UK Parliament
Parliament consists of the Monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. It derived from the King’s Council in medieval times. The House of Commons is the elected house, and the House of Lords is unelected. The principal function of Parliament is to provide the personnel for government, elect the government, hold the government to account, pass legislation, subject policy and administration to scrutiny.
The United Kingdom Parliament is sovereign. Its laws must be enforced. The courts do not have the power to strike down laws as being inconsistent with constitutional principles.
The Human Rights Act has modified the principle to some extent in that laws may be declared to be incompatible with Convention rights. However, the pressure on Parliament has a moral obligation to modify only.
Historically, Parliament was dissolved and summoned by the sovereign after a general election, and dissolved largely at the Prime Minister’s direction by the sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister. In principle, a sovereign may refuse dissolution to a Prime Minister who has lost the support of the majority of the House of Commons.
The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 provides for fixed-term parliaments for five years. There are provisions whereby a parliament may be dissolved within five years if a government cannot be formed. Parliament sessions run annually, commencing in spring. Between sessions, parliamentary business is suspended.
The House of Commons sits five days a week with adjournments for Christmas, Easter, and for almost two months in summer. The House may be recalled in emergency circumstances.
Once Parliament is dissolved, the Monarch may summon a new Parliament. An adjournment suspends the House’s business but does not terminate it. If an adjournment, a debate may be used to introduce another topic for debate.
An adjournment takes place daily. Parliament is prorogued between the end of one session and the summoning of a new parliamentary session.
Under the Fixed Parliaments Act, an earlier general election may be called where a vote of no confidence is passed by two-thirds of members of the House, a majority in the House of Commons.
The parliamentary session opens with the State Opening of Parliament and the Queen’s Speech. The Queen’s Speech outlines the Government’s legislative proposals. The speech is then subject to a debate for a period of four to five days.
The post-summer recess commonly involves second readings of government bills. The post-Christmas session principally involves the committee stage and second readings of bills before the end of the parliamentary year. The main stages of legislation progress, although legislation may be carried over to a new session or parliamentary year.
The Speaker of the House of Commons is effectively the chairperson. The office of the Speaker is an ancient office. The Speaker is generally a senior member of the opposition party and is appointed with the agreement of the principal parties. The election of a Speaker and Deputy Speaker follows the convening of the new Parliament.
The Speaker is responsible for the conduct of proceedings and keeping order. The Speaker determines compliance with certain basic constitutional principles in relation to dealings between the Houses. The Speaker may enforce the rules of conduct and discipline members who breach them. Disorderly conduct, misconduct ranging from disorderly conduct to grossly disorderly conduct and obstruction may be the subject of sanctions.
Members may be suspended from the House for serious misconduct. Suspensions can range from five sitting days to 20 days and potentially for the remainder of the session for repeated misconduct.
The Leader of the House is responsible for the organization of Government business. The Leader will deal with parliamentary business and announce parliamentary business for the following period. The Leader is a Minister.
Party whips, including the Chief Whip and other whips, organize the business of the House to ensure that the government’s business is done and members attend and vote when required. Members from the government and opposition may “pair,” whereby both will be absent, so that their votes are canceled out, or if one is absent, the other abstains. These arrangements are made with the party whips.
Government members generally sit on one side of the House, while opposition and other non-government party members sit on the opposite side. Government Ministers sit on the front benches, and the opposition front bench consists of opposition spokespeople from the major opposition parties. Other members are backbenchers. Women have been qualified to sit in the House of Parliament since 1918.
Members of Parliament were unpaid from the early 18th century until 1911. In practice, holding office could bring valuable benefits. An independent Parliamentary Standards Body is responsible for salary matters. Members receive salaries and allowances, including secretarial and research allowances, traveling expenses, etc.
Members of Parliament are subject to a code of conduct that sets out the standards with which they are obliged to comply.
In theory, a member cannot resign or retire from their seat. Now, in practice, a procedure exists whereby a Member may accept an office under the Crown which obliges them to relinquish their seat, effectively acting as a resignation.
The Recall of MPs Act 2015 provides for a procedure by which voters may recall their MP and trigger a by-election. If the MP is convicted of an offense and is subject to a custodial sentence or certain other financial offenses, or has been suspended for a period of 10 days, the Speaker may notify the constituency. A recall petition may be invoked if 10% of eligible members sign it.
Government business takes priority for over three-quarters of sitting days. Other periods are set aside for opposition days and private members’ bills.
The Executive maintains strong control over Parliament through the whip system. In practice, it may be difficult for Parliament to scrutinize the Executive. The Government benches are likely to generally support government policy, and opposition members may have limited resources or capacity to hold the Government to account.
The Leader of the Opposition is paid from public funds, and financial assistance is provided to opposition parties to enable them to carry out their functions. This assistance is based on the number of seats and votes received.
The opposition is given primacy in determining business on 20 days per session. The opposition can set the terms of debate during certain periods on these days.
Members of Parliament vote by entering the yes or no lobbies. The Speaker announces the results, and votes are recorded in the Official Journal of the House.
The Official Journal, Commons Journal, contains records of the proceedings of the House and is published. The Commons Official Report contains an account of the proceedings, a transcript of the proceedings of the House. The Order Book provides for and sets out the proceedings of the House.
Broadcasting of Commons proceedings commenced in 1978 on the radio and in 1985 on television.
Petitions may be addressed to the House of Commons, requesting action by Members of Parliament on behalf of constituencies. They may be presented before the adjournment or before the end of each day’s business. Petitions are sent to the relevant Government department, and the department applies the petition and records the Government’s response in the Official Journal (Hansard).