). The
   House currently consists of 646 members. Until the 2005 general
   election, it consisted of 659 members, but the number of Scottish
   Members was reduced by the Scotland Act 1998. Each "Member of
   Parliament" or "MP" is chosen by a single constituency according to the
   First-Past-the-Post electoral system. Universal adult suffrage exists
   for those 18 and over; citizens of the United Kingdom, and those of the
   Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth nations resident in the United
   Kingdom are qualified to vote. The term of members of the House of
   Commons depends on the term of Parliament; a general election, during
   which all the seats are contested, occurs after each dissolution (see
   below).

   The three components of Parliament are supposed to be kept separate
   from each other; no individual may form a part of more than one
   component of Parliament. Lords of Parliament are legally barred from
   voting in elections for members of the House of Commons; the Sovereign
   by convention does not vote, although there is no statutory impediment.

Procedure

   Both houses of the British Parliament are presided over by a speaker,
   the Speaker of the House for the Commons and the Lord Speaker in the
   House of Lords.

   For the Commons, the approval of the Sovereign is theoretically
   required before the election of the Speaker becomes valid, but it is,
   by modern convention, always granted. The Speaker's place may be taken
   by three deputies, known as the Chairman, First Deputy Chairman and
   Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. (They take their name from
   the Committee of Ways and Means, of which they were once presiding
   officers, but which no longer exists.)

   Prior to July 2006, the House of Lords was presided over by a Lord
   Chancellor (a Cabinet member), whose influence as Speaker was very
   limited (whilst the powers belonging to the Speaker of the House of
   Commons are vast). However, as part of the Constitutional Reform Act
   2005, the position of Speaker of the House of Lords (as it is termed in
   the Act) was separated from the office of Lord Chancellor, though the
   Lords remain largely self-governing. Decisions on points of order and
   on the disciplining of unruly members are made by the whole body in the
   Upper House, but by the Speaker alone in the Lower House. Speeches in
   the House of Lords are addressed to the House as a whole (using the
   words "My Lords"), but those in the House of Commons are addressed to
   the Speaker alone (using "Mr Speaker" or "Madam Speaker").

   Both Houses may decide questions with voice voting; members shout out
   "Aye" and "No" in the Commons — or "Content" and "Not-Content" in the
   Lords —, and the presiding officer declares the result. The
   pronouncement of either Speaker may be challenged, and a recorded vote
   (known as a division) demanded. (The Speaker of the House of Commons
   may choose to overrule a frivolous request for a division, but the Lord
   Speaker does not have that power.) In each House, a division requires
   members to file into one of the two lobbies alongside the Chamber;
   their names are recorded by clerks, and their votes are counted as they
   exit the lobbies to re-enter the Chamber. The Speaker of the House of
   Commons is expected to be non-partisan, and does not cast a vote except
   in the case of a tie; the Lord Speaker, however, votes along with the
   other Lords.

   (For further details on procedure, see the separate articles on the
   House of Lords and the House of Commons.)

Term

   Following a general election, a new Parliamentary session begins.
   Parliament is formally summoned 40 days in advance by the Sovereign,
   who is the source of parliamentary authority. On the day indicated by
   the Sovereign's proclamation, the two Houses assemble in their
   respective chambers. The Commons are then summoned to the House of
   Lords, where Lords Commissioners (representatives of the Sovereign)
   instruct them to elect a Speaker. The Commons perform the election; on
   the next day, they return to the House of Lords, where the Lords
   Commissioners confirm the election and grant the new Speaker the royal
   approval in the Sovereign's name.

   The business of Parliament for the next few days of its session
   involves the taking of the oaths of allegiance. Once a majority of the
   members has taken the oath in each House, the State Opening of
   Parliament may occur. The Lords take their seats in the House of Lords
   Chamber, the Commons appear at the Bar (immediately outside the
   Chamber), and the Sovereign takes his or her seat on the throne. The
   Sovereign then reads the Speech from the Throne — the content of which
   is determined by the Ministers of the Crown — outlining the
   Government's legislative agenda for the upcoming year. Thereafter, each
   House proceeds to the transaction of legislative business.

   By custom, before considering the Government's legislative agenda, a
   bill is introduced pro forma in each House — the Select Vestries Bill
   in the House of Lords and the Outlawries Bill in the House of Commons.
   These bills do not become laws; they are ceremonial indications of the
   power of each House to debate independently of the Crown. After the pro
   forma bill is introduced, each House debates the content of the Speech
   from the Throne for several days. Once each House formally sends its
   reply to the Speech, legislative business may commence, appointing
   committees, electing officers, passing resolutions and considering
   legislation.

   A session of Parliament is brought to an end by a prorogation. There is
   a ceremony similar to the State Opening, but much less well-known.
   Normally, the Sovereign does not personally attend the prorogation
   ceremony in the House of Lords; he or she is represented by Lords
   Commissioners. The next session of Parliament begins under the
   procedures described above, but it is not necessary to conduct another
   election of a Speaker or take the oaths of allegiance afresh at the
   beginning of such subsequent sessions. Instead, the State Opening of
   Parliament proceeds directly. To avoid the delay of opening a new
   session in the event of an emergency during the long summer recess,
   Parliament is no longer prorogued beforehand, but only after the Houses
   have reconvened in the autumn; the State Opening follows a few days
   later.

   Each Parliament comes to an end, after a number of sessions, either by
   the command of the Sovereign or by effluxion of time, the former being
   more common in modern times. The dissolution of Parliament is effected
   by the Sovereign, always on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime
   Minister may seek dissolution because the time is politically
   advantageous to his or her party. If the Prime Minister loses the
   support of the House of Commons, he must either resign or seek
   dissolution of Parliament to renew his or her mandate.

   Originally there was no fixed limit on the length of a Parliament, but
   the Triennial Act 1694 set the maximum duration at three years. As the
   frequent elections were deemed inconvenient, the Septennial Act 1716
   extended the maximum to seven years, but the Parliament Act 1911
   reduced it to five. During the Second World War, the term was
   temporarily extended to ten years by Acts of Parliament. Since the end
   of the war the maximum has remained five years. Modern Parliaments,
   however, rarely continue for the maximum duration; normally, they are
   dissolved earlier. For instance, the 52nd, which assembled in 1997, was
   dissolved after four years.

   Formerly, the demise of the Sovereign automatically brought a
   Parliament to an end, the Crown being seen as the caput, principium, et
   finis (beginning, basis and end) of the body, but this is no longer the
   case. The first change was during the reign of William and Mary, when
   it was seen to be inconvenient to have no Parliament at a time when
   succession to the Crown could be disputed, and an act was passed that
   provided that a Parliament was to continue for six months after the
   death of a Sovereign, unless dissolved earlier. The Representation of
   the People Act 1867 brought this arrangement to an end.

   After each Parliament concludes, the Crown issues writs to hold a
   general election and elect new members of the House of Commons.
   Membership of the House of Lords does not change due to dissolution.
   Each Parliament that assembles following a general election is deemed
   to be distinct from the one which just concluded, and is separately
   numbered, the present Parliament being the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of
   the United Kingdom since the formation of the United Kingdom of Great
   Britain and Ireland in 1801. (Previous Parliaments were "of Great
   Britain" or "of England", "of Scotland" or "of Ireland".)

Legislative functions

   Parliament meets in the Palace of Westminster.
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   Parliament meets in the Palace of Westminster.

   Laws can be made by Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament. While Acts
   can apply to the whole of the UK including Scotland, due to the
   continuing separation of Scots law many Acts do not apply to Scotland
   and are either matched by equivalent Acts that apply to Scotland alone
   or, since 1999, by legislation set by the Scottish Parliament relating
   to devolved matters.

   This has led to what is known as the West Lothian question: the
   situation where Westminster MPs for Scottish constituencies may vote on
   legislation that will have no direct effect on Scotland. For example,
   the Higher Education Act 2004 passed only with the votes of Scottish
   MPs, but the act had no bearing on Scotland.

   Laws, in draft form known as bills, may be introduced by any member of
   either House, but usually a bill is introduced by a Minister of the
   Crown. A bill introduced by a Minister is known as a "Government Bill";
   one introduced by another member is called a " Private Member's Bill".
   A different way of categorising bills involves the subject. Most bills,
   involving the general public, are called " Public Bills". A bill that
   seeks to grant special rights to an individual or small group of
   individuals is called a " Private Bill." A Private Bill which has
   broader public implications is called a " Hybrid Bill".

   Private Members' Bills make up only about one in eight of bills, and
   are far less likely to be passed than government bills. There are three
   methods for an MP to introduce a Private Member's Bill. The Private
   Members' Ballots put names into a ballot, and those who win are given
   time to propose a bill. The Ten Minute Rule is another method, where
   MPs are granted ten minutes to outline the case for a new piece of
   legislation. Standing Order 58 is the third method, which allows a bill
   to be introduced without debate if a day's notice is given to the
   Speaker. Filibustering is a danger, as an opponent to a bill can waste
   much of the limited time allotted to it. Private Members' Bills have no
   chance of success if the current government opposes them, but they are
   used in moral issues: the bills to decriminalise homosexuality and
   abortion were Private Members' Bills, for example. Governments can
   sometimes attempt to use Private Members' Bills to pass things it would
   rather not be associated with. "Handout bills" are when a government
   hands proposed bills to MPs who win Private Members' Ballots.

   Each Bill goes through several stages in each House. The first stage,
   called the first reading, is a formality. At the second reading, the
   general principles of the bill are debated, and the House may vote to
   reject the bill, by not passing the motion "That the Bill be now read a
   second time". Defeats of Government Bills are extremely rare, the last
   being in 2005.

   Following the second reading, the bill is sent to a committee. In the
   House of Lords, the Committee of the Whole House or the Grand Committee
   are used. Each consists of all members of the House; the latter
   operates under special procedures, and is used only for uncontroversial
   bills. In the House of Commons, the bill is usually committed to a
   Standing Committee, consisting of between 16 and 50 members, but the
   Committee of the Whole House is used for important legislation. Several
   other types of committees, including Select Committees, may be used,
   but rarely. A committee considers the bill clause by clause, and
   reports its proposed amendments to the entire House, where further
   detailed consideration occurs. However, the kangaroo (Standing Order
   31) allows the Speaker to select which amendments are debated. This
   device is commonly used under Standing Order 89 by the committee
   chairman on behalf of the government, to restrict debate in committee.

   Once the House has considered the bill, the third reading follows. In
   the House of Commons, no further amendments may be made, and the
   passage of the motion "That the Bill be now read a third time" is
   passage of the whole bill. In the House of Lords further amendments to
   the bill may be moved. After the passage of the third reading motion,
   the House of Lords must vote on the motion "That the Bill do now pass."
   Following its passage in one House, the bill is sent to the other
   House. If passed in identical form by both Houses, it may be presented
   for the Sovereign's Assent. If one House passes amendments that the
   other will not agree to, and the two Houses cannot resolve their
   disagreements, the bill fails.

   However, since the passage of the Parliament Act 1911 the power of the
   House of Lords to reject bills passed by the House of Commons has been
   restricted, and further restrictions were placed by the Parliament Act
   1949. If the House of Commons passes a public bill in two successive
   sessions, and the House of Lords rejects it both times, the Commons may
   direct that the bill be presented to the Sovereign for his or her
   Assent, disregarding the rejection of the Bill in the House of Lords.
   In each case, the bill must be passed by the House of Commons at least
   one calendar month before the end of the session. The provision does
   not apply to bills originated in the House of Lords, to bills seeking
   to extend the duration of a Parliament beyond five years, or to Private
   Bills. A special procedure applies in relation to bills classified by
   the Speaker of the House of Commons as "Money Bills". A Money Bill
   concerns solely national taxation or public funds; the Speaker's
   certificate is deemed conclusive under all circumstances. If the House
   of Lords fails to pass a Money Bill within one month of its passage in
   the House of Commons, the Lower House may direct that the Bill be
   submitted for the Sovereign's Assent immediately.

   Even before the passage of the Parliament Acts, the Commons possessed
   pre-eminence in cases of financial matters. By ancient custom, the
   House of Lords may not introduce a bill relating to taxation or Supply,
   nor amend a bill so as to insert a provision relating to taxation or
   Supply, nor amend a Supply Bill in any way. The House of Commons is
   free to waive this privilege, and sometimes does so to allow the House
   of Lords to pass amendments with financial implications. The House of
   Lords remains free to reject bills relating to Supply and taxation, but
   may be overruled easily if the bills are Money Bills. (A bill relating
   to revenue and Supply may not be a Money Bill if, for example, it
   includes subjects other than national taxation and public funds).

   The last stage of a bill involves the granting of the Royal Assent.
   Theoretically, the Sovereign may either grant the Royal Assent (that
   is, make the bill a law) or withhold it (that is, veto the bill). Under
   modern conventions the Sovereign always grants the Royal Assent, in the
   Norman French words "La reyne le veult" (the Queen wishes it). The last
   refusal to grant the Assent was in 1708, when Queen Anne withheld her
   Assent from a bill "for the settling of Militia in Scotland", in the
   words "La reyne s'avisera" (the Queen will think it over).

   Thus, every bill obtains the assent of all three components of
   Parliament before it becomes law (except where the House of Lords is
   over-ridden under the Parliament Acts). The words "BE IT ENACTED by the
   Queen's [King's] most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
   consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this
   present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
   follows:-", or, where the House of Lords' authority has been overridden
   by use of the Parliament Acts, the words "BE IT ENACTED by The Queen's
   [King's] most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of
   the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with
   the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the
   authority of the same, as follows:-" appear near the beginning of each
   Act of Parliament. These words are known as the enacting formula.

Judicial functions

   In addition to its legislative functions, Parliament also performs
   several judicial functions. The Queen-in-Parliament constitutes the
   highest court in the realm for most purposes, but the Privy Council has
   jurisdiction in some cases (for instance, appeals from ecclesiastical
   courts). The jurisdiction of Parliament arises from the ancient custom
   of petitioning the Houses to redress grievances and to do justice. The
   House of Commons ceased considering petitions to reverse the judgements
   of lower courts in 1399, effectively leaving the House of Lords as the
   court of last resort. In modern times, the judicial functions of the
   House of Lords are performed not by the whole House, but by a group of
   "Lords of Appeal in Ordinary" (judges granted life peerage dignities
   under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 by the Sovereign) and by
   "Lords of Appeal" (other peers with experience in the judiciary). The
   Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and Lords of Appeal (or "Law Lords") are
   Lords of Parliament, but normally do not vote or speak on political
   matters.

   In the late 19th century, Acts allowed for the appointment of Scottish
   Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and ended appeal in Scottish criminal
   matters to the House of Lords, so that the High Court of Justiciary
   became the highest criminal court in Scotland. Nowadays the House of
   Lords legislative committee usually has a minimum of two Scottish
   Judges to ensure that some experience of Scots law is brought to bear
   on Scottish appeals in civil cases, from the Court of Session.

   Certain other judicial functions have historically been performed by
   the House of Lords. Until 1948, it was the body in which peers had to
   be tried for felonies or high treason; now, they are tried by normal
   juries. When the House of Commons impeaches an individual, the trial
   takes place in the House of Lords. Impeachments are now rare; the last
   one occurred in 1806. As of 2006, a number of MPs are attempting to
   revive the custom, who have signed a motion for the impeachment of the
   Prime Minister, but this is unlikely to succeed.

Relationship with the Government

   The British Government is answerable to the House of Commons. However,
   neither the Prime Minister nor members of the Government are elected by
   the House of Commons. Instead, the Queen requests the person most
   likely to command the support of a majority in the House, normally the
   leader of the largest party in the House of Commons, to form a
   government. So that they may be accountable to the Lower House, the
   Prime Minister and most members of the Cabinet are members of the House
   of Commons. The last Prime Minister to be a member of the House of
   Lords was Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home, who became Prime
   Minister in 1963. To adhere to the convention under which he was
   responsible to the Lower House, he disclaimed his peerage and procured
   election to the House of Commons within days of becoming Prime
   Minister.

   Governments have a tendency to dominate the legislative functions of
   Parliament, by using their in-built majority in the House of Commons,
   and sometimes using their patronage power to appoint supportive peers
   in the Lords. In practice, governments can pass any legislation (within
   reason) in the Commons they wish, unless there is major dissent by MPs
   in the governing party. But even in these situations, it is highly
   unlikely a bill will be defeated, though dissenting MPs may be able to
   extract concessions from the government. In 1976, Lord Hailsham created
   a now widely used name for this behaviour, in an academic paper called
   " elective dictatorship".

   Parliament controls the executive by passing or rejecting its Bills and
   by forcing Ministers of the Crown to answer for their actions, either
   at "Question Time" or during meetings of the parliamentary committees.
   In both cases, Ministers are asked questions by members of their
   Houses, and are obliged to answer.

   Although the House of Lords may scrutinise the executive through
   Question Time and through its committees, it cannot bring down the
   Government. A ministry must always retain the confidence and support of
   the House of Commons. The Lower House may indicate its lack of support
   by rejecting a Motion of Confidence or by passing a Motion of No
   Confidence. Confidence Motions are generally originated by the
   Government in order to reinforce its support in the House, whilst No
   Confidence Motions are introduced by the Opposition. The motions
   sometimes take the form "That this House has [no] confidence in Her
   Majesty's Government" but several other varieties, many referring to
   specific policies supported or opposed by Parliament, are used. For
   instance, a Confidence Motion of 1992 used the form, "That this House
   expresses the support for the economic policy of Her Majesty's
   Government." Such a motion may theoretically be introduced in the House
   of Lords, but, as the Government need not enjoy the confidence of that
   House, would not be of the same effect as a similar motion in the House
   of Commons; the only modern instance of such an occurrence involves the
   No Confidence Motion that was introduced in 1993 and subsequently
   defeated.

   Many votes are considered votes of confidence, although not including
   the language mentioned above. Important bills that form part of the
   Government's agenda (as stated in the Speech from the Throne) are
   generally considered matters of confidence. The defeat of such a bill
   by the House of Commons indicates that a Government no longer has the
   confidence of that House. The same effect is achieved if the House of
   Commons " withdraws Supply", that is, rejects the budget.

   Where a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the
   Prime Minister is obliged either to resign, or seek the dissolution of
   Parliament and a new general election. Where a Prime Minister has
   ceased to retain a majority in that vote and requests a dissolution,
   the Sovereign can in theory reject his request, forcing his resignation
   and allowing the Leader of the Opposition to be asked to form a new
   government. This power is used extremely rarely. The conditions that
   should be met to allow such a refusal are known as the Lascelles
   Principles. These conditions and principles are merely informal
   conventions; it is possible, though highly improbable, for the
   Sovereign to refuse dissolution for no reason at all.

   In practice, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the Government is very
   weak. Since the first-past-the-post electoral system is employed in
   elections, the governing party tends to enjoy a large majority in the
   Commons; there is often limited need to compromise with other parties.
   Modern British political parties are so tightly organised that they
   leave relatively little room for free action by their MPs. In many
   cases, MPs may be expelled from their parties for voting against the
   instructions of party leaders. During the 20th century, the Government
   has lost confidence issues only thrice — twice in 1924, and once in
   1979.

Sovereignty

   Northern Ireland Parliament Buildings (Stormont) — NI has devolved
   government
   Enlarge
   Northern Ireland Parliament Buildings (Stormont) — NI has devolved
   government

   Several different views have been taken of Parliament's sovereignty.
   According to the jurist Sir William Blackstone, "It has sovereign and
   uncontrollable authority in making, confirming, enlarging, restraining,
   abrogating, repealing, reviving, and expounding of laws, concerning
   matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical, or temporal,
   civil, military, maritime, or criminal … it can, in short, do every
   thing that is not naturally impossible."

   A different view has been taken by the Scottish judge Lord Cooper of
   Culross. When he decided the 1953 case of MacCormick v. Lord Advocate
   as Lord President of the Court of Session, he stated, "The principle of
   unlimited sovereignty of Parliament is a distinctively English
   principle and has no counterpart in Scottish constitutional law." He
   continued, "Considering that the Union legislation extinguished the
   Parliaments of Scotland and England and replaced them by a new
   Parliament, I have difficulty in seeing why the new Parliament of Great
   Britain must inherit all the peculiar characteristics of the English
   Parliament but none of the Scottish." Nevertheless, he did not give a
   conclusive opinion on the subject. Thus, the question of Parliamentary
   sovereignty appears to remain unresolved. Parliament has not passed any
   Act defining its own sovereignty.

   Parliament's power has often been eroded by its own Acts. Acts passed
   in 1921 and 1925 granted the Church of Scotland complete independence
   in ecclesiastical matters. More recently, its power has been restricted
   by membership of the European Union, which has the power to make laws
   enforceable in each member state. In the Factortame case, the European
   Court of Justice ruled that UK courts could have powers to overturn UK
   legislation contravening EU law. Parliament has also created national
   devolved assemblies with legislative authority in Scotland, Wales and
   Northern Ireland. Parliament still has the power over areas for which
   responsibility lies with the devolved institutions, but would usually
   ask permission of those institutions to act on its behalf. Similarly,
   it has granted the power to make regulations to Ministers of the Crown,
   and the power to enact religious legislation to the General Synod of
   the Church of England. (Measures of the General Synod and, in some
   cases proposed statutory instruments made by ministers, must be
   approved by both Houses before they become law.) In every case
   aforementioned, authority has been conceded by Act of Parliament and
   may be taken back in the same manner. It is entirely within the
   authority of Parliament, for example, to abolish the devolved
   governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland or to leave the EU.
   However, especially in the case of withdrawing from EU membership, the
   costs of such a move would prevent it from occurring.

   One well-recognised exception to Parliament's power involves binding
   future Parliaments. No Act of Parliament may be made secure from
   amendment or repeal by a future Parliament. For example, although the
   Act of Union 1800 states that the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland
   are to be united "forever", Parliament permitted southern Ireland to
   leave the UK in 1922.

Privileges

   Each House of Parliament possesses and guards various ancient
   privileges. The House of Lords relies on inherent right. In the case of
   the House of Commons, the Speaker goes to the Lords' Chamber at the
   beginning of each new Parliament and requests representatives of the
   Sovereign to confirm the Lower House's "undoubted" privileges and
   rights. The ceremony observed by the House of Commons dates to the
   reign of Henry VIII. Each House is the guardian of its privileges, and
   may punish breaches thereof. The extent of parliamentary privilege is
   based on law and custom. Sir William Blackstone states that these
   privileges are "very large and indefinite," and cannot be defined
   except by the Houses of Parliament themselves.

   The foremost privilege claimed by both Houses is that of freedom of
   speech in debate; nothing said in either House may be questioned in any
   court or other institution outside Parliament. Another privilege is
   that of freedom from arrest except for high treason, felony or breach
   of the peace; it applies during a session of Parliament, and 40 days
   before or after such a session. Members of both Houses are also
   privileged from service on juries.

   Both Houses possess the power to punish breaches of their privilege.
   Contempt of Parliament — for example, disobedience of a subpoena issued
   by a committee — may also be punished. The House of Lords may imprison
   an individual for any fixed period of time, but an individual
   imprisoned by the House of Commons is set free upon prorogation. The
   punishments imposed by either House may not be challenged in any court.

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