Question 12: British Parliament: History. Functions

Plan:

• The English Parliament traces its origins to the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot.

• In 1066, William of Normandy brought a feudal system, a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics

• Magna Carta.

• In 1265, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester summoned the first elected Parliament. (Forty-shilling Freeholders).

• By the reign of Edward II, Parliament had been separated into two Houses: one including the nobility and higher clergy, the other including the knights and burgesses

• Scottish King James VI (James I of England), the countries both came under his rule but each retained its own Parliament.

• James I's successor, Charles I, quarrelled with the English Parliament English Civil War.

• Under Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth of England the House of Lords was abolished, and the House of Commons made subordinate to Cromwell.

• After Cromwell's death, the Restoration of 1660 restored the monarchy and the House of Lords.

• Mary II and William III the English Bill of Rights introduced a constitutional monarchy

• After the Hanoverian George I ascended the throne in 1714 through an Act of Parliament, power began to shift from the Sovereign, who had to rely on Parliament for support

• until the 19th century — the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an antiquated electoral system, under which constituencies of vastly different sizes existed.

1. The legislative authority, the Crown-in-Parliament, has three separate elements: the Monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons.

2. Royal Assent of the Monarch, represented by the government, is required for all Bills to become law

3. The Monarch also chooses the Prime Minister, who then forms a government from members of the houses of parliament. This must be someone who can command a majority in the House of Commons.

Functions

Compose laws

Laws can be made by Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament.

Laws, in draft form known as bills

The last stage of a bill involves the granting of the Royal Assent

Thus, every bill obtains the assent of all three components of Parliament before it becomes law

Parliament also used to perform several judicial functions.

The British Government is answerable to the House of Commons.

Question 13: Parliament of the United Kingdom. Elections

Plan:

-Total Members - 1,386 (740 Peers + 650 Members of Parliament (MPs)

-Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories.

- At its head is the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II.

-The parliament is bicameral. The House of Lords includes the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal

-The Queen is the third component of the legislature.

-Prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009 the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords.

-Both houses of the British Parliament are presided over by a speaker, the Speaker of the House for the Commons and the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords.

Election

The British government is elected for 5 years.

The prime minister appoints the date of election. The time is chosen to give as much advantage to the leading party as possible. A month before he with close advisers choose the day)

 Date is announced to the Cabinet

 Pr.M. formally asks the Monarch to dissolve Parliament  M.P. become unemployed, but the government offices continue to function.

 Election campaign lasts for three weeks

 Voting – on Polling Day (Thursday)

 The Leader of the winning party is invited to form the government.