Parliament

The Westminster Parliament is probably one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world, dating from the 13th Century.

From the 14th Century, parliamentary government in the United Kingdom has been based on a bicameral system. Bicameral means that two chambers exist, in Westminster these are The House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house) sit separately and are constituted on entirely different principles. The relationship between the two Houses is governed largely by convention but is in part defined by the Parliament Acts.

enlarge image

The legislative process, or the making of law, involves both Houses of Parliament and the Monarch.
If you want to read about Visits to Parliament, click here.

The main functions of Parliament are to:

• Legislate - or make all United Kingdom Laws.
• Legitimising the work of government.
• Protect the public and safeguard the rights of individuals.
• Scrutiny of government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure.
• Examine European proposals before they become law.
• Hear appeals in the House of Lords, the highest Court of Appeal in Britain
• Act as a 'Sounding Board' for the UK debating the major topical issues of the day.

Parliament has a maximum duration of five years. At any time up to the end of this period, a general election can be held for a new House of Commons. To find out more information about the work of Parliament, visit Parliament's own website at www.parliament.uk

Other Parliament's or Assembly's exist in Wales www.wales.gov.uk (opening in a new browser and so on), Scotland www.scotland.gov.uk and Northern Ireland www.niassembly.gov.uk

Members of Parliament and the House of Commons

All Members of Parliament, like myself, sit in the House of Commons, which is the elected part of the United Kingdom’s bi-cameral Parliament. There are currently 646 MPs, corresponding to approximately one for every 92,000 people, or one for every 68,000 parliamentary electors.
The political party with the most MPs in the House of Commons is the governing party, led by the Prime Minister. They sit on one side of the Chamber facing the Opposition. The Speaker, who controls proceedings, sits on a raised chair between the Government and Opposition.

The Speaker

The Speaker presides over the House of Commons and is responsible for keeping order during debates and ensuring that the rules of the House are obeyed. The Speaker acts impartially and protect the right of all MPs to speak during debates. Elected at the start of each new Parliament by all the members of the Commons the Speaker will be a respected senior MP. Once elected, however, the Speaker ceases to represent any political party.

My Role In the House of Commons

enlarge image

In the House of Commons , I sit on the Government benches as part of the Governing Labour Party. I represent my constituents in various ways, here are some of them:

• Asking Questions to Ministers about Government Policy.
• Participating in Debates.
• Signing Early Day Motions.
• Meetings with Minister on behalf of Constituents (formal and informal).
• Representing Constituents in Written form to the Public Authorities to try to resolve individual problems.
• Scrutinising Legislation on Committees.

Committees

Committees are small groups of Members of Parliament which are set up in order to discuss, examine or advise upon specific public policy issues or pieces of legislation. The political membership of each committee is in proportion to the state of the parties in the whole House, so the government will always have a majority. The committee system allows specialised groups to carry out tasks that the House or government, acting as a whole, could not carry out effectively.
A large number of committees perform a variety of functions:

• Standing Committees examine legislation in detail as it passes through the House
• Select Committees allow MPs to examine government policy and hold the Government to account
• Backbench committees provide a forum in which MPs from individual parties can meet to discuss party policy in particular areas.

I am currently on the Welsh Affairs Committee, Procedure Committee, and the Justice Committee.

Government

If you'd like to find more details about recent government announcements, you should start at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm

Alternatively, try the Prime Minister's excellent website at www.number-10.gov.uk this is updated very frequently and provides information on a range of government business and a history of Prime Minister's of the United Kingdom