Who rules //
What is Parliament?
You often hear Parliament mentioned on the news when reporters are talking about politics. But what is it and why is it so important? Parliament is basically where the views of the public are represented. It's where MPs meet to discuss and debate all the issues of concern to the country.
The Houses of Parliament comprise the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Two houses
The House of Commons
The British Parliament at Westminster in London is split into two parts: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is where all the MPs who have been elected by the people meet, debate and discuss new laws.
The House of Lords
The House of Lords is where people called 'peers' meet. Peers are unelected people, many of whom have titles such as lord or bishop. They check on the laws that the government is making and can change them. Peers either inherit their titles or are given them as rewards.
Reform
There have been calls for changes to be made to the way the House of Lords works. Many agree that it is a good idea to have a second house for debates and decisions to be checked but worry because the peers aren't actually elected by people. When the Labour government came into power in 1997, it began to make a series of changes.
Losing power
Most peers with inherited titles lost their right to debate and take votes in the House of Lords. There were originally 750 peers, but that was reduced to just 92. Since then no further changes have been made, although several proposals have been put forward including people directly voting members to the House of Lords and peers all being appointed by the prime minister and an independent group.
The monarchy
Queens, kings, princes, princesses, palaces and castles. It all sounds like a fairytale, out of this world and some people think it is. Why? Well, the monarch used to be a really powerful person in the past but this isn't the case anymore. The Queen isn't involved in active decision-making about affairs in the UK.
What does the Queen do?
The Queen's role is mostly ceremonial. She opens and closes Parliament, asks the leader of the winning party in an election to become prime minister, signs off laws, meets important people from other countries and gives special awards called honours to people who have done good work for the UK.
Key Points
- Parliament consists of two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
- The House of Commons is where MPs meet and the House of Lords is where peers meet.
- Peers are not elected. They either inherit their titles or get appointed.
- The Queen performs the traditional and ceremonial aspects of Parliament.
- Backbenchers are the ordinary MPs with no special roles.
Big Question
- The Peers are unelected. Do you think it's right that a group of people who haven't been chosen by the public should be able to influence how the UK is run?
