parliament
- parliament
The British parliament has its origins in the thirteenth-century baronial councils. It is now a bicameral chamber that includes the monarch or the monarch’s representative. Currently its full name is ‘The Queen in Parliament’, and it is a sovereign body that covers England, Wales, Scotland (since 1707) and Northern Ireland (since 1922). Under a variety of treaties, some of its powers have been ceded to the European Union. Some of its prerogatives have also been ceded through international treaties such as the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.
The House of Commons is the primary democratic chamber. It is composed of 651 directly elected representatives who must seek re-election at not more than five-year intervals. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker, whose responsibility it is to make certain that the conduct of business in the House is in accordance with its own conventions and rules.
The second chamber is the House of Lords. This is composed of approximately 1,200 peers, both life and hereditary. In addition, the two archbishops (Canterbury and York) and twenty-four bishops sit, as do the Law Lords. The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords can amend and delay bills that have been passed in the House of Commons. By convention, it will not delay the Finance Bill or any bill that was included in the manifesto of the governing party in the House of Commons. Should the House of Lords delay any bill (as with the lowering of the age of consent for homosexual sex to sixteen in 1998), the Commons can ultimately reject this delay.
There have been many calls to abolish the House of Lords. Hitherto such calls have been rejected, as there is a clear democratic advantage in having a revising chamber. It is likely that the constitutional reform currently under discussion will retain the second chamber while removing the voting rights of hereditary peers. It is unlikely that any reform will significantly strengthen the legitimacy of the second chamber, as that would weaken the House of Commons, a move that is likely to be politically and culturally unacceptable.
Further reading
Punnett, R.M. (1994) British Government and Politics, 6th edn, Dartmouth: Aldershot.
PAUL BARRY CLARKE
SVANBORG SIGMARSDOTTIR
Encyclopedia of contemporary British culture .
Peter Childs and Mike Storry).
2014.
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Look at other dictionaries:
Parliament — par·lia·ment / pär lə mənt, pärl yə / n [Anglo French parlement conference, council, parliament, from parler to speak] 1 a: an assemblage of the nobility, clergy, and commons called together by the British sovereign as the supreme legislative… … Law dictionary
Parliament — Par lia*ment, n. [OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr. parler to speak; cf. LL. parlamentum, parliamentum. See {Parley}.] 1. A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] But first they held their parliament. Rom. of R. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
parliament — par‧lia‧ment [ˈpɑːləmənt ǁ ˈpɑːr ] noun [countable] the group of people elected to make a country s laws and discuss important national issues: • The Dutch parliament voted to begin lifting economic sanctions. * * * parliament UK US /ˈpɑːləmənt/… … Financial and business terms
parliament — ► NOUN 1) (Parliament) (in the UK) the highest legislature, consisting of the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. 2) a similar body in other countries. ORIGIN Old French parlement speaking … English terms dictionary
parliament — [pär′lə mənt] n. [ME parlament < OFr parlement < parler: see PARLEY] 1. an official or formal conference or council, usually concerned with government or public affairs 2. [P ] a) the national legislative body of Great Britain, composed of… … English World dictionary
Parliament — Parliament, s. Parlament … Kleines Konversations-Lexikon
parliament — (n.) late 13c., from O.Fr. parlement (11c.), originally speaking, talk, from parler to speak (see PARLEY (Cf. parley)); spelling altered c.1400 to conform with M.L. parliamentum. Anglo Latin parliamentum is attested from early 13c. Related:… … Etymology dictionary
parliament — parliament, parliamentary Both words are spelt with an a in the middle, but are pronounced with the ia as a single syllable … Modern English usage
Parliament — This article is about the legislative institution. For other uses, see Parliament (disambiguation). Parliaments redirects here. For the American style doo wop quintet, see The Parliaments. The House of Representatives Chamber of the Parliament of … Wikipedia
parliament — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ current, present ▪ new ▪ outgoing ▪ bicameral, unicameral ▪ elected … Collocations dictionary
parliament — /pahr leuh meuhnt/ or, sometimes, /pahrl yeuh /, n. 1. (usually cap.) the legislature of Great Britain, historically the assembly of the three estates, now composed of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal, forming together the House of Lords, and… … Universalium
