Parliament

Parliament is the supreme legislative authority in Britain and, since it is not controlled by a written constitution, it has legal sovereignty in virtually all matters, subject only to some European Community decisions. This means that it can create, abolish or amend laws for all or any part(s) of Britain on any topic. The main functions of Parliament today are to pass laws; to vote on financial bills so that government can carry on its legitimate business; to examine government policies and adminis­tration; and to scrutinize European Community legislation.

In pursuing these powers, Parliament is supposed to legislate according to the rule of law, precedent and tradition. Politicians are generally sensitive to these conventions and to public opinion. A set of formal and informal checks and balances - such as party discipline, the OfficiaI Opposition, public reaction and pressure groups - normally ensures that Parliament legislates according to its legal responsibilities. A government with a strong majority in the House of Commons may bow to public pressure, face rebellion from its own MPs and suffer attack by the opposition parties if the proposed laws are not widely accepted.

Parliament consists of the House of Lords, the HouseofCommons and formally the monarch. It assembles as a unified body only on ceremonial occasions, such as the State Opening of Parliament by the monarch in the House of Lords. Here it listens to the monarch's speech from the throne, which outlines the government's broad legislative programme for the coming session. All three parts of Parliament must normally pass a bill before it can become an Act of Parliament and therefore law. A correctly created Act cannot be challenged in the law courts on its merits.

A Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but it is often dissolved and a general election called before the end of this term. The maximum has sometimes been prolonged by special parliamentary legislation on occasions of national emer­gency like the two World Wars. A dissolution of Parliament and the issue of writs for the ensuing general election are ordered by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. If an individual MP dies, resigns or is given a peerage, a by-election is called only for that member's seat, and Parliament as a whole is not dissolved.

The contemporary House of Lords consists of the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, together with twenty-four senior diocesan bishops of the Church of England. The Lords Temporal consist of (1) hereditary peers and peeresses who have kept their titles; (2) life peers and peeresses, who have usually been created by political parties; and (3) the Lords of Appeal (Law Lords), who become life peers on their judicial appoint­ments. The latter serve the House of Lords as the ultimate court of appeal for most purposes from most parts of Britain. This appeal court does not consist of the whole House of Lords, but only some nine Law Lords who have held senior judicial office, who are under the chairmanship of the Lord Chancellor, and who form a quorum of three to five when they hear appeal cases.

There are some 1,200 members of the House of Lords, but the active daily attendance varies from a handful to a few hundred. Peers receive no salary for their parliamentary work, but are eligible for attendance and travelling expenses should they wish to claim them. The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor, who is a political appointee of the sitting govern­ment, who sits on the Woolsack (or stuffed woollen sofa) as Speaker (Chairman) of the House, and who controls the procedure and meetings of the House.

There are frequent demands that the unrepresentative, unelected House of Lords should be abolished and replaced by a second democratically elected chamber. The problem consists of which alternative model to adopt, and there is little agreement on this point. Meanwhile, the House of Lords does its job well as an experienced and less partisan corrective to the House of Commons. It retains an important revising, amending and delaying function.This may be used either to block government legislation for a time, or to persuade governments to have a second look at bills. In this sense, it is a safeguard, against over-hasty legislation by the Commons, and fulfils a considerable constitutional role at times when governments may be very powerful. This function is possible because members of the Lords tend to be more independently minded than MPs in the Commons, and do not suffer such rigid party discipline. Indeed, the House has a considerable number of Independents (or crossbenchers) who do not belong to any political party, although there appears to be a nominal Conservative majority in the total membership.

Attempts to reform the House of Lords were made several times in the course of the 20^th century.

The Parliament Act of 1911 removed from the House of Lords the power of veto a bill, except one to prolong the lifetime of a parliament. Instead, the Lords could delay a bill by up to two years. The Parliament Act of 1949 further reduced the Lord's delaying powers to one year.

The Labour government came tp power in 1997 on a manifesto which stated that the House of Lords must be reformed. As an initial, self-contained reform, the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords will be ended by statute. This will be the first stage in process of reform to make the House of Lords more democratic and representative. The legislative powers of the House of Lords will remain unaltered.

The House of Lords Bill to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the house was introduced in the 1998-1999 parliamentary session. The amendment allowed that 75 hereditary peers would retain their seats, and be elected by party groups in proportion to their strengths. Responsibility for further reform was given to the Royal Commission on the Reform of House of Lords. The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) who arc elected by the adult suffrage of the British people, and who are said to represent the citizen in Parliament. In practice, this means that a government can be elected with a minority of the popular vote and is able to carry out its policies (the mandate theory) because it has achieved a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. The Commons has 650 MPs, of whom under 10 per cent are women. There are 523 parliamen­tary seats for England, 38 for Wales, 72 for Scotland and 17 for Northern Ireland.

Traditional constitutional theory has suggested that Parliament is supposed to control the government or the executive. This might have been true to some degree in the past. But the contemporary reality seems to be that a strong government with a reasonable overall majority in the Commons should be able to carry its policies through Parliament. This is irrespective of what Parliament as a collective body can do to oppose it. It is government that governs in Britain today. Unless there is a small-majority government or rebellion by government MPs, Parlia­ment appears unable to affect that rule in any substantial way. The opposition parties can only oppose in Parliament in the hope of persuading the electorate to dismiss the sitting government at the next general election. Some critics would like to see stronger parliamentary control over the executive, which has been described as an elective dictatorship. But, given the existing electoral system and the present organization of Parliament, there seems little chance of this without a fundamental reform of the whole apparatus.

The parliamentary electoral system (general elections)

Britain is divided for electoral purposes into constituencies,orgeographical areas of the country, usually containing about 60,000 voters, each of which returns one elected MP to the House of Commons. The constituencies are supposed to be frequently changed in size and location in order to ensure fair representation and to reflect population movements. But such aims are not always successfully achieved.

General elections for parliamentary seats are by secret ballot, but voting is not compulsory. British, Commonwealth and Irish Republic citizens may all vote in the elections provided that they are resident in Britain, registered on the annual register of voters for the constituency, are aged 18 or over, and are not subject to any disqualification. People not entitled to vote include members of the House of Lords; certain mentally ill patients who are detained in hospital or prison; and persons who have been recently convicted of corrupt or illegal election practices.

Each elector casts one vote, normally in person, at a polling

	BROWN James Edward Brown, 42 Spinney Road, Upton, Northshire Labour
	SMITH Frederick Alistair Smith, The Hut, Peasants' Row, Upton Northshire Conservative
	JONES Gertrude Mary Jones, 15 Lavender Crescent, Upton, Northshire Liberal Democrat

station set up on election day. He or she will make a cross on a ballot paper against the name of the candidate for whom the vote is cast. However, there are provisions for those who for various reasons are unable to vote in person in their local constituencytoregister postal or proxy votes. There are also certain voting rights for expatriate Britons.

The turnout of voters averages over 70 per cent at general elections out of a total electorate of some 42 million people. The candidate who wins the most votes in a constituency is elected MP for that area. This system is known as the simple majority or the 'first past the post' system. There is no voting by proportional representation (PR), except for local elections in Northern Ireland.

There has been much debate about the British electoral system. Many see it as unfair to the smaller parties, and campaigns continue for some form of PR, which would create a wider selection of parties in the House of Commons and cater for minority political interests. But the two major parties (Conserva­tive and Labour) have preferred the existing system. It gives them a greater chance of achieving power, and they have not been prepared to legislate for change, although the Labour Party seems now to be more sympathetic to PR. It is argued that the British people have traditionally preferred the stronger and more certain government which can often, if not always, result from the present arrangements. Defenders of the current system point to the assumed weaknesses of coalition or minority government as practised on the continent, such as frequent breakdown, a lack of firm policies and power-bargaining between different parties in order to achieve government status. But weak and small-majority government can also result from the British system.

The party political system

The electoral system depends to a large extent upon the party political system, which has existed since the seventeenth century. Organized political parties present their policies in the form of manifestos to the electorate for consideration during the intensive few weeks of canvassing and campaigning before General Election Day. A party candidate in a constituency is elected to Parliament on a combination of election manifesto, the personality of the candidate and the attraction of the national party. But party activity continues outside the election period itself, as the politicians battle for power and the ears of the electorate.

Since 1945 there have been seven Labour and eight Conservative governments in Britain. Some have had large majorities in the House of Commons, while others have had small ones. Some, like the Labour governments in the 1970s, have had to rely on the support of smaller parties, such as the Liberals and various nationalist parties, in order to remain in power.

The great majority of the MPs in the House of Commons belong to either the Conservative or the Labour Party, which are the largest political parties. This division emphasizes the continuation of the traditional two-party system in British politics, in which power has alternated between two major parties.

The Labour Party has traditionally gathered its support from the trade unions, the working class and some middle-class backing. Its electoral strongholds have always been in south Wales, Scotland, and the Midland and northern English indus­trial cities. But, although the 1997 general election continued to reflect this national division, the previous patterns of support are altering as social and job mobility changes. In recent years the Labour Party has embarked on wide-ranging reviews of its policies in order to broaden its appeal, take account of changing economic and social conditions, and remain a major force in British politics.

The Conservative Party has traditionally regarded itself as a national party, which appeals to people across the class barriers. Although it has often criticized what it sees as the dogmatic and ideological fervour of the Labour Party, the Conservative Party has also become more radical in recent years, and has departed from what used to be considered as the consensus view of British politics. The party's support comes mainly from business interests and the middle and upper classes, but a sizeable percentage of skilled and unskilled workers, and women have always voted Conservative. The party's strongholds tend to be in southern England, with scattered support elsewhere in the country, although it has suffered serious setbacks in Scotland.

Smaller political parties also have some representation in the House of Commons. Among these have been the Liberals and Social Democrats; the Scottish National Party; Plaid Cymru (the Welsh National Party); the Protestant Northern Irish parties of the Official Unionists, the Democratic Unionists and the Ulster Popular Unionists; the Social Democratic and Labour Party (moderate Roman Catholic Northern Irish party); and Sinn Fein (Republican Northern Irish party). Other small parties such as the Greens and Communist Party, as well as publicity-seeking fringe groups, may also contest a general election. But a party which does not achieve a certain number of votes in the election loses its deposit - the sum paid when a party registers to fight an election.

An innovation in British party politics during 1982-7 was the emergence of the Alliance as an electoral force. This was formed by the co-operation for electoral purposes of the Liberals and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was founded in 1981 by defectors from the Labour Party. The Alliance gained substantial support in public opinion polls, won some dramatic by-elections, and achieved considerable success in local government elections. But it did not make a comparable breakthrough into national politics and the House of Commons. The Liberals and the SDP saw themselves in this period as an alternative political force to the Conservative and Labour Parties, based on the centre or centre-left of British politics. They tried to 'break the mould' of the traditional two-party system, but their performance in the 1987 general election did not achieve this aim. In 1988 a majority of the two parties merged into one party called the Social and Liberal Democratic Party (or SLD or Liberal Democrats for short). But small groups of Liberals and SDP members continued as separate parties, until the SDP ceased to exist as a political party in 1990. At present, the support for the Liberal Democrats

 

 

General election results, 1997

Party Popular vole (%) Members elected

Conservative 30 165

Labour 43 418

Liberal Democrat 17 48

All others parties

 

has sunk to some 16 per cent, and it seems that the centre ground in British politics has been largely recaptured by the Labour and Conservative Parties. However, the SLD and other smaller par­ties do allow alternative political parties to be represented in the House of Commons.

The party which wins most parliamentary seats at a general election, or which has the support of a majority of MPs in the House of Commons, usually forms the new government. Under the British system, that government need not have obtained an overall majority of the popular vote (representing the actual number of votes cast by the voting population). It is estimated that a party will generally have to gather more than 33 per cent of the popular vote before winning a substantial number of seats, and nearly 40 per cent in order to expand that representation and have a chance of forming a government with an overall majority. These figures will also depend upon whether support is concentrated in particular geographical areas, for a party may gain seats by its local strength. Smaller parties, which do not approach these percentages, will not gain many seats in the Commons. It is this system of representation that proponents of would like to change, in order to reflect more accurately the Popular vote and the anneal of minority parties.

Once the results of a general election are known, the majority party in the Commons normally forms the new government, and the largest minority party becomes the official opposition. The opposition has its own leader and 'shadow government'. It plays an important constitutional role in the parliamentary system, which is based on adversarial and confrontational politics. The seating arrangements in the House of Commons reflect this system, since leaders of the government and opposition parties sit on facing 'front benches', with their supporting MPs, or 'backbenchers', sitting behind them. The effectiveness of parlia­mentary arrangements is supposed to rest on the relationship between the government and opposition parties, in which the members are required to observe procedural conventions.

The opposition parties may try to overthrow the government by defeating it on a 'vote of no confidence' or a 'vote of censure'. In general these techniques are not successful if the government has a comfortable majority and can count on the support of its MPs. The opposition parties consequently attempt to influence the formation of national policies by their criticism of pending legislation; by trying to obtain concessions on bills by proposing amendments to them; and by striving to increase support for their performance and policies inside and outside the Commons. They take advantage of any publicity and opportunity which they think might improve their chances at the next general election.

Inside Parliament, party discipline is exercised by the Whips,

 

Political institutions

 

 

1 Press gallery 2 Voting lobbies 3 Speaker's chair 4 Civil servants 5 Government front bench 6 Dispatch box 7 Opposition front bench 8 Galleries for MPs. 9 Public gallery 10 VIP gallery 11 Bar of House 12 House of Lords

 

The House of Commons

 

who are chosen from party MPs by the party leaders, and who are normally under the direction of a Chief Whip. Their duties include informing members of forthcoming parliamentary business; maintaining the party's voting strength in the Commons by seeing that their members attend all important debates or are 'paired' with the opposition (agreed matching numbers so that MPs need not be present in the House all the time); as well as conveying backbench opinion to the party leadership.

This line of communication is important if rebellion and disquiet are to be avoided. MPs will receive notice from the Whips' office of how important a particular vote is, and the information will be underlined up to three times. For example, a 'three-line whip' signifies a crucial vote, and failure to attend or comply with party instructions is usually regarded as a revolt against the party's policy. Party discipline is very strong in the Commons and less so in the Lords. But in both Houses it is essential to the smooth operation of party politics. A government with a large majority should not become complacent, nor antagonize its backbenchers. If it does so, a successful rebellion against the government or mass abstention from voting by its own side may destroy the majority and the party's policy.

Outside Parliament, party control rests with the national and local party organizations, which can be very influential. They promote the party at every opportunity, but especially at election time, when they are in charge of canvassing the public and electioneering on behalf of their party.

Parliamentary procedure

Parliamentary procedure in both Houses of Parliament is mainly based on custom, convention and precedent. It is also contained in standing orders which govern details of procedure, and which have been formulated over a long period of time.

The Speaker is the chief officer of the House of Commons, is elected by the MPs, and has full authority to interpret the rules and orders of the House. The Speaker is an elected MP who, on elevation to the Speaker's chair, ceases to be a political representative and becomes a neutral official. The parliamentary seat is not normally contested at a general election, although there have been exceptions to this convention. The Speaker protects the House against any abuse of procedure; may curtail debate in order that a matter can be voted on; has the power to adjourn the House to a later time: may suspend a sitting; controls the voting system; and announces the final result. In cases where there is a tie, the Speaker has the casting vote, but must exercise this choice in such a way that it reflects established conventions. The Speaker's position is very important to the orderly running of the House. MPs can be very combative and often unruly, to an extent that the Speaker is sometimes forced to dismiss or suspend a member from the House.

Debates in Parliament follow normal patterns. They are usually begun with a motion (or proposal) which, if supported, is then debated by the whole House. The matter is eventually decided by a simple majority vote after a division, which is called at the end of the discussion. MPs enter either the 'Yes' or 'No' lobby to record their vote, but they may also abstain from voting. Debates in the House of Commons used to be the occasionforthe actual making of policy. But this practice is now impossible because of the weight and complexity of government business.

The proceedings of both Houses of Parliament are normally open to the public, and may be viewed from the public and visitors' galleries. The transactions are published daily in Hansard (the Parliamentary 'newspaper'), which records most events verbatim, and are also widely commented upon by the media. The proceedings of both Houses are now televised, and radio transmissions may be broadcast live or at a later time in recorded form.

Legislative proceedings

The courts may occasionally extend the common law by their decisions. But the creation of new law and fundamental changes to existing law (outside European Community legislation) are the responsibility of Parliament. This mainly means the implementation of the sitting government's policies. But it can also cover wider matters of a non-party nature, and responses to European Community rulings.

A government will usually issue certain documents before the actual parliamentary law-making process commences. A Green Paper is a consultative document which allows interested parties to state their case before a bill is introduced into Parliament. A White Paper is not normally consultative in this wide sense, but is a preliminary document which itemizes the details of prospective government legislation.

A draft law, which has usually been drawn up by parliamentary and government civil servants, takes the form of a parliamentary bill. Most bills are public in that they relate to public or state policies. Private bills involve individual, corporate or local interests. Public bills may be introduced in either House of Parliament by the government or by private MPs in their personal capacity. A private member's bill, which is usually on a topic of interest to that MP, is normally defeated for lack of parliamentary time or support. But some important private members' bills have survived the various hurdles and have become law, such as Acts concerning homosexuality, abortion and sexual offences. A government will sometimes prefer a private member to introduce minor or controversial legislation, with a promise of governmental support in Parliament. As a rule, politically contentious public bills go through the Commons first, but some of an uncontroversial nature may be initiated in the - Lords. Whichever procedure is used, the bill must have passed through both Houses at some stage.

The Commons is normally the most important procedural step in this process. A bill will receive a formal first reading when it is introduced into the Commons by the government or a private member. After a variable period ranging from one day to several months, the bill is given its second reading after a debate on its general principles. An alternative at this stage is that an uncontroversial bill may be referred to a committee to see whether it warrants a second reading. After either of these methods, the bill is then usually passed to a standing committee for detailed discussion and amendment. As an alternative it can be referred for detailed analysis to the whole House sitting as a committee. This committee stage is followed by the report stage, during which further amendments to the bill may be suggested. The third reading of the bill considers it in its final form, usually on a purely formal basis. However, debate is still possible at this stage if demanded by at least six MPs. This delaying tactic may sometimes be used by the opposition parties to hold up the passage of a bill. But the government, in its turn, can introduce a 'guillotine motion' which cuts off further debate.

After the third reading, a Commons bill will be sent to the House of Lords. It will then go through broadly the same stages again, except for those steps which are unique to the Commons. The Lords can delay a non-financial bill for two sessions, or roughly one year. It can also propose amendments, and if amended the bill goes back to the Commons for further consideration. This amending function is an important power, and has been frequently used in recent years. But the Lords' role today is to act as a forum for revision, rather than as a rival to the elected Commons. In practice, the Lords' amendments can sometimes lead to the acceptance of changes by the government, or even a withdrawal of the bill.

When the bill has eventually passed through the Lords, it is sent to the monarch for the Royal Assent, which has not been refused since the eighteenth century. After the royal signature has been added, the bill becomes an Act of Parliament and is entered on the statute-book as representing the law of the land at that time.

This process from bill to Act may appear unduly drawn out. But it does normally avoid the dangers of hasty legislation. It ensures that the bill is discussed at all levels. It also allows the opposition parties to join in the legislative process, either by carrying amendments or sometimes by voting down a bill with the help of smaller parties and disaffected members of the govern­ment party.

Private bills are usually initiated by groups or organizations outside Parliament, such as local government authorities, which need special powers to carry out their business. The procedure for passing private bills is generally the same as for public bills, although in practice most of the work is done by committees. The sponsors or initiators must demonstrate the particular need for the bill, and any opposing interests must be heard during the

 

Preliminary White or Green Paper

HOUSE OF COMMON S

First reading of formal introduction of bill

Second reading

(debate on general principles)

Committee stage or whole House

of Commons sitting as committee

(detailed discussion and amendment)

Report stage

(amendments)

Third reading

(formal but debate possible)

HOUSE OF LORDS

 

MONARCH

ACT OF PARLIAMENT

 

From bill to Act of Parliament

 

legislative process. In theory, any individual can propose a private bill, but the time and expense involved usually render such a step unlikely.