The Role Of The British Parliament

The United Kingdom in a democratic country, which means all the Britains have a say in how the country is run. Parliament represents the people. It is where they send their chosen representatives to represent thier views in the House of Commons.

What is Parliament 

              Parliament is where politicians (MPs) meet to decide laws and make decisions for the United Kingdom. It is not the same as the Government (which runs the country). One of the works Parliament does is to check that the Government is running the country properly.

 The essential role of the Parliament  

The main functions of Parliament are:

- To pass laws

- To provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government

- To scrutinise government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure

- To debate the major issues of the day

The organisation of the Parliament

The Queen :

            The Queen is the official Head of State. Britain has a constitutional monarchy where the Queen only rules symbolically. In reality, power belongs to Parliament. So, although the Queen 'opens' Parliament each year and laws are passed in her name, the Queen herself plays no part in determining decisions made in Parliament. The Queen has the final say on whether a bill becomes law. The last Monarch to reject a law that was wanted by both Houses of Parliament was Queen Anne who died in 1715.

 

The House of Lord

               The House of Lords is made up of people who have inherited family titles and those who have been given titles because of their outstanding work in one field or another. There are 675 members of the Lords. The main job of the House of Lords is to 'double check' new laws to make sure they are fair and will work.

House of Commons : 

               The House of Commons has 659 members who have been elected by local residents to represent an area of the country in Parliament. The election of all Members of Parliament (MPs) for each constituency (local area) is called a General Election. In the UK we vote for the best candidate in our local area to represent us in the house of commons The members are called MPs (Members of Parliament). Each MP represents one of 659 constituencies (areas) in the UK and is a member of a political party, such as New Labour or the Conservative party. The Commons is the most important place for discussing policies and making laws.

Primary sources

- http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/  

- http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/parliament-government/

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