The two Houses
- The House of Commons has 650 elected Members of Parliament (MPs), one for each constituency. It is the more powerful house.
- The House of Lords is unelected. Most members are life peers appointed for their expertise, plus some Church of England bishops. It revises and scrutinises laws.
- The Speaker chairs debates in the Commons and is politically neutral.
- The government is formed by the largest party. The largest party not in government is the official opposition, which challenges the government.
How a bill becomes law
- A bill is a proposed law. Most are government bills; backbench MPs can introduce Private Members' Bills.
- Stages: first reading (introduced), second reading (main debate), committee stage (examined line by line), report stage (amendments), third reading (final vote). Then the same stages in the other House.
- Finally, the monarch gives Royal Assent, and the bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
- The Lords can delay most bills by about a year, but can't block them forever, because the Commons is elected.
Scrutinising the government
- Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) happen every Wednesday when Parliament is sitting.
- Select committees investigate government departments. Debates and written questions also hold ministers to account.
- Frontbenchers are ministers and shadow ministers; backbenchers are other MPs. Whips make sure MPs vote with their party.
Guernsey
- Guernsey is a Crown Dependency, not part of the UK. It makes its own laws in the States of Deliberation, and the UK is responsible for its defence and international relations.
Key terms
- Bill
- A proposed law.
- Act of Parliament
- A bill that has passed through Parliament and received Royal Assent.
- Royal Assent
- The monarch's formal approval of a bill.
- Backbencher
- An MP who isn't a minister or shadow minister.
- Select committee
- A group of MPs or peers that investigates government departments.
- Official opposition
- The largest party not in government.
- Whip
- An MP who makes sure party members vote with the party.
- Speaker
- The politically neutral chair of the House of Commons.