The legislature, or lawmaking body, of the United Kingdom and many other nations is called a parliament. The word parliament is related to the French verb parler, which means “to speak.” Parliaments are places where elected representatives of the people meet to speak, to debate, and to make laws. Many modern parliaments are modeled on that of the United Kingdom, which is one of the oldest parliaments still in existence.

Structure

Most parliaments are bicameral, which means that they consist of two separate houses of legislators. Great Britain's Parliament is made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The upper house, or House of Lords, is the older of the two parts. It originally consisted of the nobility and clergy who were the closest advisers to the monarch. Until 1999 the House of Lords consisted mostly of members who inherited their positions. Since then it has been made up mainly of people chosen by the monarch in recognition of their outstanding achievements. Other members include important clergy of the Church of England as well as the country's senior judges. The judges are known as Law Lords. They constitute the highest court in the United Kingdom. The presiding officer is the lord chancellor, or the speaker of the House of Lords, who may take part in debates and votes. In addition to serving in Parliament, the lord chancellor is also a member of the cabinet and the chief administrator of the courts. The House of Lords was at one time the more powerful of the two houses. Over the centuries it lost much of its power to the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is the real authority. The members of the House of Commons are elected by the people. The country's chief executive is the prime minister, who is a member of Parliament and who is the leader of the majority party. The prime minister chooses members from both houses to serve as the ministers, or heads of the various departments of the government. These members are known as the cabinet. The House of Commons can impose taxes and vote money to, or withhold it from, the various public departments and services. The primary function of the House of Commons is to make laws and to debate the major issues of the day.

In the House of Commons the members sit on benches in rows facing each other. The government ministers and their supporters sit on one side of the room, and the opposition sits on the other. One member is chosen by the others to serve as the speaker. The speaker makes sure that there is fair play between the two sides and orderly debate. On being chosen speaker he or she is expected to cut off all party ties in order to be impartial.

Each party has a whip, who makes sure that members attend the sessions during votes. There is also an officially recognized leader of the opposition, a member of the largest minority party.

Members of both houses also serve to keep a check on the prime minister and other government leaders. A certain portion of most sessions is devoted to a period in which members can ask questions of specific government ministers.

How laws are made

Proposed legislation usually originates with the cabinet. Every bill gets a public reading, which is basically an order to have it printed. At the second reading the House of Commons debates the bill. The bill is then sent to a committee, where it is examined line by line. Committees are organized in relation to the cabinet departments—defense, foreign policy, agriculture, energy, environment, and so forth. In some cases the whole house may act as a committee.

After the committee reviews the bill it is sent back to the House of Commons, where it is read again. If it is approved, the bill is sent to the House of Lords. If the Lords make any changes to the bill, the bill is sent back to the Commons, where the changes are discussed. Bills may go back and forth several times. Once both houses agree on a bill it is sent to the monarch to be approved. If it is approved then the bill becomes a law. Bills originating in the Lords follow much the same procedure, but the entire house usually participates at the committee stage, as the Committee of the Whole House.

History

The beginnings of the English Parliament have been traced to the witenagemot of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England. This body was a council made up of wise men, mainly nobles and the clergy. The members were not elected. Originally, each of the several kingdoms that then existed in England held such a council. After the land was united into a single nation in the 9th century, the witenagemot became a national council.

Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the witenagemot was replaced by a body called the Curia Regis (king's court). It was composed of officers of state, clergy, and feudal landlords whom the king chose to summon. With his council the king discussed affairs of state.

The separation of government functions began in England in the early 13th century. The Magna Carta, a document approved by England's King John in 1215, was a historic statement of people's rights under the law. It led to the creation of the Court of Common Pleas to address people's complaints. Then came the establishment of the king's council (today's cabinet) as a separate body. With this division of powers, Parliament began to focus entirely on legislative matters.

Over time the power of Parliament grew. People started to give more authority to laws passed by Parliament than laws passed by the king and his council. Discussion of bills and petitions usually took place in the absence of the king. It became customary for the nobles and higher clergy to meet in one chamber, or house, while knights and town leaders met in another. These separate meetings were the origin of the two houses of Parliament, the Lords and the Commons. In 1689 Parliament passed a law that became known as the English Bill of Rights. This act officially gave Parliament authority over the monarch.

Most countries that were once ruled by Great Britain established governments that mirrored the British system. Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand are among the former British colonies that have parliaments. (See also England; political systems.)