(In the Uk) The Houses of Lords and Commons regarded together, or the
Building where they meet. (The Palace of Westmister).
Britain is administered from the Palace of Westmister in London. This
is also known as the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is made up of
two chambers - the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members
of the House of Lords are not elected; they qualify to sit in the House
because they are bishops of the Church of England, aristocrats who have
inherited their "seats" from their fathers, people with title, or senior
judges of the legal system. There has been talk of reform this century
because many Britons think that this system is undemocratic.
The House of Commons, by contrast, has 651 seats which are occupied by
Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the British public.
The United Kingdom is divided into constituencies, each of which has
an elected MP in the House of Commons.
Each of the major political parties appoints a representative (candidate)
to compete to each seat. Smaller parties may have a candidate in only a
few constiituencies. There may be five or more parties fighting for
one seat, but only one person - the candidate who gets the greatest
number of votes - can win. Some parties win a lot of seats and some win
very few, or none at all.
The Queen ,who is the Head of State, opens and closes the Parliament. All
new laws are debated (discussed) by MPs in the Commons, then debated in
the Lords, and finally signed by the Queen. All three are part of
Parliament in Britain.
The House of Commons:
There are 651 MPs in Britain, but the Chamber of the House of Commons is
quite small; it has seats for only 437, so when there is something
important to discuss it can become very crowded and MPs squeeze on to
the benches or sit on the steps. The House of Commons has a chairman,
called the Speaker, whose job is to keep the House in order. He or She
shouts "Order! Order!" When MPs start shouting at each other,or when the
discussion gets out of control. The Speaker sits in the centre at the
back, on a high chair, and can see the whole Chamber from this position.
The office of Speaker is neutral.
There are red lines running along each side of the Chamber. This means
that the Chamber is divided in two. Since Britain traditionally has two
main political parties, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party,
each party can have its own side! The party which is in the government
sits on the right. The two red lines on the floor must not be crossed,
to prevent either side attacking the other during a debate. MPs in
Britaindo not normally use physical violence, but the red lines are a
historical tradition : in the past, MPs used to carry swords into the
Chamber and the distance between the two lines is too wide for a sword
fight!
The most important MPs sit on the front benches and are therefore called
frontbenchers. Young and less experienced MPs sit on the back benches
and are known as backbenchers. The ministers of the Government sit on
the front bench to the right, whilst the Opposition frontbenchers sit
on the left. When the Prime Minister (the leader of the party in
government)or any other leading politician makes a speech, they
stand at the table in the centre , below the Speakerīs chair.These
seating arrangements have existed for hundred of years.
The Houses of Parliament
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