Kara Sears
The UK's legislative process is centred around Parliament, which is based in Westminster, London. Parliament is responsible for creating and passing laws that govern the country. It includes the House of Commons, made up of elected Members of Parliament (MPs), and the House of Lords, made up of appointed peers. While Parliament creates laws, the Government, formed by the party with the most MPs, runs the country through various departments headed by ministers. There are three types of Bills that can be introduced by the government, individual MPs or Lords, and private individuals or organisations: Public, Private, and Hybrid Bills. These Bills are draft versions of Acts of Parliament, which are the final, passed laws.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Body that makes, debates and passes laws | Houses of Parliament |
| House of Commons members | Elected Members of Parliament (MPs) |
| House of Lords members | Peers (Lords and Baronesses) |
| Role of Parliament | Check the work of the government, debate, amend and pass laws |
| Sovereignty of Parliament | Subject to international law |
| Types of Bills | Public, Private and Hybrid Bills |
| Who introduces Bills? | Government, individual MPs or Lords, private individuals or organisations |
| Where are Bills introduced? | House of Commons or House of Lords |
| Who makes most UK laws? | Government ministers with little parliamentary involvement |
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What You'll Learn
The role of Parliament
The UK government structure is designed to ensure a balance of power and representation. The Houses of Parliament, which include the House of Commons and the House of Lords, make, debate, and pass laws. The House of Commons, with its 650 elected Members of Parliament (MPs), forms the core of the democratic process. These MPs represent individual constituencies and are usually affiliated with political parties.
There are three types of Bills: Government Bills, Private Members' Bills, and Private Bills. Before a Bill is made, the government may produce a White Paper, which sets out the proposed changes to the law. A draft Bill is usually published before being formally introduced to Parliament, allowing MPs and peers to examine it. This can be done through parliamentary committees, which cover government departments and other issues such as human rights or national security.
It is important to note that laws in the UK do not necessarily apply to the whole country, as different nations within the UK have devolved powers in certain areas, such as health or education. As a result, laws may only apply to England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
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The role of the House of Commons
The House of Commons is an integral part of the UK's law-making process. It is one of the two chambers of the Houses of Parliament, the other being the House of Lords. The House of Commons is made up of elected Members of Parliament (MPs) who represent their constituents' interests and concerns. There are 650 MPs in total, although only 427 can sit in the chamber at any one time.
The House of Commons is responsible for introducing, debating, and passing bills. A bill is a proposed law or a proposed change to an existing law. Before a bill is introduced, the government may produce a White Paper outlining the proposed changes. A draft bill is then published and presented to Parliament. Bills can be introduced by the government, individual MPs, Lords, or private individuals or organisations. Bills aiming to implement new taxation legislation must start in the House of Commons.
MPs in the House of Commons can scrutinise government policies by asking ministers questions about current issues. They also ensure that different perspectives, particularly those of their constituents, are considered when making decisions. The House of Commons decides how taxpayer money is redistributed and debates and resolves budgets, estimates, and funding issues.
The House of Commons plays a crucial role in forming a government. After a general election, the party with the majority of seats forms a government. If no single party has a large enough majority, two parties may join to form a coalition government. The leader of the party with the most seats becomes the Prime Minister, who, along with their Cabinet, makes decisions about government policy and potential new laws.
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The role of the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. It is independent of, and complements the work of, the elected House of Commons. The House of Lords has three main functions: making laws, investigating public policy, and holding the government to account.
The House of Lords shares the task of making and shaping laws and checking and challenging the work of the government. Members spend more than half of their time in the House considering bills (draft laws). All bills must be considered by both Houses of Parliament before they can become law. During several stages, members examine each bill, line-by-line, before it becomes an Act of Parliament (actual law). Many of these bills affect our everyday lives, covering areas such as welfare, health, and education.
The House of Lords once held more power than the House of Commons. Up until the Parliament Act 1911, the House of Lords could veto bills passed by the House of Commons. However, the 1911 Act reduced this power to a delaying power. The House of Lords is equipped to perform this 'revising' role due to the wide range of expertise and experiences of its members and its independence of thought. A large proportion of its members have no political affiliation. Some members are former politicians, while others are experts in business, education, science, and other public policy areas.
In addition to its legislative role, the House of Lords, through the Law Lords, acted as the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom judicial system until the establishment of the Supreme Court in 2009. The House of Lords also has a Church of England role, as Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual.
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The role of the Crown
The Crown is integral to the UK Parliament. The Crown opens and dissolves Parliament and approves proposed laws that have passed through Parliament. The Crown is considered to be the source of all justice in the UK. The term "the Crown" is used in constitutional law to denote the collection of powers that remain extant (the royal prerogative) and other powers expressly conferred by statute on "the Crown".
The Crown's place as a 'source of all justice' is similar to its position as the source of legislative and executive authority in the UK. Each of the three powers: the judicial, the executive and the legislature, operate 'in the name of the Crown'. In republican-based systems, this would be 'in the name of the state'. In the UK, there’s no notion of a ‘state’ in law.
The Crown itself is not bound by statute or common law. The monarch cannot be personally prosecuted or litigated against, but their ministers and public servants can be. The Crown appears to operate above the rule of law because it’s protected by sovereign immunity.
The concept of the Crown as a corporation sole developed first in the Kingdom of England as a separation of the physical crown and property of the kingdom from the person and personal property of the monarch. It spread through English and later British colonisation and developed into an imperial crown, which embedded it in the legal lexicon of all 15 Commonwealth realms, their various dependencies, and states in free association with them.
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Devolved powers for different areas of government
The UK system of devolution is asymmetric, meaning that different parts of the UK have different forms of devolution and varying degrees of power. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all possess executive and legislative devolution, while Metro Mayors in parts of England (and the Mayor of London) have only executive powers.
The UK Parliament passed three devolution Acts: the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and the Government of Wales Act 1998 (later superseded by the Government of Wales Act 2006). These acts established three devolved legislatures with powers previously held at Westminster, and the ability to make laws in certain areas.
The Scottish Parliament has powers to make primary legislation in all areas of policy that are not expressly 'reserved' for the UK Government. For example, policing and criminal law are devolved to the Scottish Government, but the UK Government remains responsible for anti-terrorism.
The National Assembly for Wales has the power to determine how the government budget for Wales is spent and administered. Welsh Ministers are required by law to have due regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when developing or reviewing legislation and policy in Wales.
The Northern Ireland Assembly has exclusive powers in certain policy areas, while in others, responsibility is shared. All members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are elected on a single transferable vote form of proportional representation.
Combined Authorities and the London Assembly can scrutinise executive decisions but not legislate in the same way as the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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Frequently asked questions
In the UK, the Houses of Parliament create, debate and pass laws. This includes the House of Commons, made up of elected Members of Parliament (MPs), and the House of Lords, made up of peers.
Parliament's role is to check the work of the government. It is meant to act as a check on government power.
Laws start as Bills, which are draft versions of the final document. There are three types of Bills: Government Bills, Private Members' Bills, and Private Bills. Before a Bill is made, the government may produce a White Paper, which sets out the proposed changes to the law. A draft Bill is then published before being introduced to Parliament. Once a Bill has been introduced in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, it is debated, amended, and passed by Parliament. Finally, the Crown approves the proposed law.
