Британский Парламент

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The British Parliament

History

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created on 1 January 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union 1800. The principle of ministerial responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice.

Where is Parliament?

The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, is in the centre of London. As well as the home of the UK Parliament, it is also a royal palace and former residence of great kings. The Palace is one of the most iconic buildings in the world and includes the green-coloured House of Commons Chamber and the red-coloured House of Lords Chamber where political decisions are made to this day. It also includes the famous Clock Tower, popularly known as Big Ben.

What happens in Parliament?

The main work of Parliament is to make laws, debate topical issues and look at how our taxes are spent to help run the country. The issues discussed in Parliament affect us all: health, the environment, transport, jobs, schools, crime.

It consists of

The House of Commons

The House of Commons The second House is the House of Commons. The 651 Members of Parliament (MPs) who sit in the Commons are elected representatives of the British people. Each MP represents one of the 651 constituencies into which the UK is divided. The House of Commons has a maximum term of five years, at the end of which a general election must be held. However, a general election can be called in the government at any time. MPs sit on parallel rows of seats known as benches with those who support the government on the one side and the opposition on the other. The important persons are the front-benchers, the less important ones are the back-benchers. The Commons` main functions are to define and to pass the laws and regulations governing the UK and to examine closely all the activities of the government.

The House of Lords

The House of Lords The first one, which is less important, is the House of Lords. It can be described as politically conservative. It consists of different groups. There are the Lord Spiritual. Those are archbishops and bishops. Furthermore the Lords Temporal. These are hereditary peers, which got their titles from their fathers or grandfathers, and life peers, which got their titles for their whole life, and finally there are the Lords of Appeal, which are the High Court Judges. The Lords` main functions are to examine and to discuss the Bills introduced in the House of Commons. They can also delay the legislation for a year, but they can´t stop those Bills completely. They have also the function to introduce Bills which are mostly unimportant and non-controversial. They must approve a Bill, before it becomes an act.

The Queen

In Britain the Queen is the Head of State, but in fact she does not rule the country as she has no power. The Queen is a symbol of the country history and its traditions. She is very rich. She travels about the united kingdom, meets different people and visits schools, hospitals and other special places.

The Party System

Labour Party

The second big party is the Labour Party , which is left of centre and stands for equality, for the social weaker people and for more government involvement in the economical issues.

Conservative Party

One of the two big parties is the Conservative Party , also known as the Tories , which is right of centre and standing for hierarchical interference in the economy. They would like to reduce income tax and the give a high priority to national defense and internal law and order. A famous Tory is John Major, the former Prime Minister.