The Structure of Parliament

This lesson examines the structure of the UK Parliament — one of the oldest and most influential legislatures in the world. Understanding how Parliament is composed and organised is fundamental to A-Level Politics, since Parliament stands at the heart of the UK's system of representative democracy and constitutional governance.

What Is Parliament?

Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom. It is based at the Palace of Westminster in London and consists of three elements:

The House of Commons (the elected, lower chamber)
The House of Lords (the unelected, upper chamber)
The Monarch (who formally opens Parliament and grants Royal Assent to legislation)

Together, these three elements form "the Crown in Parliament", which is the source of parliamentary sovereignty. No law can be made or repealed without the approval of all three — though in practice, the monarch's role is entirely ceremonial.

The House of Commons

The House of Commons is the dominant and democratically legitimate chamber of Parliament. It consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs), each representing a single constituency, elected by First Past the Post (FPTP) at general elections.

Key Features

Feature	Detail
Membership	650 MPs (as of 2024)
Electoral system	First Past the Post (FPTP)
Term	Up to 5 years (following the repeal of the FTPA, the PM can request a dissolution from the Monarch at any time)
Presiding officer	The Speaker (currently Sir Lindsay Hoyle, elected 2019)
Government formation	The leader who commands a majority in the Commons becomes PM

Why the Commons Is Dominant

The Commons derives its authority from its democratic mandate — it is the only part of Parliament directly elected by the people. This gives it primacy over the Lords in several key areas:

The Salisbury Convention — the Lords will not block legislation promised in the governing party's manifesto.
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 — if the Lords reject a bill twice in consecutive sessions, the Commons can pass it without the Lords' consent after one year.
Financial privilege — money bills (taxation and spending) can only originate in the Commons, and the Lords cannot amend or delay them for more than one month.
Government formation — the PM must command the confidence of the Commons, not the Lords.

The House of Lords

The House of Lords is the unelected second chamber of Parliament. Following the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2024, which removed the remaining hereditary peers, the Lords is composed primarily of:

Life peers — appointed by the monarch on the advice of the PM (nominated by party leaders and the House of Lords Appointments Commission).
Lords Spiritual — 26 senior bishops of the Church of England.
Crossbenchers — independent peers with no party affiliation.

Key Features

Feature	Detail
Membership	Approximately 700+ active members
Appointment	Life peers appointed; Lords Spiritual by ecclesiastical seniority
Presiding officer	The Lord Speaker (currently Lord McFall of Alcluith)
Powers	Can scrutinise, amend, and delay (but not permanently block) most legislation

The Role of the Lords

Despite being unelected, the Lords plays an important constitutional role:

Revising legislation — the Lords is often called the "revising chamber" because it examines legislation in detail and proposes amendments, often improving the technical quality of bills.
Scrutiny — through debates, questions, and select committees, the Lords holds the government to account.
Expertise — life peers include former PMs, judges, military leaders, scientists, and business leaders, bringing specialist knowledge to legislative scrutiny.
A check on the Commons — the Lords provides a safeguard against hasty or ill-considered legislation, although its powers are limited.

The Monarch

The monarch's role in Parliament is almost entirely ceremonial and symbolic:

State Opening of Parliament — the monarch delivers the King's/Queen's Speech, setting out the government's legislative programme. The speech is written by the government, not the monarch.
Royal Assent — all bills must receive Royal Assent before becoming law. By convention, the monarch always grants Royal Assent (the last refusal was by Queen Anne in 1708).
Dissolving Parliament — the monarch formally dissolves Parliament at the PM's request, triggering a general election.

Walter Bagehot described the monarchy as the "dignified" part of the constitution — it provides ceremony, continuity, and legitimacy, but real power lies elsewhere.

Exam Tip: Do not overstate the monarch's role. Questions about Parliament focus on the Commons and Lords. The monarch is relevant mainly for discussions of the "dignified vs efficient" distinction and the formal legal framework.

Bicameralism: Why Two Chambers?

The UK has a bicameral legislature — a Parliament with two chambers. Most democracies are bicameral. The justification for two chambers includes:

Argument	Explanation
Checks and balances	A second chamber can check the power of the first, preventing hasty or oppressive legislation
Scrutiny	Two chambers provide more thorough examination of legislation
Representation	The two chambers can represent different interests (e.g. the Commons represents constituencies; the Lords could represent regions, expertise, or independent judgment)
Revision	The Lords acts as a revising chamber, improving the quality of legislation

Arguments against bicameralism:

An unelected second chamber lacks democratic legitimacy.
Two chambers can cause delay and deadlock.
A unicameral system (one chamber) is simpler and more efficient.

The Westminster Model

The UK Parliament is the archetype of the Westminster model of government, characterised by:

Parliamentary sovereignty — Parliament is the supreme legal authority.
Fusion of powers — the Executive is drawn from and sits in the Legislature.
Collective and individual ministerial responsibility — the government is accountable to Parliament.
An official Opposition — the largest non-government party forms Her Majesty's Opposition, with a Shadow Cabinet.
Adversarial politics — government and opposition sit facing each other; debates are often combative.

The Westminster model has been exported to many countries through the legacy of the British Empire, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India.

Case Studies

Case Study 1: The Hung Parliament of 2017–2019

The 2017 general election produced a hung parliament — no party won an overall majority. Theresa May's Conservative government relied on a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP's 10 MPs. This period illustrated:

The power of Parliament when the government lacks a majority.
The ability of backbenchers and opposition MPs to shape legislation (e.g. the Benn Act 2019).
The limitations of the Executive when it cannot command the Commons.

Case Study 2: The 2019 Prorogation

Boris Johnson's attempt to prorogue Parliament for five weeks was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court in R (Miller) v The Prime Minister [2019]. The case demonstrated the constitutional importance of Parliament's right to sit, scrutinise the Executive, and hold the government to account.

Summary

Parliament consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarch.
The Commons is dominant due to its democratic mandate, the Parliament Acts, and the Salisbury Convention.
The Lords plays a valuable role in scrutiny and revision but lacks democratic legitimacy.
The Monarch's role is ceremonial.
The UK's bicameral structure provides checks, scrutiny, and revision, but raises questions about democracy and efficiency.
The Westminster model is characterised by parliamentary sovereignty, a fusion of powers, and adversarial politics.

Exam Tip: When discussing the structure of Parliament, always link structural features to their practical consequences. For example, the Commons' democratic mandate explains why it is dominant; the Lords' lack of a mandate explains why its powers are limited.