The UK Parliament

The composition of the British Parliament

If you sat in the 6E class last year, you already learned that the British parliament, like the Austrian
one, is a so-called bicameral system. This means that it consists of (since 1332) of two chambers that
have different tasks and are composed differently or are formed differently. While in Austria the two
chambers are called the National and Federal Council, the British chambers are called the Unterhaus
(House of Commons) and Oberhaus (House of Lords). In Great Britain, the monarch also forms the
third branch of Parliament.

INDEX:

1 British Parliament

1.1 Magna Carta

1.2 The House of Commons
1.3 The Lords

2 Duties of both Houses

2.1 The House of Commons

The work of the House of Commons

2.2 The House of Lords

The work of the House of Commons

3 Austrian Parliament

3.1 National Council

3.2 Federal Council
3.3 Federal Assembly

1). Research the composition of the two chambers of the British Parliament online.
The Palace of Westminster has been a centre of power for over 900 years. First, I’ll talk about the
parliamentary sovereignty development: from absolute rule by the Sovereign, to Parliament asserting
its authority over the monarchy, through to a modern democratic legislature in a technological age.

Nobody set out to create Parliament. It developed naturally out of the daily political needs of the
English King and his government. Nor did it develop continuously over time but went through short
periods of rapid growth.

The development of Parliament over one thousand years, from the Anglo-Saxon Witan to the reign of
Elizabeth I. Yet, despite its unintentional and chaotic development, the modern British Parliament is
one of the oldest continuous representative assemblies in the world.

Before The House of Commons, or the House of Lords, there was just the King and his Barons, the
King could call on them whenever he wanted, but he didn't count on them becoming powerful.
The Lords started off as a kind of advisory council to the king, who was much more powerful
back then. They met up at Westminster every now and then to discuss matters of state, but in 1215
King John, was forced to sign the:

 Magna Carta, which directly forced him to obey the law and set up an advisory council of 25
men, sharing power with the nobility.

Trade became more and more important, leading to the rise of a new merchant class.
By the 14th century, Edward III had two groups of advisors divided into chambers:
The Lords and The Commons, made up of lesser knights and merchants.
This is why we have two houses in parliament.

Fifty years later Simon de Montfort rebelled against Henry the Third, and for the first
time invited representatives of the towns together with knights of the shires to his
1265 parliament.
These citizens met separately from the nobility and evolved in 1332 to:

 The House of Commons

The Commons is publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons
forms the government.

Members of the Commons (MPs) debate the big political issues of the day and proposals for new
laws. It is one of the key places where government ministers, like the Prime Minister and the
Chancellor, and the principal figures of the main political parties, work.

Generally, the decisions made in one House must be approved by the other. In this way the two-
chamber system acts as a check and balance for both Houses.

As time passed, the Commons became increasingly dominant, and the King became less powerful. In
1649 King Charles was even executed by the Commons.
The balance of power between the houses swung firmly towards the Commons. From that day on,
inheriting seats made the people feel like the Lords were only for the privileged.

In 1958 the life peerages act introduced women into the house and radically changed who was
in the Lords. From then on, any man or woman could come into the house based on what they had
achieved in their career.

The Lords act of 1999 reduced the number of hereditary peers in the house and stopped
Lords passing their seat to their own family.
A panel was made to help the Prime Minister decide who was brought into the house, so
that now the house is made up of people from all walks of life, political peers, crossbench
peers, as well as hereditary peers and bishops.
They all use their experience from inside and outside of parliament to check and challenge
government.

 The Lords

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. It is independent from, and
complements the work of, the elected House of Commons. The Lords shares the task of making and
shaping laws and checking and challenging the work of the government.
2). Watch the short documentaries "What is the House of Commons?" and "What is the House
of Lords?" on. Then indicate what the duties of the two chambers of the British Parliament are.

 The House of Commons

The UK public elects 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in
the House of Commons. MPs consider and propose new laws and can analyse government policies by
asking ministers questions about current issues either in the Commons Chamber or in Committees.

 The work of the House of Commons

Members of the Commons debate the big political issues of the day and proposals for new laws, such
as:

 Parliament's role: check and challenge the work of the Government (scrutiny), make and
change laws (legislation), debate the important issues of the day (debating) and check and
approve Government spending (budget/taxes)

 Making laws: The House of Commons involvement in the making of laws is seen in the
previous step before it is finally approved by the monarch.

> Consideration of amendments: If the Lords has made changes to the draft law, it is sent to
the Commons to agree. The Commons may accept the Lord’s change, make its own change
in its place, or reject it. Any Commons changes are sent back to the Lords. There may be
several rounds of this process, known as ‘ping pong'

 Committees: much of the work of the House of Commons and the House of Lords takes
place in committees, made up of around 10 to 50 MPs or Lords. These committees examine
issues in detail, from government policy and proposed new laws, to the economy.

 Briefing Notes: this are brief, authoritative notes covering a range of issues relevant to the
work and procedures of the House of Commons

 Principal officers and staff: This section outlines a number of key roles in Parliament.

> The Clerk of the House sits at the Table of the House, in the left-hand chair, looking
towards the Speaker's Chair. The historic role of the Clerks at the Table is to record the
decisions of the House which they continue to do. This is not to be confused with Hansard,
which is a record of what is said. The Clerks at the Table are consulted by the Chair,
Ministers, Whips, and Members generally, on any matter that may arise in the conduct of a
sitting.

Responsibilities:
  Entering into contracts and leases, as well as holding all the House's property (for
example, makes the Clerk the legal owner of Big Ben).

 As Accounting Officer for the House of Commons: Administration Estimate the

Clerk has personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the expenditure
of public money.

> The Leader of the House of Commons is a government minister whose main role is
organising government business in the Commons. The Leader of the House does this
by working closely with the government's Chief Whip.

Responsibilities:

 Scheduling business
 Committee membership
 Deputising for the Prime Minister

 The House of Lords

The House of Lords is the second chamber of UK Parliament. It plays a crucial role in examining
bills, questioning government action, and investigating public policy.

 The work of the House of Lords

It is independent from, and complements the work of, the elected House of Commons. The Lords
shares the task of making and shaping laws and checking and challenging the work of the
government.

 Making laws: Members spend more than half their time in the House considering bills
(draft laws). All bills have to be considered by both Houses of Parliament before they can
become law. During several stages, members examine each bill, line-by-line, before it
becomes an Act of Parliament (actual law). Many of these bills affect our everyday lives,
covering areas such as welfare, health, and education.

 In-depth consideration of public policy: Members use their extensive individual

experience to investigate public policy. Much of this work is done in select committees
- small groups appointed to consider specific policy areas. Many select committee meetings
involve questioning expert witnesses working in the field which is the subject of the inquiry.
These meetings are open to the public.

 Holding government to account: Members examine the work of the government during
question time and debates in the chamber, where government ministers must respond. The
public is welcome to visit and sit in the galleries overlooking the chamber during business.

 Principal officers and staff:

> The Clerk of the Parliaments (Lords) is the most senior official in the House of Lords. The
Crown appoints him as head of the permanent administration and the chief procedural
 adviser to the House. It is a role similar to that of a chief executive in a commercial business
and with a number of administrative and management responsibilities:

 Accounting Officer and Corporate Officer of the House of Lords.

 Employing staff in the Lords
 Keeping the official records of the membership and business of the House
 Offering expert advice on House procedure (the formal and informal rules of its everyday
activities)
 Ensuring the text of Acts is accurate.

> The Leader of the House is a member of the Cabinet and the most senior member of the
government in the Lords, responsible for its business in the House. She leads a team of about
25 ministers and whips. Responsibilities:

 Leading the government benches in the House of Lords

 Conduct of government business in the Lords (jointly responsible with the Chief Whip)
 Repeating in the Lords statements made by the prime minister to the Commons
 Giving guidance to the House on matters of order and procedure
 Taking part in formal ceremonies in the House, such as the State Opening of Parliament
 Chairman, Board of Trustees for Chevening

The Leader also has obligations to the House as a whole. She expresses its collective feelings
on formal occasions by giving motions of thanks and congratulations. She also gives
procedural advice, e.g., in disputes over who will speak next during questions. The Leader is
available to assist and advise all Lords.

Palace of Westminster

The iconic Palace of Westminster is the seat of the British Parliament. The neo-Gothic building was
constructed between 1840 and 1870 after the previous building was almost completely destroyed in a
major fire in 1834. One of the architects was Sir Charles Barry, who was also responsible for the
construction of Highclere Castle. Among other things, this castle was the location for the well-known
television series Downton Abbey.

Originally, the Palace of Westminster served as the residence of the English monarchs, but after one
fire King Henry VIII moved to the Palace of Whitehall, which later also burned down. So, you see
how important the fire department is.

Only the Jewel Tower and Westminster Hall remain from the medieval building. Further well-known
parts of the building are the chambers of the lower and upper house, the impressive Victoria Tower,
and the Elizabeth Tower with the famous Big Ben Clock.
Because the Palace of Westminster is in a state of disrepair, it is currently being (just like the Austrian
parliament building) extensively renovated. The works do not only take several years, but also cost
billions of pounds.

3). To repeat: On the website of the Austrian Parliament, take a look at which two chambers it
consists of, how they are composed and what their tasks are.

The Austrian Parliament has two chambers, the National Council, and the Federal Council, who
jointly represent the legislative power. The Federal Assembly is composed of the 183 Members of the
National Council and the 61 Members of the Federal Council. It meets every six years for the
swearing-in of the Federal President.

 The National Council

The National Council has 183 Members elected for a legislative period of five years. Jointly with the
Federal Council it represents the legislative power at federal level.

 Legislation and Control: responsible for legislation at the federal level. Elected by the
people it also has important control functions. It analyses the work of the Government by
various means, such as urgent questions. Moreover, it can withdraw its confidence from the
entire Government or individual Government Members and thus force them to step down.

Members of this council can address resolutions to the Government to raise political questions
of concern to them. The supervision of the financial management of federal authorities and
institutions is exercised by the Court of Audit on behalf of the National Council.

 Transparency: to ensure the transparency of political processes and decisions. Stage on

which the different positions of the various parties are presented. As a result, most of its
sittings are open to the public, and anyone interested has access to the items of business
transacted by the National Council.

 The Legislative Period: comes to an end after five years at the latest. However, the National
Council can decide at any time to dissolve by a simple majority. Besides, the Federal President
may dissolve the National Council prematurely upon a proposal by the Federal Government.
However, this has never happened in the Second Republic.

 Sessions of the National Council: They start in mid-September and last until mid-July of
the following year. Yet, the Federal President may assemble it for extraordinary sessions. This
must be done at the request of the Federal Government, the Federal Council or at least one
third of the Members of the National Council.

 Principal officers and staff: Newly elected Members take office when the National Council
is sworn in at its constitutive meeting.

To accomplish their various tasks, a minimum of five Members of the National Council may
unite to form a parliamentary group. A membership of five is also the requirement for the
exercise of certain parliamentary rights, such as the right to table private Members’ motions or
to move urgent questions or urgent motions.
 The Presidents of the National Council: At the beginning of a legislative period the National
Council elects from its midst the Presidents. The three strongest parties in the National Council
make proposals for the election of the Presidents, which are normally accepted by the plenary.
Even though, every Member could be elected President.

 The Federal Council

The Federal Council has 61 members. Its major responsibility is the representation of the Federal
Provinces’ interests in the legislative process at federal level. This is why it is also referred to as the
Chamber of Provinces. Its members are delegated by the Provincial Diets of the nine Federal
Provinces.

 The Federal Council’s Right of Objection: shares the legislative power with the National
Council. It can object to bills adopted by the National Council, but this is only a “suspensive”
veto, since the National Council can overrule the Federal Council objection by repeating its
previous decision (“overruling a veto”). In some cases, however, the Federal Council has an
“absolute” veto:
 Constitutional laws or clauses restricting the competences of the Provinces
 Legal provisions affecting the Federal Council itself.
 State treaties that regulate matters falling within the autonomous sphere of competence of
the provinces.

 Legislative Initiatives and Resolutions of the Federal Council: it can address legislative
initiatives to the National Council, which are subjected to the same legislative process as all
other bills.

 Principal officers and staff: To cope with their many tasks the Members of the Federal
Council can form parliamentary groups. The minimum number of members required to do so
is five, and smaller groups require an affirmative decision of the Federal Council.

The Members of the Federal Council are elected by the Diets of the individual Federal
Provinces for the duration of the legislative period, of the Diet in question. They need not be
Members of the Provincial Diet that delegates them but must be eligible for it. In the exercise
of their function, they are not bound by any directives

The legal position as a Member of the Federal Council begins at the time of their election by
the respective Provincial Diet and ends with the legislative period, by resignation or loss of
seat in consequence of a decision of the Constitutional Court.
The Provincial Diet also elects a deputy member for each Member of the Federal Council who
will take their seat if it falls vacant.

The Presidents of the Federal Council: it is the Member ranking first on the list of Members
delegated by the Province currently in the chair.
The Federal Council elects from among its members two representatives, who bear the title of Vice-
President, and at least two secretaries and two whips.

Is in charge of the Rules of Procedure and enforces compliance with them, has authority over the
rooms in the Parliament Building used by the Federal Council and its committees.
 The Federal Assembly

Under the Federal Constitutional Law, the Federal Assembly has five functions, which for the most
part refer to the office of the Federal President:

 Inaugurates the Federal President, who is directly elected by popular vote.

 At the request of the National Council, decides to hold a referendum on the deposition of the
Federal President.
 It decides, also at the request of the National Council, whether the Federal President should be
prosecuted for a specific action
 or impeached for a violation of the Federal Constitution before the Constitutional Court.
 The Federal Assembly is also responsible for declaring war.