Parliament UK

start

PRESENTation

where all decisions are made

Parliament UK

5. bibliography

4. The party system in Parliament

3. A typical day in the main chamber of the House of Commons

2. Main features and curiosities of the meeting room of the House of Commons

1. The Houses of Parliament: the House of Lords and the House of Commons

index

A typical day in the Chamber of the House of Commons

Question Time

Ministers answer oral questions from MPs every Monday to Thursday for about an hour.

Private business and unopposed returns

The House considers private bills and unopposed returns at the beginning of the day.

Prayers

The first item on the agenda is always prayers led by the Speaker's Chaplain.

3.

Urgent questions

Urgent questions are not listed on the Order Paper and don't happen every day.

Ten-Minute Rule Bill

Two Ten-Minute Rule Bills are presented each week, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday.

Presentation of Bills

Bills may be presented after urgent questions and oral statements, but this does not occur every day.

Oral statements

Oral statements are not scheduled every day and may not be listed on the Order Paper.

Once the debate is over, the Speaker adjourns the House, and the sitting ends for the day.

Adjournment

11

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Petitions

MPs can present paper petitions on behalf of their constituents just before the adjournment debate.

Other Business

Other items on the Order Paper may be decided without further debate at this point.

Debates

The main business in Parliament usually consists of one or more debates.

- Nearly all MPs represent political parties. - The party with the most MPs after a general election normally forms the Government. - The next largest party becomes the official Opposition. - If an MP does not have a political party, they are known as an 'Independent'. - Members of the House of Lords are organized on a party basis in much the same way as the House of Commons but with important differences: Members of the Lords do not represent constituencies and many are not members of a political party. - Lords who do not support one of the three main parties are known as Crossbenchers or Independent Peers. - There is also a small number who are not affiliated to any of the main groups.

The Party System in Parliament

4.

The Conservative Party stands out: 267 men; 88 women.

30%

House of Commons: By gender

70%

house of commons

Independent

Scottish National Party

Labour Party

Conservative Party

66%

2%

2%

30%

These graphics show the real distribution of the 4 main political parties in the House of Commons:

Graphics: Representation

House of commons

The Conservative Party also stands out: 191 men; 69 women.

30%

House of Lords: By gender

70%

house of lords

Independent

Scottish National Party

Labour Party

Conservative Party

40%

10%

15%

35%

These graphics show the real distribution of the 4 main political parties in the House of Lords:

Graphics: Representation

House of lords

Bibliography

5.

• https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/partysystem/
• https://guidetoprocedure.parliament.uk/articles/nXxHboWt/typical-day-in-the-chamber

Thank you!