PARLIAMENT (Legislature)

The main LEGISLATURE in the UK is called the HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.

This is important:

It is BICAMERAL. This simply means it contains TWO separate Legislative Chambers involved in making Law. (The Northern Ireland Assembly with 1 chamber is UNICAMERAL)
Both houses have very different membership , roles and powers.

You HAVE to know and understand these thoroughly.

Commons Chamber

political theatre; PMQ's in the Commons

The House of Commons is made up of 650 MP’S (Members of Parliament) Each M.P represents one of the 650 Constituencies in the United Kingdom.
These M.P’s are DIRECTLY ELECTED by the people at GENERAL ELECTIONS. These generally take place every 5 years. Winning this gives the winning party the AUTHORITY to rule
The Commons is the most POWERFUL and important Legislative chamber in the UK. Supreme Power, or SOVEREIGNTY, rests there. The UK Parliament is Sovereign in a way that the devolved Assemblies are not.
In this Parliamentary system the EXECUTIVE or GOVERNMENT comes almost entirely from the Commons.
The Prime Minister is, by CONVENTION, the leader of the largest political party at the election.

UK Constituencies 2019

WHAT IS A CONSTITUENCY?

A CONSTITUENCY is an electoral area within the UK.

The UK is divided into 650 constituencies
Each one is represented by ONE MP.
The MP is chosen at a GENERAL ELECTION and tends to serve a 5 year Parliamentary term.
In the UK General Elections are based on First Past the Post. This means that the candidate with the most votes wins at election.
Constituencies are based on population size rather than area. You can see on the map that they are much smaller in the densely populated South East of England and much larger in parts of Scotland and Wales.
MP's tend to represent their constituency in a number of ways - They would meet constituents at their 'surgeries' on a Friday.
They would also be expected to represent local businesses, schools, hospitals and support the interests and address the concerns of the constituents.

360 Degree tour of Chamber

Poor quality but very good documentary

PDF: Intro to Parliament

VIDEO: Introduction to House of Commons Chamber

VIDEO: House of Commons Chamber

VIDEO: The role of the House of Commons

VIDEO: The underlying principles of Parliament

It is an UN-ELECTED CHAMBER. (Very Important)
It had almost equal powers to the House of Commons in the past. However, these powers have been significantly reduced due to a number of key reforms.
BILLS have to be passed by BOTH houses in order to become Law. However, the Prime Minister can force a bill through using the Parliament Act if the Lords rejects it. This will be after a forced delay of ONE YEAR. This power of delay is one of the Lords key weapons and may force a Government to compromise rather than risk delaying a key bill.

You must remember that the Lords CANNOT completely reject a bill. They can only delay it.
The Lords main role is as an ADVISORY or REVISING CHAMBER on Legislation. It double checks prospective Legislation to make sure it will work.
A member of the House of Lords is called a PEER.
Its membership is not elected. Instead it is either appointed or in some cases inherited!
The Lords is made up of a mixture of mostly nominated LIFE PEERS, (members appointed for life due to their service to the country- culturally, politically, economically, socially). 92 HEREDITARY PEERS. (Hereditary means they are only there through being born to a Title—ie Duke) and 26 Archbishops and Bishops

360 Degree view of House of Lords Chamber

VIDEO: What is the meaning of the House of Lords?

VIDEO: How the chambers complement each other

VIDEO: What is the ROLE of the House of Lords?

VIDEO: Why have TWO Chambers?

Parliament's powers are as a direct result of the EVOLUTIONARY nature of the British Constitution. The power that the House of Commons now has is the result of centuries of historical change involving, negotiations with Kings, gradual reforms, protests and even a civil war. As a result the House of Commons now has a number of defined functions and powers. It is worth taking note of some of the historic developments that have led to the present:

EVOLUTION RATHER THAN REVOLUTION!

In the beginning...... hundreds of years ago... there was a MONARCH (King / Queen) with almost complete control!

Gradually the Monarch had to consult with his principal subjects more and more on matters of national importance. After all the King relied on the country for TAX.
By 1500 the monarch was meeting regularly with two separate Houses of Parliament to discuss issues.
The UPPER HOUSE: was made up of Hereditary Peers (Posh aristocrats) and the Senior clergy (churchmen)
The LOWER HOUSE of ‘Commons’ was made up of Elected men—usually 2 per county and 2 per large town.
Laws put forward by the King and passed by both houses was considered by the 1500's to be the Superior Law and had to be obeyed

From 1600 ....

GRADUALLY:

Parliament became supreme over the Monarch (King Charles 1 had even been beheaded to prove this fact.)
The Executive has become supreme over Parliament.

BY 1850...

By 1850 the monarch HAD TO :

Sign bills— even if they didn't like them.
Accept the Prime Minister and cabinet that had been chosen by Parliament and the electorate

20th Century!!

By the 20th Century things had changed even more:

The House of Lords lost its power to defeat bills in 1911. It could only delay not defeat following this.
By the end of the century it lost all but 92 of its hereditary Peers

The Government also proved that it come dominate with a good majority—controlling Parliamentary debates and legislation. Strong Prime Ministers like Thatcher and Blair could appear almost Presidential.

PARLIAMENT'S 5 KEY FUNCTIONS

Let Stephen Really Debate Parliament

VIDEO: Functions of Parliament: Revision

VIDEO: Parliament in 30 minutes (excellent revision)

Introduction

MP’s are simply MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. There are 650 currently in Parliament all elected in the 2019 GENERAL ELECTION.

The UK is divided into 650 electoral CONSTITUENCIES.
1 MP is chosen for EACH Constituency using First Past the Post
MP’s have a wide variety of roles. They :

LEGISLATE
SCRUTINISE
REPRESENT

2019 ELECTION RESULTS BY CONSTITUENCY

DOWNLOADABLE DETAILED MIND MAP
This could also be the role of a Backbencher

Sandra Osbourne MP- How an MP can represent

Find Your MP Weblink

Parliament Role of an MP Guide

PDF: Guide to Westminster

PDF: Parliament Basics

PDF: Introduction to Parliament

VIDEO: ROLE OF AN MP

VIDEO: HOW DO MP's REPRESENT?

VIDEO: MP's and their constituency role

VIDEO: M.Ps work in Parliament

VIDEO: What powers do MP's have?

VIDEO: What resources do M.Ps have access to?

VIDEO: Representing Constituents

Example of local representation by MP: Ian Paisley asks questions in Parliament regarding the threat of closure of Wrightbus a major manufacturer in his constituency

VIDEO: How do Constituents seek to influence MPs?

This is a good run through of some of the key roles of an MP. In this case it is Ed Davey- Lib Dem MP for Kingston Surbiton

What do recent Controversies mean for MP's?

M.P's have a very bad press - especially in recent years - and often for very valid reasons. Public discontent at MP's has been at all time highs. You should really be aware of the arguments for and against M.P's role. Do they represent? Do they provide value for money? Do they need reform?

FOR

MP’s have always had a hard time from the public and the Media. There are many areas they can be defended:

MP’s do work very long hours in an unforgiving environment. Many have been threatened and suffered trolling due to the controversy of Brexit. Many of stood down as MP's since.
Their workload is never ending and increasing in modern times. Email and Social media make it a never ending world of representation
So called career politicians have the added benefit of bringing great experience to the Commons and a devotion to their constituency.
An MP may also have a variety of other roles for example as a Cabinet Minister or a member of a committee.
They may have various interests to look out for. Some MP’s are determined environmentalists. Some have an interest in economic matters or relations with other countries.
Many MP’s have went into politics as they are truly passionate about local politics, making the country better or being able to raise key issues to the agenda.
Many people from different backgrounds are represented in Westminster.
Sometimes the decisions MP’s have to make are difficult and unpopular (Tax rises , tuition fees) But often they are necessary.
MP’s backgrounds are becoming slowly more representative.
There are more women MP's than ever before. 1 in 3 now are women. Although this is still short of being completely representative it is a lot better than many other legislatures and marks a huge improvement on even the 1990's when Parliament resembled 'a pale faced gentlemens club'. There has been recognition of family issues. A House of Commons nursery and better working hours (with better hours of debate) makes it easier to balance family life.
MP's from an ethnic background are steadily increasing with the first elected Sikh MP recently and a marked increase to 10% of MP's which is a steady improvement.
The proportion of state educated MP’s is also increasing.
While there may be a large proportion of MP's who have professional, university educated and often middle class background. Many see this as essential for a professional MP who has to be well briefed in terms of the things they will encounter.
There are also active encouragement of ethnic backgrounds and women to become candidates in all three big parties with quotas being used.

AGAINST

However some argue that MP’s should be criticised:

There have been an increasing number of CAREER POLITICIANS. Previously MP’s only served 1-2 terms. Now MP’s may serve up to 20 years in safe seats.
This length of service and desire to stay on in Parliament raises the loyalty to party ties in order to move into higher positions.
Their job is more comfortable than ever. They have purpose built accommodation in Portcullis house. They have a very good pension and salary (£62,000) and they have a large range of expenses that can be used including a second home in London.
The expenses scandal deeply dented public confidence in their MP’s
MPs are not representative of the wider population.
- Only 1/3rd are currently women (2020)
10% are from BAME ethnic background. This is still below the 14% figure for the country as a whole but is improving.
About 20% are from Private school backgrounds (2/3rds of the Conservative party have public school backgrounds)
90% are university educated and 1/3rd of these are Oxbridge educated
One major issue has been Brexit. This is catapulted the issue of representation into the public spotlight. MP's were highly divided over the issue - like the British public - With a non existent majority the backbenchers were empowered to hold up the whole Brexit process. While many applauded this many Brexiteers argued about the fairness of backbenchers in Parliament frustrating the democratic will of the people, as they saw it. in delivering Brexit.

BBC: Representation 2017 compared

CASE STUDY - MP's EXPENSES SCANDAL - DOWNLOAD

In 2008 a series of Newspaper reports brought scandal on Parliament. Unlike previous scandals it did not confine itself to one MP or one party but to the Commons as a whole. M.P's published expenses showed a huge amount of excess and corrupt practices including :

Paying for Duck houses on private lakes!
Continued payments for second houses which had been fully paid
Second houses within 20 miles of each other.
Employing Staff who were also family members

The public were disgusted and the Commons was held in disrepute. Several key changes were made including the Speaker stepping down and a new committee set up to handle change- Has it did enough though - or is widespread reform really needed?