Parliament nowadays

Parliament nowadays. Parliament is made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Queen in her constitutional role. They meet together only on occasions of symbolic importance such as the state opening of parliament, when the Commons are summoned by the Queen to the House of Lords. The agreement of all three elements is normally required for legislation, but that of the Queen is given as a matter of course to Bills sent to her. Parliament can legislate for Britain as a whole, or for any part of the country.

It can also legislate for the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, which are Crown dependencies and not part of Britain.

They have local legislatures which make laws on the island affairs. As there are no legal restraints imposed by a written constitution, Parliament may legislate as it pleases, subject to Britains obligations as a member of the European Union. It can make or change any law and can overturn established conventions or turn them into law. It can even prolong its own life beyond the normal period without consulting the electorate.

In practice, however, Parliament does not assert its supremacy in this way. Its members bear in mind the common law and normally act in accordance with precedent. The validity of an Act of Parliament, once passed, cannot be disputed in the law courts. The House of Commons is directly responsible to the electorate, and in this century the House of Lords has recognized the supremacy of the elected chamber. The system of party government helps to ensure that Parliament legislates with its responsibility to the electorate in mind. The main functions of Parliament as has been mentioned in the Introduction are 1. to pass laws 2. to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of the government 3. to scrutinize government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure and 4. to debate the major issues of the day. In carrying out these functions Parliament helps to bring the relevant facts and issues before the electorate.

By custom, Parliament is also informed before all important international treaties and agreements are ratified.

The making of treaties is, however, a royal prerogative exercised on the advice of the Government and is not subject to parliamentary approval. A Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but in practice general elections are usually held before the end of this term. The maximum life has been prolonged by legislation in rare circumstances such as the two world wars. Parliament is dissolved and writs for a general election are ordered by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The life of a Parliament is divided into sessons. Each usually lasts for one year - normally beginning and ending in October or November. Ther are adjournaments at night, at weekends, at Christmas, Easter and the late Spring Bank Holiday, and during a long summer break usually starting in late July. The average number of sitting days in a session is about 160 in the House of Commons and about 145 in the House of Lords. At the start of each session the Queens speech to Parliament outlines the Governments policies and proposed legislative program. Each session is ended by prorogation.

Parliament then stands prorogued for about a week until the new session opens. Public Bills which have not been passed by the end of the session are lost. The House of Lords consists of 1. all hereditary peers and peeresses of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom 2. life peers created to assist the House in its judicial duties Lords of Appeal or law lords 3. all other life peers and 4. the Archbiships of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, and the 21 senior bishops of the Church of England.

The House of Commons consists of 651 Members of Parliament MPs directly elected by voters in each of Britains 651 parliamentary constituencies. At present there are 62 women, three Asian and three black MPs. Of the 651 seats, 524 are for England, 38 for Wales, 72 for Scotland and 17 for Northern Ireland.

Proceedings of both Houses are normally public and visitors can watch the proceedings from the galleries of both chambers. The minutes and speeches are published daily in Hansard House of Commons, and Hansard House of Lords the official report of debates. Each daily report also includes the answers to parliamentary questions put down for a written reply. The House of Commons also publishes a Weekly Information Bulletin which gives details about parliamentary affairs.

Both Houses have information offices which prepare a variety of publications and answer enquiries from the public. And there is television and The Parliamentary Channel and, of course, government information on the web. The records of the Lords from 1497 and the Commons from 1547, together with the parliamentary and political papers of a number of former members of both Houses, are available to the public through the House of Lords Record Office.

The proceedings of both Houses of Parliament may be broadcast on television and radio, either live or, more usually, in recorded or edited form. BBC Radio 4 is obligated to broadcast an impartial day-by-day account of proceedings when Parliament is in session. A weekly programme covers the proceedings of the select committees on departmental affairs. Many other television and national and local radio programs cover parliamentary affairs.

Complete coverage is available on cable television. Also, most national and regional newspapers have parliamentary correspondents. Several national daily newspapers present a daily summary of the previous days proceedings Themes old brit. Ver. Thames - 25 overkings - further being quoted USED LITERATURE AND OTHER SOURCES 1. The Medieval Source Book Electronic version. Edited by Andrew Kenneth. httpmsb.ukindex.html currently idle 2. British History. httpbritannia.com 1995, 1996, 1997 Britannia Internet Magazine, LLC 3. Documentary httpwww.britannia.comhistorydocs Copyright 1998 Bitannia Internet Magazine.

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