“Political system of the UK: the System of Government”
The British Parliament (general information about the structure) and general elections in the uk (first-past-the-post system).
The name of the British parliament was changed into Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland based on the Royal Parliamentary Titles Act 1927. The formal amendment on the name of the British parliament was made five years after the establishment of Irish Free State.
"The mother of parliaments" is a phrase coined by the British politician and reformer John Bright in a speech at Birmingham on 18 January 1865.It was a reference to England. His actual words were: "England is the mother of parliaments". This was reported in The Times on the following day.However, the phrase is also applied to the Parliament of the United Kingdom because of the adoption of the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy by many countries of the former British Empire. The phrase "mother of parliaments" is often used to describe the UK Parliament, reflecting its historical significance and foundational role in shaping parliamentary democracy worldwide.
The first-past-the-post voting system tends to result in a two-party system in which two major parties compete for office. The system tends to favour the two biggest, most established parties, the Labour and Conservative Party in the UK, which already have the majority of the country’s support. This makes it quite difficult for new or smaller parties to gain seats in parliament.Historically, the FPTP system has resulted in one party winning a clear majority of seats in Parliament during a general election. This means the winning party can go on to form what is called a 'majority government' and put their plan for the country into action without relying on the support of other parties. If the party fails to win a majority of seats, it may need to form what is called a 'minority government' or a coalition. Countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, India, and parts of the United States use this system.
Origins of the British Parliament.
The Anglo-Saxon witan. The witan wasn’t an elected body, but then neither were the earliest English parliaments. It was a council of the country’s nobles and top clergy, and it advised the king on whatever topic he wanted to be advised on. It consented to the laws he proposed and did an assortment of other things that kept the wheels of government creaking onward. And since it was his council, he set its agenda, chose its membership, and summoned it when he wanted its help. If it sounds a bit like his collie, to an extent it was. The king whistled and it came. If he didn’t whistle, he could take action anyway. He didn’t need its approval. But the collie also had some power. The king needed the support of the nobles and clergy if he was going to govern. Or to stick with the image we’ve got, the collie could either round up all his sheep or miss a few, so it paid to keep it happy and working hard. If you’re in the mood, you can call the witan the Witenagemot, which means meeting of the wise men. Lower down the governmental ladder, each shire held a regular meeting, the shire moot. (A moot was a meeting.) It would’ve involved the local lords, the bishops, the sheriff, and village representatives. Think of it as a collision of a court session and an administrative meeting, because the two weren’t separate at this point. Lower down still, moots were also held at the town and village level, and the local freemen would’ve attended.
Houses of Parliament: House of Commons - its functions, MPs, their working day, the Speaker’s role, the seating arrangements.
!Commons’ privilege – the Commons have a general privilege – they raise and spend taxpayers’ money since the XVII century. Bills to raise taxes or authorise expediture always start in the Commons and cannot be amended (пересмотрены) by the Lords.
Functions: scrutiny (Scrutiny of the executive is when the party in government is held to account for their actions.MPs can question government ministers on actions they have taken and have the power to remove ministers and the government from power); debate (Debate is a function of the House of Commons.MPs debate major issues of importance to voters and the country); providing ministers (The House of Commons provides ministers to form the government.The majority of ministers are MPs, including the prime minister. Ministers are chosen from the House of Commons by appointment by the prime minister. Ministers make up the cabinet, and shadow ministers in the opposition make up the shadow cabinet); representation (MPs must protect the needs and interests of people in their constituency in Parliament.MPs speak on behalf of their constituents in Parliamentary debates and make voting decisions on laws which appeal to their constituents); law making (House of Commons makes legislation (laws) that are binding to all UK citizens. The Constitution states that under parliamentary sovereignty, parliament is the ‘supreme’ law-making authority in the UK); legitimation (Legitimation is a function of the House of Commons where it must approve all bills which become laws and has the power to support or question the government in the actions it takes).
The House of Commons represents all of the UK’s geographical regions. Each of the 650 MPs represents an average constituency size of 75,000 voters. MPs spend time in their constituencies meeting people, visiting local businesses, and hold regular ‘surgeries’ where constituents can discuss their concerns.MPs represent their constituents’ interests in debates and votes.MP Ken Clarke voted to give Parliament a vote on any Brexit deal reached, as his constituents voted to remain, going against Conservative policy. Private members’ bills are introduced by MPs and become laws if they pass through the law-making process (The City of London Corporation Act (2018) is a private members’ bill which allowed the City of London Corporation to have a greater management of open spaces in London). The House of Commons approves important decisions that impact people in the UK, and has used its legitimacy function to stop, change, and question Government action (in 2013 the House of Commons voted against military intervention in Syria which was proposed by the Government). The House of Commons holds the government and ministers to account through Question Times where ministers have to provide answers for the actions of the government. There are Prime Minister's Questions every Wednesday where the PM is questioned by the Leader of the Opposition and other members of Parliament.
MPs. Nearly all MPs are members of political parties. The list below details the composition of the House of Commons, which is made up for a total of 650 seats, based on the number of MPs in each party. If an MP is not a member of a political party, they are known as an 'Independent'. The Labour party forms a majority government. Their current working majority is 169. This takes into account the non-voting Speaker and their deputies, and non-sitting Sinn Féin MPs.
There are 650 seats in parliament. To have an overall majority, a political party must win over half of these seats: at least 326.At the 2024 general election, the Labour Party won 411 seats. As of 01 September 2025, this stands at 399 seats following:
the resignation of Rosie Duffield from the Labour Party, citing a number of disagreements with the party's leadership including the prime minister's acceptance of gifts;
the resignation of Mike Amesbury from the Labour Party after pleading guilty to assault - Amesbury stepped down from parliament on 17 March 2025 and the Reform Party won the by-election for his old seat;
the continued suspension of two Labour MPs who voted in favour of an SNP amendment, tabled during the debate on the King’s Speech;
the continued suspension of Andrew Gwynne following revelation of inappropriate WhatsApp messages;1
the suspension of Dan Norris following his arrest;
the resignation of Zarah Sultana from the Labour Party, to form a new left-wing political party;
the suspension of four Labour MPs following persistent rebellions;
the suspension of Diane Abbott following an interview.
The combined total of seats held by opposition parties, independent MPs and the Speaker is therefore 251. This gives the Labour Party a simple majority of 148 seats.
Working day:
When Parliament is sitting, the House of Commons normally meets on Mondays at 2.30pm and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11.30pm. Fridays are normally reserved for constituency business except on allotted days for the consideration of private members’ Bills. On these days, business starts at 9.30am. The length of the day is governed by the ‘Moment of Interruption’. This is the time when the occupant of the Chair rises to put the questions that will dispose of the day’s business.
!!!!Each sitting in both Houses begins with prayers that follow the Christian faith. In the Commons the Speaker's Chaplain usually reads the prayers.
The disposal of business is followed by a half-hour adjournment debate. So the normal close of proceedings – when the House rises – is 30 minutes after the Moment of Interruption, allowing for the time taken by any votes. On Mondays, interruption takes place at 10pm (House rises at 10.30pm). On Tuesdays and Wednesdays it is at 7pm (House rises at 7.30pm) and on Thursdays it is at 6pm (House rises at 6.30pm). When the House sits on a Friday, interruption takes place at 2.30pm and the House rises at 3pm. Sitting in accordance with such a strict timetable, and for the most part during daylight hours, is something of an innovation for the House. Throughout the Twentieth Century, non-Friday sittings always started at 2.30pm and could continue until well into the night. On occasion, the following day’s business was lost because MPs had not risen by 2.30pm on the day following the start of a debate. The first day back after a recess has Monday sitting hours.
Questions
MPs and Lords get the opportunity to question government ministers either directly on the floor of the House during the regular oral question times or in writing. Question time takes place on the following days:
· Monday: 2.35pm - 3.35pm
· Tuesday: 11.35am - 12.35pm
· Wednesday: 11.35am - 12.35pm
· Thursday: 9.35am - 10.35am
Ministers from each government department attend the Commons on a rota basis to answer oral questions. Each major Government department is allocated to a particular day of the week, with a rota agreed by the Government and Opposition parties.
!!!!!Debates in the Commons provide an opportunity for MPs to look at the creation and amendment of laws as well as national and international issues and can be on any subject. Votes are often taken to see whether a majority of Members either support or reject any discussed laws or proposals. Westminster Hall debates take place in the Commons secondary chamber the Grand Committee Room. They give MPs an opportunity to raise local or national issues and receive a response from a government minister.
Committees. Committees of smaller groups of MPs and/or Lords look at specific policy issues or legislation in detail. Different committees have different roles ranging from offering advice, to producing reports or altering legislation.The House of Commons has departmental select committees. These were established to 'shadow' government departments and scrutinise the spending, administration and policy of each department. !Both Houses have permanent and temporary committees. MPs and Lords also work together in Joint Select Committees. The government issues responses to most committee reports.
the Speaker’s role
The House of Commons elects its Speaker:
at the start of each new Parliament; and
during a Parliament, if the previous Speaker leaves office through retirement, resignation or death.
The current Speaker is Sir Lindsay Hoyle. He was chosen on 4 November 2019. The Speaker's job is to lead the debates and decide which Members of Parliament (MPs) can speak. They also choose which changes (called amendments) to new laws can be discussed. The Speaker must keep order when MPs are debating. They can even punish MPs who break the rules. A key part of the Speaker's job is to be fair to everyone. They must not take sides with any political party. They give up their party membership when they become Speaker. The Speaker does not usually speak in debates or vote. They only vote if there is a tie, to help keep the debate going or to keep things as they are. Besides leading debates, the Speaker also handles many important tasks for the House of Commons. They are still an MP for their local area and represent the Commons to the King and the House of Lords. The Speaker lives in the Speaker's House at the Palace of Westminster.
The Election Process
The House of Commons must elect a Speaker at the start of every new Parliament. This also happens if the current Speaker leaves or passes away. Once chosen, a Speaker usually stays in the job until Parliament ends. Speakers who want to continue are almost always re-elected. The last time a Speaker was not re-elected was in 1835.The way the Speaker is elected has changed over time. Before 1971, the Clerk of the House of Commons (who is not an MP) would lead the election. This was changed because it caused problems in 1971. Now, the oldest MP who is not a minister, called the "Father of the House," leads the election.Until 2001, the election was done by a simple vote. But this system became difficult in 2000 when many candidates wanted the job. So, a new system was put in place in 2007. Under the new rules, a candidate needs at least twelve MPs to support them. At least three of these MPs must be from a different political party than the candidate. Each MP can only support one candidate.The MPs then vote by secret ballot. To win, a candidate needs more than half of the votes. If no one wins in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is removed. Any candidates with less than 5% of the votes are also removed. The voting continues until one person gets more than half the votes. Then, the House votes to formally appoint that person as Speaker.If only one person is nominated, there is no ballot. The House just votes to appoint that person. The same happens if a Speaker wants to continue after a general election.
Dragging the Speaker of the House of Commons. In July 2024, Sir Lindsay Hoyle was ceremonially dragged to his post, reflecting a centuries-old tradition linked to royal authority. The practice originated from a time when the Speaker risked punishment from the monarch for delivering unwelcome messages.This ritual remains a symbolic part of the formal appointment procedures for the Speaker.
Leading Debates
The Speaker's main job is to lead the debates in the House of Commons. They are the highest authority in the House and make the final decisions on how business is done. The Speaker wears a special black gown. They used to wear a wig, but recent Speakers have chosen not to.The Speaker sits in a special chair at the front of the House. Government MPs sit on the Speaker's right, and opposition MPs sit on the left. The Speaker has a lot of power. They decide who can speak. No MP can speak without the Speaker's permission. The Speaker usually lets government and opposition MPs speak one after another.MPs must speak to the Speaker, not to each other. They say "Mister Speaker" or "Madam Speaker." MPs must also refer to each other by their constituency name or their job title, not their actual names. The Speaker usually does not make speeches to stay neutral.
Keeping Order
During debates, the Speaker is in charge of keeping order. They decide on all "points of order," which are questions about whether a rule has been broken. The Speaker's decisions are final. They use the House rules and past decisions to make their rulings. They can also ask for advice from the Parliament staff.
If MPs are being noisy or disruptive, the Speaker will loudly say "ORDER! ORDER!" If MPs don't listen, the Speaker can make them leave the House for the rest of the day. For serious rule-breaking, the Speaker can "name" an MP. This means the House can vote to suspend that MP for several days. If there is "grave disorder," the Speaker can even stop the entire meeting immediately.
The Speaker also makes sure debates move along. If an MP is saying things that are not relevant or repeating themselves, the Speaker can tell them to stop speaking. Before a debate where many MPs want to speak, the Speaker can ask for "Short Speeches." This means they set a time limit for each speech, usually at least eight minutes. However, the Speaker also protects the rights of smaller groups. They can stop a vote that tries to end a debate too early if they think it's unfair.