Your Politics Guide

Structure: The House of Commons is the lower chamber of Parliament and is made up of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs), each representing a constituency.
Selection of Members: MPs are directly elected by the public in general elections using the First Past the Post electoral system. Each MP serves a term of up to five years.
Leadership: The Commons is presided over by the Speaker, who is elected by MPs and is responsible for maintaining order during debates. The Prime Minister, who is the head of government, is usually the leader of the party with the most seats in the Commons.

Structure: The House of Lords is the upper chamber and is made up of 844 members. The number of seats within the Lords is not fixed.
Selection of Members: Members are not elected. Instead, they are either appointed, inherit their position, or hold it by virtue of office.
- Life Peers: Appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. They hold their titles for life and make up the majority of the Lords.
- Hereditary Peers: They inherit their titles through family lineage. Since the House of Lords Act 1999, only 92 hereditary peers remain.
- Bishops: 26 bishops of the Church of England have seats within the House of Lords.
Leadership: The Lords is presided over by the Lord Speaker.

Legislation: The Commons is the primary chamber for introducing and passing new laws. All legislation must be approved by the Commons (they have the final say).
Scrutiny: Parliament are able to hold the government to account through questioning and debates in the House of Commons.
Select Committees: These committees are groups within Parliament that examine specific areas of government policy or administration. They provide detailed scrutiny and also have the power to call witnesses, request documents, produce reports on their findings, and at times they advise the government. An example of a select committee is the Public Accounts Committee which scrutinises government spending.
Representation: MPs represent the interests of their constituents. This is done through raising issues within the House of Commons or voting on legislation. Another way they represent their constituents is through holding "surgeries." This is where they meet with constituents to discuss their concerns and offer assistance.
Budget and Taxation: The Commons has exclusive control over financial matters. This includes the approval of government spending and taxation.
Confidence and Supply: The government must maintain the confidence of the Commons to remain in office. This means that they have to keep the support of the majority of MPs. If this is lost, it may lead to a vote of no confidence with the government being removed or restructured.

Legislation: The Lords holds the power to review, amend, or even delay legislation passed by the Commons. However, they cannot permanently block bills. They may suggest changes and delay most bills for up to one year.
Scrutiny: Provides detailed scrutiny of legislation, often drawing on the expertise of its members. The Lords are not elected, therefore their scrutiny has the opportunity to be more thorough as they don't have to worry about re-election. As a result, they can focus more on the quality of legislation rather than political considerations.
Debate: In the House of Lords, they offer a platform for debate on public policy issues. These debates are able to influence government opinion, but do not have binding power.
Money Bills: The Lords cannot amend or reject "money bills" (financial legislation), which must become law within a month of being sent from the Commons. This was established in the Parliament Act 1911 and further reinforced in the Parliament Act 1949.

Structure of Parliament