Chapter 7 Key facts checklists

Chapter 7 Key facts checklists

Parliament and the legislative process

●  The UK legislature is the monarch in Parliament.

●  The UK Parliament is bicameral, with two chambers namely the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

●  The House of Lords, which is composed of life peers, senior bishops, and some hereditary peers, protects the constitution and initiates and revises legislation.

●  The House of Commons, which is composed of constituency representatives organized on party lines under the whip system, is the principal legislative chamber and plays a significant role in scrutinizing the executive.

●  Both the House of Commons and the House of Lords are representative chambers but only the House of Commons is composed of elected representatives.

●  Members of the House of Commons are elected according to the ‘first past the post’ electoral system.

●  An Act of Parliament is a bill which has, at common law, received the separate and simultaneous assents of the House of Commons and the House of Lords as well as the Royal Assent.

●  Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 a bill may become an Act of Parliament by receiving the assent of the House of Commons and the Royal Assent.

●  Public bills, which originate largely within government departments, pass between the House of Commons and the House of Lords and undergo scrutiny in committees set up by each House.

●  There are alternative electoral systems, based on proportional representation, some of which are used within the UK.

●  Part of the legislative function within the UK has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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