Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). At its head is the Sovereign; it is bicameral, including an Upper House, called the House of Lords, and a Lower House, called the House of Commons. The House of Lords includes two different types of members—the Lords Spiritual (the senior clergy of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal (members of the Peerage); it is a wholly unelected body. The House of Commons, on the other hand, is a democratically elected chamber. The House of Lords and the House of Commons meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster (commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament"), in the British capital, London (more precisely, in the borough known as the City of Westminster). By constitutional convention, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister are drawn exclusively from the House of Commons or House of Lords.

Composition

At the head of Parliament is the British Sovereign. The Sovereign's role, however, is merely ceremonial; in practice, he or she always acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and other ministers, who are in turn accountable to the two Houses of Parliament.

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The Upper House, the House of Lords, is mostly made up of appointed members ("Lords of Parliament"). The whole House is formally styled The Right Honourable The Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled, the Lords Spiritual being clergymen of the Church of England and the Lords Temporal being Peers of the Realm. The Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal are considered separate "estates," but they sit, debate and vote together.

Related Topics:
Church of England - Peers of the Realm - Estates

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The Lords Spiritual formerly included all of the senior clergymen of the Church of England—archbishops, bishops, abbots and priors. Upon the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, however, the abbots and priors lost their positions in Parliament. All diocesan bishops continued to sit in Parliament, but the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847 and later acts provide that only the twenty-six most senior are Lords Spiritual. These twenty-six always include the incumbents of the "five great sees," namely, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Winchester. The remaining twenty-one Lords Spiritual are the most senior diocesan bishops, ranked in order of consecration.

Related Topics:
Sees - Archbishop of Canterbury - Archbishop of York - Bishop of London - Bishop of Durham - Bishop of Winchester - Consecration

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The Lords Temporal are all members of the Peerage. Formerly, they included hereditary peers, of the ranks of Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. The right of some hereditary peers to sit in Parliament was not automatic: after Scotland and England united into Great Britain in 1707, it was provided that all peers whose dignities had been created by English Kings could sit in Parliament, but those whose dignities had been created by Scottish Kings were to elect a limited number of "representative peers." A similar arrangement was made in respect of Ireland when that nation merged with Great Britain in 1801. But when Southern Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922, the election of Irish representative peers ceased. By the Peerage Act 1963, the election of Scottish representative peers also ended, but all Scottish peers were granted the right to sit in Parliament. Under the House of Lords Act 1999, only life peerage dignities (that is to say, peerage dignities which cannot be inherited) automatically entitle their holders to seats in the House of Lords. Of the hereditary peers, only ninety-two—the individuals exercising the offices of Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain, in addition to ninety hereditary peers elected by other peers—retain their seats in the House.

Related Topics:
Peerage - Peerage Act 1963 - Earl Marshal - Lord Great Chamberlain

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The Commons, the last of the "estates" of the Kingdom, are represented in the House of Commons, which is formally styled The Honourable The Commons in Parliament Assembled. The House consists of 646 members. Previously, the House consisted of 659 members, but the number of Scottish MPs was reduced by the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004. Each "Member of Parliament" or "MP" is chosen by a single constituency according to the First-Past-the-Post electoral system. Universal adult suffrage exists for those 18 and over; citizens of the United Kingdom, as well as citizens of the Republic of Ireland and of Commonwealth nations resident in the United Kingdom, are qualified to vote. The term of members of the House of Commons depends on the term of Parliament; a general election, during which all the seats are contested, occurs after each dissolution (see below).

Related Topics:
Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 - First-Past-the-Post - Suffrage - Republic of Ireland - Commonwealth nations - General election

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The three components of Parliament are supposed to be kept separate from each other; no individual may form a part of more than one component of Parliament. Lords of Parliament are legally barred from voting in elections for members of the House of Commons; furthermore, the Sovereign by convention does not vote, although there is no statutory impediment.

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