Kids' Zone - About Parliament

Below you can find information all about the workings of Parliament and Government in the United Kingdom.

It's mostly text, but if you want to see some videos click here, or play some games then click here.

What Parliament does

What happens in Parliament?

The main work of Parliament is to make laws, debate topical issues and look at how our taxes are spent to help run the country. The issues that are discussed in Parliament affect us all: health, the environment, transport, jobs, schools, crime. For instance, Parliament has recently debated and voted on how long people arrested on suspicion of terrorism can be held without being charged.


Who gets to work in Parliament?

We live in a democratic country, which means we all have a say in how the country is run. We do this by electing Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent our views in the House of Commons. This part of Parliament has the greatest political power. The second part of Parliament is the House of Lords, whose unelected members complement the work of the House of Commons. The third and final part of Parliament is the Monarch, our Queen, who signs the laws that Parliament votes for.


Where is Parliament?

The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, is in the centre of London. As well as the home of the UK Parliament, it is also a royal palace and former residence of great kings. The Palace comprises many famous sites including the green-coloured House of Commons Chamber and the red-coloured House of Lords Chamber where political decisions are made to this day. It also includes the famous Clock Tower, popularly known as Big Ben.

To give the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland more say over what happens in their countries, the UK Parliament has devolved (given away) some of its powers to other national and regional bodies. In Scotland, for example, there is the Scottish Parliament which has elected members who make some decisions for Scotland. Wales and Northern Ireland have their own Assemblies and there is also a Greater London Assembly.


Parliament and Government


Are Parliament and Government the same thing?

People often confuse the words ‘Parliament’ and ‘Government’ but they are two different things. Not every Member of Parliament is in the Government. The Government is led by the Prime Minister. It is in charge of managing the country and deciding how our taxes are spent. Different government departments run different things. For example, there is a department in charge of health and another in charge of transport. It is the job of everyone in Parliament to check what the Government is doing and to make sure they are doing a good job.


How is the Government formed?

To be in the Government you must belong to the party that received the most votes at election time. This party will therefore have the largest number of Members of Parliament in the House of Commons. The Labour Party received the most votes in the last general election in 2005. Tony Blair was the leader at that time and so he became the Prime Minister. After the election he was asked by the Queen to form his Government. After Tony Blair resigned, the Labour Party agreed that Gordon Brown should take over as Prime Minister.

Keeping an eye on the Government

All Members of Parliament must check what the Government is doing and how it is spending the money it receives from people when they pay tax. Members of Parliament regularly meet in small groups called Select Committees. These committees can make recommendations to the Government on particular issues such as education or the environment. The recommendations will be given to the head of the government department in charge of that particular issue. Heads of government departments are called Ministers. You can see Government Ministers sitting next to the Prime Minister in the House of Commons at Prime Minister’s Question Time which happens every Wednesday and is shown on the television and the web.

Every Government Minister has to hold a question and answer session in Parliament on a regular basis. This is usually once every month rather than every week like the Prime Minister. Members of Parliament can use these question times to find out what the Government is doing or suggest ways of doing things better.


The House of Commons and the House of Lords

Parliament has three different parts: The House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch.

•    The House of Commons is made up of 646 Members of Parliament (MPs). We vote for our MPs and whoever wins represents everyone in our local area (called a constituency) even if we voted for someone else.
•    The House of Lords has about 720 members, known as Peers, who are not elected but who have been selected by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Queen.
•    The Monarch, our Queen, opens and closes Parliament every year, asks the winning party in a General Election to become the Government and officially signs all the laws that Parliament votes for.


How are laws made?

Acts of Parliament are laws of the land that affect us all. For example, laws determine at what age people can drive cars or vote in elections.

A proposed new law is called a Bill. Bills must be agreed by both Houses of Parliament before becoming laws. This often means that a Bill is passed backwards and forwards between the House of Commons and House of Lords, each making changes, until they are both happy with the exact wording. This makes sure that the Bill is properly thought through and that all the consequences of the new law have been considered.

Once both Houses have agreed on the Bill it can be approved by the Queen. This is called Royal Assent and means the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament and therefore officially a new law.


General elections and voting

The United Kingdom is divided into 646 areas known as constituencies. The people who live in each area choose a Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. This usually happens at a general election.


What is a general election?

When a general election is called there is an election in each of the 646 constituencies in the UK. Most of the candidates in the election will represent a political party. The main three political parties are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. There are several other parties and some candidates are also Independent, which means they don’t belong to any party.

Each voter gets one vote which they allocate to one of the candidates standing for Parliament in their local constituency. The candidate with the most votes becomes the local MP and represents all of those living in their constituency in the House of Commons, even those who didn’t vote for them. This system of electing people is known as ‘First Past the Post’.
What happens after a general election?

The leader of the political party with the most MPs in the House of Commons is asked by the Queen to become Prime Minister and to form a Government that will manage the country. The Labour Party received the most votes in the last election in 2005. Tony Blair was the leader at that time and so he became the Prime Minister. After the election he was asked to form his Government by the Queen. After Tony Blair resigned, the Labour Party agreed that Gordon Brown should take over as Prime Minister.

The leader of the party with the second highest number of seats becomes the Leader of the Official Opposition. The Conservative Party is currently in Opposition and David Cameron is the leader.

Other types of election

Fair and free elections are an essential part of a democracy, allowing citizens to decide how the country will be governed. This page describes elections to the House of Commons, but there are also elections for other institutions such as local councils and the European Parliament.

 

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