House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster. Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons and members of the Lords may also take on roles as Government Ministers. The House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library.

Unlike the elected House of Commons, most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Membership of the House of Lords is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. There are currently 26 Lords Spiritual who sit in the Lords by virtue of their ecclesiastical role in the established Church of England. The Lords Temporal make up the rest of the membership; of these, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Membership was once a birthright of hereditary peers. Following a series of reforms, 92 members (as of 1 July 2011) still sit by virtue of a hereditary peerage. Since the vast majority of hereditary peerages can only be inherited by males, only one of these 92 is currently a woman. The number of members is not fixed; as of 11 June 2012 the House of Lords has 763 members (not including 49 who are on leave of absence or are otherwise disqualified from sitting), unlike the House of Commons, which has a 650-seat fixed membership.

The House of Lords scrutinises Bills that have been approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons. While it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider its decisions. In this capacity, the Lords acts as a constitutional safeguard that is independent from the electoral process. In addition to its role as the upper house, until the establishment of the Supreme Court in 2009, the House of Lords, through the Law Lords, acted as the final court of appeal in the UK judicial system.

The Queen's Speech is delivered from the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. The House also has a Church of England role, in thatChurch Measures must be tabled within the House through the Lords Spiritual.

House of Commons of the United Kingdom

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, like the House of Lords (the upper house), meets in thePalace of Westminster. The Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats untilParliament is dissolved.

A House of Commons of England evolved at some point in England during the 14th century, becoming the House of Commons of Great Britain after the political union with Scotland in 1707 and in the nineteenth century theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the political union with Ireland before assuming its current title after independence was given to theIrish Free State in 1922.

Under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords' power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains its support.