Discuss the UK Parliament in terms of composition, formation and offices/roles.

The UK Parliament comprises the Sovereign in Parliament, that is, the monarch, and two
chambers, the House of Commons, which is the lower house, and the House of Lords, which
is the upper house. Each house exercises a legislative role and each plays a part in ensuring
the accountability of the government.
The monarch is the head of state, the formal head of the executive and judiciary, the
commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the head of the Church of England. He is a
symbol of the unity of the nation and provides stability and continuity. The functions of the
monarch are to give royal assent to legislation passed by Parliament, to appoint ministers,
governors, bishops, diplomats and other government officials, to summon, prorogue or
dissolve Parliament, to declare war or make peace with an enemy power, to confer honours
and to remit sentences passed on convicted criminals. However, in practice, the monarch
discharges all these functions on the Prime Minister. Hence, this gives rise to the modern
proverb “the King reigns but does not rule.”
On the one hand, the House of Commons is composed of 650 members, 523 representing
England, 72 in Scotland, 38 in Wales and 17 in Northern Ireland. As regards to the
appointment of its members, the candidate in a constituency who gains the most votes is
returned as Member of the Commons (MP.) This type of electoral system is known as “first-
past-the-post” or plurality system. MPs hold office for five years at most until Parliament is
dissolved in a general election. The House of Commons is divided into his Majesty’s Loyal
Opposition, which comprises the second largest political party that seats at the left of the
Speaker of the House, and his Majesty’s Government, which represents the government of
the day and seats at the right of the Speaker. The functions of the Official Opposition are to
question and scrutinise the work of the government of the day and to put forward alternative
policies and solutions to problems. The front benches are reserved for members of Cabinet
and other Ministers as well as other Opposition spokesmen. Behind them sit MPs from their
own party, known as backbenchers. The functions of the House of Commons are to consider
and propose new laws and to scrutinise government by asking ministers questions about
current issues either in the Commons Chamber or in Committees. What is more, the House
of Commons can trigger an early election by either passing a motion for an early election
with the support of two-thirds of all MPs, or where there has been a vote of no confidence in
the government and fourteenth days have elapsed without the House of Commons passing
a motion of confidence in the government.
On the other hand, the House of Lords has about 800 members, who are appointed for life
by the sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.The House is composed of the Lords
Spiritual and the Lords Temporal. The former include the most senior bishops and
archbishops of the Church of England, such as the Bishop of Canterbury, while the latter are
made up of hereditary peers, life peers, the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain. The
twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, also known as the Law Lords, were the first twelve
members of the Supreme Court and were disqualified from sitting or voting in the House of
Lords. The House of Lords shares the task of making laws and checking and challenging the
policy of the government with the House of Commons.

Discuss the bicameral system in the US in terms of composition, apportionment,

elections and representation.

Congress is a bicameral legislature, that is, a legislative body composed of two chambers,
the Senate and the House of Representatives. Every state has two senators representing it
in Congress, whereas the number of representatives from each state lays on apportionment,
that is, the allocation of seats depends on the population of each district. Although the
number of representatives is fixed since the House is composed of 435 members, the
representation is not. Thus, a census is held every ten years to redraw the boundaries of the
districts to obtain that an equal number of people is represented. This process is referred to
as “redistricting.” Furthermore, the presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the
House, who is elected by the representatives; whereas the president of the Senate is the
vice president who may cast the tie-breaking vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.
Regarding the election of senators, they serve a six-year term and their elections are
staggered, which means that they are conducted in different phases. Thus, approximately
one-third of the seats in the Senate are elected every two years. Senators must be 30 years,
a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years and a resident of the state they represent. Concerning
representatives, they serve a term of two years in office and, as a consequence, they must
seek reelection more often than senators. Members of the House must be 25 years old, a
U.S. citizen for at least 7 years and a resident of the state they represent. While senators
represent the interests of a more heterogeneous and larger constituency, representatives
serve the interests of a more homogenous and smaller constituency.
How do elections take place in the United States?
The election process begins with primary elections and caucuses. These are two methods
that states use to select a potential presidential nominee. Candidates from each political
party campaign through the country to win the support of their party members. Beginning in
February, the main voting events, primaries and caucuses, will lead to a selection of
delegates who will represent the people at the upcoming conventions. In most states,
primaries are held on Super Tuesday. Each party then holds a national convention to
select a presidential nominee. State delegates from the primaries and caucuses selected to
represent the people will endorse their favourite candidates and the final presidential
nominee from each party will be officially announced at the end of the conventions. The
candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the general population.
They focus their campaign on swing states, that is, the states where the two major political
parties, Democrats and Republicans, have similar levels of support among voters. When
Americans go to the polls on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November they will select
their favourite presidential candidate and their running mate.In every state except North
Dakota, citizens must register to vote, and laws regarding the registration process vary by
State. A citizen’s right to vote is known as franchise. Nonetheless, when people cast their
vote, they are actually electing the members of the Electoral College. The number of electors
from each state is based on its representation in Congress. If a candidate receives the
majority of the votes from the people of a state then the candidate will receive all the
electoral votes of that state. This system is known as “the winner-takes-it-all.” Electors
meet in their respective states in December to cast their votes for president and vice
president. Congress meets in January to count the votes, after which the president of the
Senate declares the winning slate. A presidential candidate must obtain at least 270
electoral votes to become president, which accounts for half plus one of the 538 electoral
votes (435 representatives, 100 senators and 3 electors from the District of Columbia.) On
January 20, the president-elect takes the oath of office in the Capitol and becomes the
president of the United States.