Government and Politics

The UK Parliament The UK Parliament meets in Westminster, London. It has two parts – the House of Commons and the House of Lords, plus the monarchy. The House of Commons is made up of 650 MPs and the House of Lords of around 760 Lords or as they are sometimes known peers.

What is the Role of the Monarch? Head of State Summons, prorogues and dissolves Parliament and signs bills passed by the UK Parliament, Northern Irish Assembly and Scottish Parliament Head of the judiciary power Commander-in-chief of the armed forces The supreme governor of the established Church of England

Besides the Monarch, what are the other two decision making bodies of the Parliament? Solve the politician jigsaw to see some of the most important figures of the House of Commons.

Theresa May David Cameron Prime Minister, Leader of the Conservative Party (since 13 July 2016) David Cameron Former Prime Minister of the UK (2010-2016)

Leader of the Labour Party Shadow Prime Minister) Tim Farron Jeremy Corbyn Leader of the Labour Party Shadow Prime Minister) Tim Farron Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) (2010 – 4 July 2016) Nigel Farage Former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) (2010 – 4 July 2016) Boris Johnson Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (since 13 July 2016) Former Mayor of London

Elections You can vote if: You can be an mp if: You are over 18 You are a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen living in the UK You are not a member of the House of Lords You are not convicted of crime You are over 18 You are a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen living in the UK You are not a civil servant, member of clergy, armed forces, police You are not bankrupt You have not served more than one year in prison Paid 500 GBP deposit

First Past the Post System Also known as „winner-takes-all” system. Voters put a cross on a ballot paper next to their favoured candidate and the candidate with the most votes in the constituency wins. All other votes count for nothing.

Advantages of the FPTP Voting Votes are simple to count so it doesn't cost much to administer. It doesn't take very long to count all the votes, so results can be declared a handful of hours after polls close. The voter can clearly express a view on which party they think should form the next government. It tends to produce a two-party system which in turn tends to produce single-party governments, which don't have to rely on support from other parties to pass legislation. It excludes extremist parties from representation in the legislature. Unless an extremist minority party’s electoral support is geographically concentrated, it is unlikely to win any seats under FPTP It allows voters to choose between people rather than just between parties. Voters can assess the performance of individual candidates rather than just having to accept a list of candidates presented by a party

Disadvantages of the FPTP Representatives can get elected on tiny amounts of public support as it does not matter by how much they win, only that they get more votes than other candidates. (Minimum record :24.5%) Tactical voting: Voters have an incentive to vote for one of candidates they predict are most likely to win, even if they would prefer neither candidate. A vote for any other candidate is considered to be wasted. Wasted votes: The majority of votes have no impact, as votes cast in a constituency for losing candidates, or for the winning candidate above the level they need to win that seat, count for nothing. Larger parties gain a disproportionately large share of seats, while smaller parties are left with a disproportionately small share of seats. It is more likely that a single party will hold a majority of legislative seats. In the UK, 18 out of 23 general elections since 1922 have produced a single party majority government. As MPs are elected with differing levels of support, it is possible for the party that wins the most seats, to not be the party that won the most votes.

The House of Commons Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected every five years at a General Election. For the purposes of the General Election, the country is divided into 650 constituencies or areas. Each constituency elects one MP to Parliament. The last General Election was in 2015. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons forms the government. One role of MPs is to represent their constituents in areas where the UK Parliament takes decisions eg social security or defence. 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. The Commons alone is responsible for making decisions on financial Bills, such as proposed new taxes. The Lords can consider these Bills but cannot block or amend them.

The House of Commons

The House of Lords It 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. The House of Lords debates new laws proposed by MPs, and makes suggestions about changes to those laws. If they suggest changes, the law then goes back to the House of Commons where MPs discuss the changes. If it doesn’t approve a piece of legislation, it can only delay is passage into law for up to a year There are about 780 members of the House of Lords and they're not currently voted for by the public. Sometimes people inherit their status as a Lord from their family. There are 92 of these hereditary peers currently in the House of Lords. Others are specially chosen by the Prime Minister because they are experts in their field (life peers), and the Queen appoints them.

The House of Lords

Bicameral Legislature Pros Cons The two houses can check each other's power. This prevents a dictatorship of the majority and avoids the passing of legislation based merely on popularity. The houses in a bicameral legislature are typically elected or selected through different processes, allowing for more versatility and forms of representation. The process in such a legislative system is slower, so it forces quality decision-making and compromise that is often not seen in unicameral legislatures. Deadlock, or an inability to pass legislation because neither house is willing to budge on its version of a bill. Bicameral parliaments also often have houses whose members wield equal voting power, although they may represent a significantly different number of voters. It is said to be undemocratic to have hundreds of unelected politicians passing laws and deciding how Britain is run The House of Lords fails to represent large parts of the UK. For example, the north-west of England has nearly the same population as London but the capital has five times more members in the House of Lords.