British Parliament

Parliament is the legislative organ and is constitutionally composed of the Monarch (the Sovereign), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The Queen in Parliament represents the supreme authority within the United Kingdom. The Parliament at Westminster legislates for the United Kingdom, for any one of the constituent countries, or for any combination of them.

The House of Commons has 650 elected Members of Parliament (MPs), each representing local constituencies in England (523), Scotland (72), Wales (38) and Northern Ireland (17). The law relating to Parliamentary elections is contained in substance in the Representation of the People Act, 1949, as amended. British elections are usually fought between political parties, not

individuals. Any British subject aged 21 or over, not otherwise disqualified (as for example, members of the House of Lords, certain clergy, undischarged bankrupts, civil servants; holders of judicial office, members of the regular armed services and the police forces) may be elected a member of Parliament. People who want to be elected to Parliament need to be nominated by one of the main political parties. A candidate has to put down a deposit of 500 pounds and collect ten signatures from residents in the constituency where he wants to stand. A candidate who gets less than 5 per cent of the total votes loses his deposit.

Members of Parliament have been paid salaries since 1911. The rate has lately been nearly twice the average industrial worker’s wages. Since 1965 the allowances for travel, living in London, and paying part-time secretaries and research assistants, have all been increased.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is elected by the members from the members to preside over the House immediately after each new Parliament is formed. He is an impartial arbiter over Parliamentary procedure and the traditional guardian of the rights and privileges of the House of Commons. The House of Commons seems to have most power within Parliament. Any member of the House may introduce a Bill. The maximum life of the House of Commons has been restricted to 5 years since the Parliament Act 1911.

Each session of Parliament is usually opened in the House of Lords. The House of Lords or the Upper House is made up of the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Temporal consist of hereditary peers who have inherited their titles; life peers who are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Government for various services to the nation. Life peers were created by the Crown under the Life Peerages Act, 1958; and the Law Lords of Appeal (Law Lords) who become life peers on their judicial appointments. The latter serve the House of Lords as the ultimate court of appeal. This appeal court consists of some nine Law Lords who hold senior judicial office. They are presided over by the Lord Chancellor and they form a quorum of three to five when they hear appeal cases. The Lords Spiritual include the two Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the three Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, and 21 most senior of the established Church of England. The House of Lords is not an elective body. The House of Lords like the Monarch has now lost most of its powers and cannot influence the process of decision- making in Parliament.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20