PARLIAMENT

Two key historical events gave origin to Parliament:

-in 1215 King John put his seal on Magna Carta and agreed to a list of 63 rules set out
by a group of barons. This ensured for the first time that no one, not even the king, was above
the law.
-Fifty years later, Simon de Montfort rebelled against Henry III, and, for the first time,
invited representatives of the towns and shires (contee) to his 1265 parliament.
These citizens met separately from the nobility and evolved to form the House of
Commons in 1332.
These events established the foundation for the representative democracy we have
today and from this point onwards the power to male decisions for the nation passed, over time,
from the monarch to Parliament.

PARLIAMENT STRUCTURE
Parliament works from Westminster today, since 1512, when a fire consumed
Westminster Palace. Henry VIII moved out and, once rebuilt, it became Parliament’s home.
Parliament is made up of 3 parts:
-the House of Commons;
-the House of Lords,
-the Monarch;

The House of Commonsis the elected chamber of Parliament. It debates big issues,
proposes laws, amends existing ones, it represents the public, holds the Government to account.
There are 650 Members of Parliament (MPs), who each represent a constituency in the UK.
They belong to either a political party or are independent, and are elected by constituents of the
area they want to represent.
The leader of the party that has the most MPs elected after a general election becomes
the Prime Minister and heads up the Government. They(the prime minister) choose a cabinet
made up of 20 senior ministers who coordinate each Government department’s work. They sit to
the right of the Speaker, while the right front bench is for the Government ministers.
Inside the House, there are 2 sides: on one side the Government who run the country,
and, on the other, Parties not in power, who are called the opposition. MPs from the opposition
and government question the Government on policy and proposed laws.
The speaker keeps the house in order by chairing these debates. In front of the Speaker’s chair
there are the clerks who advise the Speaker and Members on procedural matters.

The Mace is carried in by the Serjeant at Arms each day, and is placed either on the
Table or below it if the House is in committee. Maces belong to the royal household, the current
mace was made for Charles II and when the House dissolves at the end of its term they go back
to the royal household.
The government despatch box: any minister that’s making a speech to the house would stand at
this box

Ordine cose: Prayers, Question Time, Urgent questions and statements, main bussiness,
petitions, adjournment debate. in 1649 King Charles was executed by the Commons.
 The House of Lordsis the second chamber it has three main functions:
- to question and challenge the work of government;
-it shares the making and shaping of laws with the House of Commons;
-to investigate issues through committees and debates.

It has around 800 members and it’s made up mostly of life peers, and also includes
hereditary peers and bishops.
Lords are selected for their kno experience, and hold the Government to account
(rendere conto) by using their expertise to look at laws and issues in details.
The Lords started off as a kind of advisory council to the king. By the 14th century
Edward III had 2 groups of advisors divided into chambers, the Lords and the Commons, made
up of knights and merchants. The latter ones are more dominant.
In 1958 the life peerages act introduced women into the House. From then on, Any
man or woman could come into the House based on what they had achieved in their career.
In 1999 the Lords act reduced the number of hereditary peers in the house and stopped
Lords from passing their seat to their own family.
A panel was made to help the Prime Minister decide who was brought into the house.

The chamber has the same structure of the Commons’.

Cross benchers those who do not stand for any political party.

The monarch’s role is mainly ceremonial. They meet the Prime Minister once a week
to hear what’s going on in Parliament and formally agree every new law.

There are also people working behind the scenes who support the Parliament’s work;
clerks, librarian, researchists…

HOW IT WORKS
The Government has been elected to run the country, and Parliament hold the
Government to account for the public.
Prime Minister's Questions and Ministerial Questions give MPs and Lords the
opportunity to challenge the Government’s policies, every week for half an hour. It's in these
debates that they can share the views of their constituents and the public and how new policies
may affect them.

Another important way Parliament can look in detail at the work of Government is
through Select Committees, who analyse and scrutinize policy. They are made up of either MPs,
Lords or a mixture of both, who look at a particular subject and make recommendations on
improvements. Witnesses with expertise in the area under scrutiny are also called to give
evidence. Moreover, members of the public with a view on the subject can also give evidence for
consideration.
At the end of an inquiry, a Committee writes a report with recommendations that the
Government usually responds to within 60 days.

MAKING LAWS
Both Houses in Parliament share the responsibility for making and shaping laws which
come from a BILL. A Bill is a proposal for a new law, or to change and existing law, and comes
from lots of places, like governing and opposition parties, public inquiries, civil servants or
campaign groups.
But how does and idea get turned into a law?
A proposal called a Green Paper is published, which represents the Government’s ideas
for future policy. This is open for public discussion with interested groups and others likely to be
affected.
Once findings (risultati) are gathered a White Paper is published which outlines a firmer
plan for Government policy.
Cabinet Ministers must agree whether the proposal is taken forwards. Once agreed a
Bill is drawn up(redatta) and the Minister responsible for the policy introduces the Bill to
Parliament for debate.
MPs and members of the House of Lords comment on, debate or amend the Bill
through several stages: first reading, where the Lords have their first chance to read through the
proposed bill; second reading, which is the debating of the bill; committee stage, where the
bill is thoroughly examined and changes are made, then report and third reading.
and at the end of the process, it must be agreed by both Houses.
It’s then passed to the Monarch who gives formal approval, or Royal Assènt, and the
Bill becomes law, called an Act of Parliament.

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

In the UK there is a democracy. There are different types of elections to vote in:
general, local, European.
How are MPs elected to the House of Commons through the General election.
Before elections, candidates need to campaign to get people to vote for them, which
can involve handing out political leaflets, speaking in public debates, talking to people during
door to door visits, and party political broadcasts.
Parties standing for election publish a declaration of their policies during the campaign,
called a manifesto.
General elections take place in the Uk usually once every five years. On polling day,
voters make a choice from a list of candidates and the candidate with the most votes becomes
that constituency’s MP.
Once elected an MP represents all their constituents- even the ones that didn’t vote, or
voted for a different candidate.
The party with the most MPs elected forms the Government, and their leader becomes
Prime minister.
If there’s a “hung Parliament”, where there’s no clear winner, then a minority
government of a coalition government may be created or a fresh election held.
 You have to be 18 or over to vote in General Elections, but you can register from the
age of 16. But to get your voice heard you could join the youth section of a party, or the UK
Youth Parliament, or also in school or college by joining a student council.
If you’re passionate about an issue you can also start a petition for a cause either on
paper or online.

UK PARLIAMENT AND WORLD WAR II

It was in parliament that MPs called for the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, to
stand with Poland after it had been invaded. It was in Parliament after a House of commons
debate, that he was forced to resign on the 7th and 8th of May 1940.
This paved the way for the formation of a coalition government, led by Churchill.
In parliament after the fall of France in June 1940 and after the evacuation of allied
forces from Dunkirk that Churchill promised to always fight and never surrender.
Parliament passed the laws which prepared Britain for the demands of total war,
including conscription into the armed forces.
Everyone felt the effects of the sweeping changes the war demanded: the introduction
of rationing, blackout, and air raid procedures, and the evacuation of children from cities in
britain.
During the WWII it had a crucial role.
In the House of Lords, Baron Wedgood called upon(invitare) the Government to admit
every refugee fleeing Nazi persecution. And George Bell, the Bishop of Chicester condemned
the policy known as area bombing.
In July 1942 there was a vote on whether the House of Commons had confidence in
the central direction of the war. Churchill won the motion but not before Nye Bevan had
wounded the Prime Minister with the remark that he wins debate after debate but loses battle
after battle.

Mps and members of the house of lords served in the armed forces, and Parliament
even had its own Home Guard unit

Also the Palace of Westminster was under attack and damaged by air raids on 14
different occasions: 10th-11th May 1941 the commons chamber was hit by bombs and the roof
of westminster hall was set on fire. Since it was impossibile to save both, it was decided to save
the Hall
Between 1940-1941 the two houses started meeting in Church House so that they
couldnt be bombed.
Then, the members returned to westminster, with the Commons meeting the Lords
chamber and the Lords in the Robing Room.
The Commons chamber was rebuilt to its original design but the arch between
Members Lobby and the Commons was rebuilt using bomb damaged to stones as a permanent
reminder of Parliament at war.
William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury, called for the creation of a welfare
state
 After the end of the war, the Conservative and the Labour parties agreed that the
coalition government should not be extendend beyond the course of the war with Germany.
So an election was held in July 1945, where the Labour party won.
With this victory, legislation passed that not only helped rebuild Britain, but also created
the Welfare state, including the National Health Service.