Party A will... Party B will... Party C will... Spend more money on the National Health Service to reduce waiting list times. Increase tax on cars that create more pollution. Invest more money in small businesses to try to help boost the economy. Party B will... Increase the voting age to 19. Increase the amount of money available to schools for sports equipment. Increase the amount of money available to the armed forces for equipment and kit. Party C will... Invest more money in public transport to help reduce pollution and the effects of cars on global warming. Ban the sale of cigarettes in the UK to help improve health and decrease the burden on the NHS. Lower the voting age to 16.

Differences between Parliament and Government What are the three main parts of Parliament? What are the main roles of Parliament or, in other words, what does Parliament do? What was the last thing you heard about Parliament in the news?

The three main parts of Parliament House of Commons All of the MPs elected by UK citizens in the general election. Each represents their own constituency. House of Lords All of the Peers. They are unelected. They are nominated experts in their fields. The Prime Minister has a large say in who becomes a Peer. The Monarch The King or Queen at the time. They have less power now but still have the final sign-off on laws and on Peerages.

The Speaker: this is the person in charge of the debate The Speaker: this is the person in charge of the debate. They must know all of the rules and will discipline those who do not follow them, e.g. by banning them from voting. Main opposition party front bench: the Shadow Ministers sit here. They are chosen by the Leader of the Opposition. They have particular responsibility for checking what the Minister for the department they shadow is doing. Government front bench: the Ministers in charge of government departments sit here. They are chosen by the Prime Minister and they make up the ‘Cabinet’. Sometimes they are called ‘secretary of state for...’. Members of the Cabinet can be chosen from the House of Lords. Main opposition party back benches: the back bench main opposition party MPs sit here. Government back benches: the back bench government MPs sit in the benches behind. They are not in charge of a particular department. Standing room: the chamber is usually only full up when there is a very important vote which everyone must attend or at the yearly Royal State Opening of Parliament. There are more MPs than there are seats so, on these occasions, some have to stand up. Second opposition party back benches: for the second opposition party back benchers. The members of the smaller opposition parties sit behind these. Second opposition party front bench: this is for the Shadow Ministers of the opposition party with the second biggest number of votes. They are also chosen by the leader of their party.

Roles of Parliament Holding the government to account Checking what departments are doing and how they are spending public money. They do this by asking questions in the House of Commons and working on committees which run investigations and make recommendations to the government. Making and amending laws Most of the draft laws going through Parliament (called ‘bills’) will be government bills but everyone in Parliament can debate about them and vote on them. Roles of Parliament Representing UK Citizens All MPs are voted for and it is their job to support and represent their citizens. You can contact your MP no matter what your age. MPs will often help with issues that people may not be able to get their local council to help with. Imagine if your MP was going to vote for a law that you and many other people in your constituency didn’t like. What might happen if you and many others from your constituency contacted your MP to ask them to vote a different way?