PARLIAMENT AND ELECTION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

British Culture Assignment - Group4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. PARLIAMENT
1. Roles of Parliament
2. Parts of Parliament
2.1. The Monarch
2.2. House of Commons
2.3. House of Lords
3. Comparison between UK’s Parliament and Vietnam’s National Assembly
4. House of Parliament
II. BRITISH ELECTION
1. General elections
2. Polling procedure
3. Post-election
4. Vietnamese and British election
4.1. Similarities
4.2. Differences
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
PARLIAMENT AND ELECTION IN
THE UNITED KINGDOM
I. PARLIAMENT
1. Roles of Parliament
Parliament is an essential part of UK politics. Its main roles are:
 Examining and challenging the work of the government
 Debating and passing all laws. Parliament is responsible for approving new laws
 Enabling the government to raise taxes.
2. Parts of Parliament
Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the United Kingdom. Made up of the House of
Commons, House of Lords and the Queen (who is the UK's current hereditary monarch).
 The Monarch, the Queen, opens and closes Parliament every year, asks the winning party in a
general election to become the government and officially signs all the laws that Parliament votes for.
 The House of Commons is made up of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs). People vote for their MPs
and whoever wins represents everyone in their local area (called a constituency) even if they voted for
someone else.
 The House of Lords has 840 members, who are not elected but who have been selected by the prime
minister and appointed by the Queen.
2.1. The Monarch
The monarchy is the oldest part of the system of government in this country. Time has reduced
the power of the monarchy, and today it is broadly ceremonial. The Queen plays an essential role in
opening and dissolving Parliament and approving Bills before they become law.
2.1.1. Incumbent: Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary)
2.2.2. Roles
The Crown is an integral part of the institution of Parliament
 Appointing a government
The day after a general election the Queen invites the leader of the party that won the most seats in
the House of Commons to become Prime Minister and to form the government.
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
 Opening and dismissing Parliament
The Crown opens Parliament through the State Opening (marking the beginning of the Parliamentary
year). The Crown dismisses Parliament before a general election at the request of the Prime Minister
(dissolution).
 Queen's Speech
The Crown informs Parliament of the government's policy ideas and plans for new legislation in a
speech delivered from the throne in the House of Lords. Although the Queen makes the speech, the
government draws up the content.
 Royal Assent
When a Bill has been approved by a majority in the House of Commons and the House of Lords it is
formally agreed to by the Crown. This is known as the Royal Assent. This turns a Bill into an Act of
Parliament, allowing it to become law in the UK.
2.2. House of Commons
Full, formal title: The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.
2.2.1. History of House of Commons
The House of Commons of England evolved in England during the 14th century and, in
practice, has been in continuous existence since, becoming the House of Commons of Great
Britain after the political union with Scotland, during the nineteenth century, of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland after the political union with Ireland, finally reaching its current title after
independence was given to the Irish Free State in 1922.
The House of Commons was originally far less powerful than the House of Lords, but today its
legislative powers greatly exceed those of the Lords. Moreover, the Government is primarily
responsible to the House of Commons; the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she
retains its support.
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
2.2.2. Members of Parliament (MPs)
a) The leadership
 Speaker: John Bercow
 Leader: Sir George Young (Conservative)
 Shadow Leader: Hillary Benn (Labour)
b) The members
 The Commons is publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the
Commons forms the government.
 They hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years after the
preceding election).
 After the General Election 2010, there were 650 MPs elected. Due to the resignation of Mr
Gerry Adams on 26 January 2011 and the death of David Cairns on 9 May 2011 there are
currently 648 MPs.
2.2.3. Roles
a) Relationship with the government
By convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of the House
of Commons. And the prime minister is always a member of the House of Commons, rather than the
House of Lords. The prime minister chooses the Ministers, and may decide to remove them at any
time; the formal appointment or dismissal, however, is made by the Sovereign.
The House of Commons scrutinizes the Government through "Question Time", during which
members have the opportunity to ask questions of the prime minister and of other cabinet ministers.
Prime minister's question time occurs once each week, normally for a half-hour each Wednesday.
Questions must relate to the responding minister's official government activities, not to his or her
activities as a party leader or as a private Member of Parliament. Customarily, members of the
Government party and members of the Opposition alternate when asking questions.
b) Legislative functions
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
Bills may be introduced in either House, though controversial bills normally originate in the
House of Commons. The supremacy of the Commons in legislative matters is assured by the
Parliament Acts.
All legislation must be passed by the House of Commons to become law and it controls taxation
and the supply of money to the government. Government ministers (including the Prime Minister)
must regularly answer questions in the House of Commons and there are a number of select
committees that scrutinize particular issues and the workings of the government. There are also
mechanisms that allow members of the House of Commons to bring to the attention of the
government particular issues affecting their constituents.
2.3. House of Lords
Full, formal title: The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assemble.
2.3.1. Members of House of Lords (Peers)
a) The leadership
 Lord Speaker: Baroness D'Souza
 Leader: Lord Strathclyde (Conservative)
 Opposition Leader: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour)
b) The members
The Lords currently has around 830 Members, and there are three different types: life Peers,
bishops and elected hereditary Peers. Unlike MPs, the public do not elect the Lords. The majority are
appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister or of the House of Lords
Appointments Commission.
 Life Peers: Appointed for their lifetime only, these Lords' titles are not passed on to their
children. The Queen formally appoints life Peers on the advice and recommendation of the
Prime Minister.
 Archbishops and bishops: A limited number of 26 Church of England archbishops and
bishops sit in the House, passing their membership on to the next most senior bishop when
they retire. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York traditionally get life peerages on
retirement.
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
 Elected hereditary Peers: The right of hereditary Peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords
was ended in 1999 by the House of Lords Act but 92 Members were elected internally to
remain until the next stage of the Lords reform process.
2.3.2. Roles
a) Relationship with the Government
The House of Lords does not control the term of the Prime Minister or of the Government. Only
the Lower House may force the Prime Minister to resign or call elections by passing a motion of no-
confidence or by withdrawing supply. Thus, the House of Lords' oversight of the government is
limited.
The House of Lords remains a source for junior ministers and members of government. Like the
House of Commons, the Lords also have a Government Chief Whip as well as several Junior Whips.
Where a government department is not represented by a minister in the Lords or one is not available,
government whips will act as spokesmen for them.
b) Legislative functions
The House of Lords debates legislation, and has power to amend or reject bills. However, the
power of the Lords to reject a bill passed by the House of Commons is severely restricted by the
Parliament Acts. Under those Acts, certain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assent
without the consent of the House of Lords (i.e. the Commons can override the Lords' veto).
The House of Lords cannot delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the
House of Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more than one month.
Other public bills cannot be delayed by the House of Lords for more than two parliamentary sessions,
or one calendar year.
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2.4. Comparison between House of Commons and House of Lords
HOUSE OF COMMONS HOUSE OF LORDS
Working place House of Parliament. (Westminster Palace)
Roles Legislating, supervising the work of Government.
Members - Members of Parliament (MPs)
- From all walks of life
- Elected by the people
- Peers
- Upper class, royal…
- Appointed by the Queen
Relationship with
Government
- The prime minister is always a
member of the House of Commons.
- Have right to scrutinize the
Government.
- The House of Lords' oversight
of the government is limited.
- The House of Lords does not
control the term of the Prime
Minister or of the Government.
Power - Legislative powers greatly exceed
those of the Lords.
- Certain types of bills may be
presented for the Royal Assent
without the consent of the House of
Lords
- Be restricted to reject a bill
passed by the House of
Commons.
- May not amend any Supply
Bill.
- Held several judicial functions.
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
3. Comparison between UK’s Parliament and Vietnam’s National Assembly
Items The UK’s Parliament Vietnam’s National Assembly
Bicameral Unicameral
Power The Parliament of UK was the
legislature of the UK. Over the
centuries, the English Parliament
progressively limited the power of the
British monarchy.
National Assembly of Vietnam is an
important agency in the political
system of Vietnam, is the highest
representative organ of the people of
Vietnam and is the highest state
authority of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam.
The leader The Queen – Elizabeth II
President of the National Assembly of
Vietnam - Nguyen Sinh Hung.
Components  The Queen
 The House of Lords
 The House of Commons
- Standing Committee
- Committees (9 committees)
- Ethnic council
Functions  Legislation
 Holding the power to set taxes
 Monitoring the Government
 Legislation
 Deciding the important issues of
the Nation
 Monitoring works of the State
Term Five years (According to Parliament
Law – 1911)
Five years
Operation
principles
Voting Democratic centralism and deciding by
majority
Members - MPs – elected by people.
- Peers – appointed by the Queen.
- 1480 MPs and Peers
- Delegation of the National
Assembly Deputies.
- 493 deputies were elected directly
by the people and act on behalf of
the people in the National
Assembly.
4. House of Parliament
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace,
is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom – the House of
Lords and the House of Commons.
Today, the Palace of Westminster covers eight acres (3.24 hectares). It contains around 1100
rooms, 100 staircases and 4.8 km of passageways. From the Victoria Tower at the south end to the
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Layout of the principal floor (north is to the right).
Layout of the principal floor (north is to the right).Layout of the principal floor (north is to the right).Layout of the principal floor (north is to the right).Layout of the principal floor (north is to the right).Layout of the principal floor (north is to the right).
British Culture Assignment - Group4
Clock Tower at the north, the building is nearly 300 meters long. The Palace also contains state
apartments for the presiding officers of the two houses.
4.1. House of Lords Chamber
The Lords Chamber is the most lavishly-decorated room in the Palace of Westminster. It has the
grandest interior because it is where the three elements of Parliament (the Sovereign, the Lords and
the Commons) come together. The furnishings in the Chamber are predominantly decorated in red,
while green is the colour of the Commons' end.
4.2. House of Commons Chamber
The Commons Chamber looks very different to that of the Lords.
The current Chamber was rebuilt
after the Blitz by the architect Sir Giles
Gilbert Scott in relatively austere style
(although it was less ornate than the
Lords Chamber even before 1941).
Its benches, as well as other
furnishings, are green in colour, a
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The Woolsack is the seat of the Lord
Speaker in the House of Lords,
the Upper House of the Parliament of
the United Kingdom.
British Culture Assignment - Group4
custom which goes back 300 years. The adversarial layout - with benches facing each other - is in fact
a relic of the original use of the first permanent Commons Chamber on the site, St Stephen’s Chapel.
There are two sets of green benches opposite to each other (so that Government and Opposition
MPs sit facing each other), with a table in the middle and the Speaker's Chair at the northern end. The
Chamber is actually quite small as there is only room for 437 MPs to sit down when there are 646
MPs in total. Many of the objects in the Chamber, such as the Speaker's Chair, are gifts from
Commonwealth countries.
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
II. BRITISH ELECTION
There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom:
1. United Kingdom general elections,
2. Elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies,
3. Elections to the European Parliament,
4. Local elections
5. Mayoral elections.
Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday. General elections have
fixed dates, and must be called within five years of the opening of parliament following the last
election. Other elections are held on fixed dates though in the case of the devolved assemblies and
parliaments, early elections can occur in certain situations.
Presently, six electoral systems are used: the single member plurality system (First Past the
Post), the multi member plurality system, party list PR, the single transferable vote, the Additional
Member System and the Supplementary Vote.
Elections are administered locally: in each lower-tier local authority, the actual polling
procedure is run by the Returning Officer and the compiling and maintenance of the electoral roll by
the Electoral Registration Officer (except in Northern Ireland, where the Electoral Office for Northern
Ireland assumes both responsibilities). The Electoral Commission only sets standards for and issues
guidelines to Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers, but is responsible for nationwide
electoral administration (such as the registration of political parties and directing the administration of
national referendums).
1. General elections
At United Kingdom general elections are held following a dissolution of Parliament. All the
Members of Parliament (MPs) forming the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom are elected. Following the Parliament Act 1911, parliamentary sessions last a maximum of
five years, and are ended by the dissolution of Parliament. Traditionally the dates of general elections
are not fixed in advance, and the time is chosen by the governing party to maximize political
advantage. The 2010 election was held on May 6, 2010.
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Candidates aim to win particular geographic constituencies in the United Kingdom. Each
constituency elects one MP by the first past the post system of election. At the 2005 general election,
there were 646 constituencies, thus 646 MPs were elected to Parliament. Boundary changes in
Scotland reduced the number of MPs from 659 at the 2001 election to 646. The party with the most
seats, i.e. the most MPs, usually forms the government, and the second largest party forms Her
Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Almost all successful candidates are members of a political party, with
only one independent elected in the 2010 election and only four independent candidates in the entire
country gaining more than a hundred votes.
2. Polling procedure
A person may only cast a vote if he/she is on the Electoral Register - even if he/she would
otherwise qualify to vote. If, because of a clerical error, an elector's name has been left off the
Electoral Register, the Electoral Registration Officer can amend the Register up to 9pm on polling
day. Because the franchise between electors varies (for example, EU citizens who are not
Commonwealth or Irish citizens cannot vote in UK Parliamentary elections), ballot papers are only
issued after checking the marker in the Electoral Register before an elector's name which helps to
identify which elections the individual is eligible to vote in.
Votes can be cast either in person at a polling station, by post or by proxy.
2.1. In person
Polling stations are usually open from 7am to 10pm on polling day. Voters receive a poll card
from the returning officer at their local authority with details of their allocated polling place. They are
not required to show the poll card (unless they are an anonymous elector) or any other form of
identification at the polling place in order to vote, except in Northern Ireland, where one piece of
photographic ID must be presented at the polling
Having verified and marked off the voter's name and address on the list of electors, the
presiding officer or poll clerk issues the ballot paper, calling out the voter's name, elector number and
polling district reference, unless the voter is an anonymous elector, in which case only his/her elector
number is called out.
All ballot papers contain both an official mark and a unique identifying number; any papers
issued without both these features (even if it is the presiding officer/poll clerk's mistake) will be
invalid and rejected at the count. On a separate list (called the corresponding number list) the
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presiding officer or poll clerk writes the voter's elector number next to the unique identifying number
of the ballot paper issued. However the secrecy of the vote is usually maintained, as at the close of the
poll this list linking voters to their ballot paper numbers is sealed inside a packet which may only be
opened by the order of a court in the event that the election result is challenged. The ballot paper is
folded and then handed to the voter unfolded.
The voter marks the ballot papers in the privacy of a voting booth. If the ballot paper has been
spoilt, the presiding officer/poll clerk can issue a new one after the old ballot paper is cancelled.
Before placing the ballot papers in the ballot box, the voter has to show the presiding officer or the
poll clerk the official mark and the unique identifying number printed on the reverse of the ballot
papers.
At the close of poll, the slot at the top of the ballot box is sealed by the presiding officer or poll
clerk (the election and polling agents appointed by candidates can also apply their own seals to the
boxes) before being transported by the presiding officer to the central counting location.
2.2. By post
Voters can apply to receive aw postal ballot either for specific elections or on a permanent basis
until further notice without having to give a reason (except in Northern Ireland, where voters have to
give a specific reason explaining why they cannot physically attend their allocated polling station).
Applications for postal ballots close at 5pm 11 working days before polling day - this is also the
earliest time the returning officer can dispatch postal ballot packs. Postal ballots can be sent anywhere
within and outside the United Kingdom, although if they are not sent to a voter's registered address, a
reason must be provided to the Electoral Registration Officer as to why the postal ballot is to be sent
to an alternative address.
2.3. By proxy
Any person who is eligible to vote (he/she does not necessarily have to be on the Electoral
Register already) can be appointed by another voter as his/her proxy, but for the proxy to be able to
vote in an election the proxy application must be received by the Electoral Registration Officer at the
voter's local authority by 5pm 6 working days before polling day. The proxy can either vote in person,
or can apply for a postal proxy vote .A voter who has become ill or disabled after 5pm six working
days before polling day can make an emergency application to vote by proxy as long as the
application is received by the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm on polling day.
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