Guides

When Parliament is sitting, the Commons normally meets on Mondays at 2.30pm and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11.30pm. Fridays are normally reserved for constituency business except on allotted days for the consideration of private members' Bills. On these days, business starts at 9.30am. The length of the day is governed by the 'Moment...Read More

Learn about the processes, procedures and arrangements MPs and politicians are expected to adhere to in the House. Here you will find a guide to the House including language, address, seating arrangements, order and points of order in the House of Commons. To find out more on this issue click through our guide to the...Read More

Learn about the language, address and seating arrangements Lords are expected to follow in the House. Our guide to the House provides information on how peers are expected to refer to each other and the Commons as well as the language they use and seating arrangements they follow in the House. To find out more...Read More

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-' preamble to all Acts of Parliament It is the settled constitutional position of the United Kingdom that...Read More

'BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-' preamble to all Acts of Parliament It is the settled constitutional position of the United Kingdom that...Read More

The European Union has a number of decision-making, supervisory and consultative bodies, which function autonomously within the frameworks laid out in EU law, and which interact with one another in line with those frameworks. However, the EU is inherently a political organisation, and how they interact and how the processes are implemented in any given...Read More

As well as attempting to create a single EU economy through the single market and EMU, the EU acts as a single body in international trade matters, in order to maximise its negotiating power (the EU represents more than 25 per cent of world GDP) and to underpin the unification of the internal market. The...Read More

The Kitchen Cabinet is the term used to refer to the advisers and other staff at Number 10 who form the so-called 'inner circle' around the Prime Minister. There is no hard-and-fast rule on the composition or extent of a Kitchen Cabinet, although the larger it is, the more likely a Prime Minister is to...Read More

Labour came out of the 2005 election with a mixture of accomplishment and disappointment. The party had secured a third term in government for the first time in its history, but gained no new seats. Its majority was radically reduced to 66. Soon afterwards, and despite promises he would serve a full term, Tony Blair...Read More

An official report of proceedings – known as Hansard – is published on the morning following the end of proceedings. MPs must deliver their speeches in English, although by historical anomaly they may still use Norman French. Language must be deemed 'Parliamentary' by the chair. MPs must not refer to each other by name in...Read More

An official report of proceedings – known as Hansard – is published on the morning following the end of proceedings. All speeches begin with the words, 'My Lords'. Language must be deemed 'Parliamentary' by the chair and peers are not supposed to refer to the Commons by name, using instead 'another place' or 'the other...Read More

The law lords are chosen by the Lord Chancellor to form the highest court in the United Kingdom, which is the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. They are nominally members of the House but they do not operate as such. When they retire they become life peers. At the time of writing, the...Read More

Government Law Officers are Parliamentarians with a legal background appointed by the Prime Minister to give legal advice to Ministers. By convention, their advice, or the fact of their having given or not given advice, is not revealed except in extreme circumstances. The Attorney General is the Cabinet's top legal adviser. The holder of the...Read More

All policies are discussed and laws implemented in the House of Commons. All bills must pass through both the House of Commons and House of Lords, although it is MPs that have the final decision. Government legislation comes in the form of primary and secondary legislation. Primary legislation covers Bills and Acts which are split...Read More

All bills and pieces of legislation must pass through the House of Lords, as well as the House of Commons. And although it is MPs that have the final say, it is in the House of Lords where the Commons' amendments to bills are subjected to scrutiny and debate. To find out more on this...Read More

Statutory instruments arrive on the floor of the Assembly from the Legislation Committee for final approval, which takes the form of two votes and may be preceded by a debate on the motion to approve or on amendments seeking to deny approval. The first vote is on the general principles of the instrument (akin to...Read More

Few parties have gone through such a dramatic journey in recent years as the Lib Dems. The party emerged from the 2005 poll with their highest share of the vote since the SDP-Liberal Alliance, receiving 62 seats primarily because of their principled opposition to the Iraq war. The number of seats did not reflect the...Read More

Life peers are elevated to the peerage by the monarch in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. Opposition party leaders can also nominate, via the Prime Minister. Life peers tend to be the 'great and the good' of the day and are characterised by their expertise and experience in their field, which may...Read More

Ministers must comply with the Code of Conduct and Guidance on Procedures for Ministers produced by the Cabinet Office and endorsed by the Prime Minister. It requires Ministers to uphold the seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. According to the code, Ministers must be 'accurate and truthful' in...Read More