What Goes on in Parliament 

Queen’s speech

Every new period of Parliament is introduced by a speech of the reigning king or queen. The queen reads the speech, which has been written by Government, in front of Parliament sitting on the throne in the House of Lords. This marks the official opening of Parliament. 

Order of business

Business in the House of Commons is guided by some important rules.

Here are some examples:

Bills 

A Bill is a proposal for a new piece of legislation that can become an Act of Parliament and law of the land under the condition that it is accepted by House of Commons, House of Lords and the Monarch.  A Bill has to undergo a process that consists of the following stages: First reading, Second reading, Committee stage, Report stage, Third reading, Lords stages, Royal assent.

Most important bills are introduced by a government minister and are called public bills. Bills that are handed in by backbench MPs are known as private members’ bills, but they often stand little chance of becoming law.

Committee stage

The Committee stage is the third stage in the process a Bill has to undergo. The Committee stage is preceded by the Second reading and followed by the Report Stage. A Standing Committee is in charge of the Committee stage and can make amendments.

Debates 

Debates on political issues in the House of Commons and the House of Lords are managed and supervised by the speaker, who is not allowed to vote. The MPs and Peers may give their opinion in a discussion before a decision is usually taken by holding a vote at the end of the debate.

Division

After a debate in Parliament, a decision must be taken on the issue discussed. The speaker asks the Members to vote by shouting “Aye” if they are in favour of the proposal made and “No” if they are against it. Then, the speaker concludes which side has shouted the loudest and therefore won. If it is impossible to decide which side had made the loudest shouts or if complaints are made, the speaker must call a division. During two minutes, the division bell is rung all over the Parliament buildings and in the flats of MPs living Westminster to let the MPs know that a voting is going to take place. The MPs must get into the Chamber as fast as possible, because it is locked after eight minutes and a new vote is then made.

Questions

Every day (except Friday) MPs have the possibility to ask ministers questions concerning government policies. There are always ministers from different government departments, but every minister must come at least once a month to these question time sessions. Questions must be handed in two weeks before the meeting and the ministers have thus time to prepare answers. 

Prime Minister’s questions