Parliament

Parliament is responsible for making the laws of the United Kingdom and England and for checking the work of the Government.

What does Parliament do?

The main work of Parliament is to help run the country by making laws, debating topical issues and looking at how our taxes are spent. The issues that are discussed in Parliament affect us all in our everyday lives. They include:

• National transport policy
• Benefits and pensions
• Taxes
• Immigration
• Education in England
• Health and social care for England
• Security
• Regeneration and planning for England
• Employment

How is Parliament made up?

There are three parts to Parliament:

1. The House of Commons

The House of Commons is the most powerful part of Parliament. It is involved in all parliamentary activity and has sole responsibility for financial legislation, such as increasing taxes.

We live in a democratic country and so all of us get a say in how the country is run. We do this by voting in general elections for a member of Parliament (MP) to represent us in the House of Commons. There are 630 MPs in the House of Commons, each representing a geographical area, known as a constituency.

The party with the most MPs in the House of Commons forms the Government. It is difficult for any party to be in government unless at least 50 per cent of MPs are from that party. If no party has a majority they can form a minority government or go into coalition with another party. The government we have now is a coalition between the Conservative and the Liberal Democrat parties. The Conservatives have the most MPs but they do not have a majority and so they needed help to get that majority and so joined forces with the Liberal Democrats.

Our general elections are based on the “first past the post” voting system, which means that, in each constituency, whichever prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) gets the most votes wins. 

2. The House of Lords

The House of Lords is made up of unelected representatives. These include hereditary peers (people who work in the House of Lords just because of who they are), bishops, experts in various fields and people who have been appointed by the Queen. The House of Lords complements the work of the House of Commons.

3. The monarch

The third part of Parliament is the monarch, our Queen, who signs the laws that the rest of Parliament has voted for. This is a formality and there is no potential for lobbying the Queen.

Government

Government is in charge of managing the country. There are many different government departments working on different topics. For example, there is a department for transport and another department for health.

Government is made up of people from the party with the most MPs in the House of Commons or, in the case of a coalition, people from the coalition parties. The leader of the party with the most MPs is the prime minister. Other government ministers are chosen from MPs and lords in the party (or coalition parties). 

Each government department has a secretary of state (the most senior minister) and a number of under secretaries of state (more junior ministers).

Legislation

Each year, the Government informs Parliament of its plans for new legislation through the Queen’s speech. New legislation is introduced as a bill, which must be debated and voted on in Parliament.

In addition to the Government’s programme of legislation, MPs and lords, including those who are not in government, can introduce their own proposals for new legislation. These are known as private member’s bills. Private member’s bills are only sometimes successful in becoming law but, even one that fails to become law, can strongly influence government policy. For example, the Deafblind Guidance  which gives deafblind people certain rights relating to social care, began as a private members’ bill. The bill was unsuccessful but as a result, the guidance was issued.

With the exception of financial bills, all bills must be approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. This sometimes means that a bill is passed to and fro between the two Houses, and is repeatedly amended, until both Houses are satisfied with it. This process helps to ensure that it is properly thought through.

Once both Houses have agreed on a bill, it is signed by the Queen. This is called Royal Assent, and means that it becomes an act of parliament and is a law.

A bill can be introduced in either the House of Lords or the House of Commons.  In either case, the bill goes through each of the stages outlined below for that House, before being passed to the other House, where it goes through each of the stages for that house. The stages in each House are as follows.

In the House of Commons legislation goes through the following stages:

• First reading - formal announcement in chamber
• Second reading - debate and decision on general principles of the bill
• Committee stage - detailed examination by a committee of MPs.  Amendments can be made
• Report stage - opportunity for whole House to make further amendments
• Third reading - final chance to debate and approve the bill in its revised form

In the House of Lords legislation goes through the following stages:

• First reading - formal announcement in chamber
• Second reading - a debate on the bill
• Committee stage - any peer can participate and debate is unrestricted
• Report stage - a further chance to amend the bill
• Third reading - amendments can be made

In both the House of Commons and House of Lords the legislation then goes through the following stage:

• Consideration of amendments - the House considers the amendments made by the other House

Either House can reject amendments made by the other house. In this case, the bill is sent back for reconsideration.

Where can I find information about what Parliament is making decisions on?

To find out what is happening in Parliament, you can:

• Contact the House of Commons or the House of Lords Information Offices
• House of Commons - 020 7219 4272 or hcinfo@parliament.uk
• House of Lords - 020 7219 3107 or hlinfo@parliament.uk
• Look on the Parliament website
• Look at Hansard - the official record of parliamentary debates available online
• Visit the House of Commons or the House of Lords to watch debates, committees, meetings or just for a tour. If you want to be sure of getting in, it's a good idea to write to your MP and ask them to invite you. They can show you round, as well as giving you tickets for a gallery so that you avoid the queue and are sure of being able to get in. You can just turn up but you may find there's a long queue and that you cannot get in
• Watch live debates via the Internet at www.Parliamentlive.tv or on cable, satellite or digital television

Influencing Parliament

There are many ways you can influence Parliament. The simplest, and most direct, of these is to contact your MP but you can also make use of the media or take part in direct action such as a protest.

Influencing your MP

To find out who your MP is, you can do any of the following:

• Look on the Parliament website
• Look on www.writetothem.com
• Contact the House of Commons Information Service on 020 7219 4272 or hcinfo@parliament.uk

You can write to your MP at:

The House of Commons
London
SW1A 1AA.

Keep your letter short, concise and clear. Think about what your key messages are and what it is you are asking your MP to do. For example, you might want your MP to ask a government minister a question or to sign an early day motion (EDM). 

Always ask your MP to reply to your letter. If you do not get a reply within a reasonable period of time contact your MP’s office, via the House of Commons switchboard on 020 7219 3000 to chase it.

For more advice about writing effective campaign letters, see our page on how to write an effective campaign letter. 

You can arrange to meet your MP either at the House of Commons or at his/her local office. You can write to them or phone to request a meeting.

Write to them at The House of Commons, London, SW1A 1AA. Phone their office via the House of Commons switchboard on 020 7219 3000. 

You are likely to get a meeting of around fifteen minutes but may get longer.  Sense has even known MPs to take constituents for afternoon tea on the terrace of the House of Commons!

Your MP will hold regular drop-in sessions in your local area, these are known as surgeries, where you can just turn up to meet your MP and discuss any relevant issues. You may have to wait a long time and may only get a short meeting.

You can also just turn up at the House of Commons and request a meeting with your MP. This is done by filling in what is known as a “green card”. However, your MP may be unavailable.

Plan what you want to say before your meeting. Be clear about what your key points are and about what you want your MP to do. Don’t let your MP stop you saying what you went to say!

If you need communication support during your meeting with your MP, your MP should provide this and can claim it back on expenses. Sense is aware of some MPs refusing to do this. If yours refuses, contact us for advice.

see our page about making the most of meetings, for further information. 

Mass lobbies

These are usually organised by campaign groups to show the level of support for a particular issue. For example, many deafblind people took part in a lobby of Parliament organised by Sense and Deafblind UK that led to the introduction of the Deafblind Guidance.  Taking part in a lobby of Parliament organised by an organisation, such as Sense, is an effective way to influence your MP and the organisers will usually provide information to help you.

There are rules about mass lobbies of Parliament, and the logistics of organising one are complex.  If you are thinking of trying to organise one it would be best to seek advice.

Select committees

All members of Parliament must check the work of the Government. To do this, they often meet in small groups, called select committees. There is a select committee for each government department. Select committees examine proposals and the impact of policies and legislation on specific topics.

For example, there is a work and pensions select committee that looks at the impact of policies relating to welfare benefits amongst other things. Recommendations of select committees are given to the appropriate government minister.

When a select committee is running an enquiry into an issue, they will invite people to submit written evidence. This invitation for written evidence is usually an open one, meaning that anyone can respond. If you want to submit written evidence, keep your contribution clear and concise and follow any specific instructions in the invitation. You can contact us for further advice.

Select committees also invite experts to present evidence and answer questions face-to-face. It is unusual, but not unheard of for individuals to be invited.

Question times

Every government minister must hold a question and answer session in Parliament at least once a month. The prime minister has question time every Wednesday.

In addition, ministers regularly provide written answers to written questions from MPs.

One effective and simple thing for you to ask your MP to do is to ask a minister a question. There are some rules about how questions should be worded. This means your MP might not be able to use exactly the question you want but a similar question will usually work.

Early day motions (EDMs)

Early day motions (EDMs) are statements that MPs can table and sign to show their support. The more MPs who sign an EDM, the greater the show of support.  EDMs are not usually debated.

Asking your MP to sign an EDM is a simple and effective thing that you can do.

Adjournment and Westminster Hall debates

Adjournment debates are short debates that take place at the end of the day when other parliamentary business is finished. They last no more than half an hour. Any MP can propose a topic for an adjournment debate. However, if other business runs late, the debate may be shortened or cancelled.

Westminster Hall debates are debates that take place in Westminster Hall, away from the main chamber. They can be proposed by any MP and are less likely than adjournment debates to be cancelled. However, they may take place at the same time as other parliamentary business and may not be well attended.

You can suggest to your MP that he or she proposes an adjournment or Westminster Hall debate.

If you know that a debate is planned, you can contact your MP to tell him or her your views on the topic and ask him or her to ask questions or raise points during the debate.

Consultations, green papers and white papers

Consultation, green papers and white papers are all documents that are published by the government to set out choices and policy proposals and to get feedback from people outside of Parliament. 

Consultation documents may be published by the Government or by organisations working on behalf of the Government. They ask for views on an issue or set of issues. For example, the Law Commission consulted on its proposals for changes to adult social care law. There is usually a set list of questions for people to respond to but you do not have to answer them all.

A green paper is a document published by the Government that gives background to an issue and proposes possible policies. They will often present more than one policy option and ask people to comment on which is best and why. They are similar to consultation documents but tend to have more policy detail. Green papers are usually a first step towards developing new government policy and a new bill.

White papers set out the Government’s future policy on an issue. They typically ask fewer questions than green papers do but still give people an opportunity to give the Government feedback. White papers usually form the basis of a bill.

Contact us for more information.