Guides

Money Bills are Bills that deal solely with expenditure – two or three such Bills are passed each year. The Lords are not permitted to amend such Bills and they are rarely discussed in the Upper House. They normally go through all their stages in one day in the Upper House. The Speaker designates a...Read More

Members of the House of Commons hold, in effect, a triple mandate. They represent all the people of their constituency, their party and the interests of the country. It is a tenet of representative democracy that MPs are not delegates for their constituents. This means that, while the views of constituents are frequently considered, the...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

MPs and peers appointed by the Prime Minister to the Government are known as Ministers of the Crown. After the Prime Minister, the next most senior Ministerial rank is that of Secretary of State (this includes the Chancellor and any Deputy Prime Minister). The hierarchy is normally considered to be as follows, although a specific...Read More

Money Bills are Bills that deal solely with expenditure – two or three such Bills are passed each year. The Lords are not permitted to amend such Bills and they are rarely discussed in the Upper House. They normally go through all their stages in one day in the Upper House. The Speaker designates a...Read More