Westminster - the seat of Parliament
Her Majesty's Government, in spite of its name, derives its authority and power from its party representation in Parliament. While the government machinery is frequently referred to as 'Whitehall', Parliament is known as 'Westminster', since it is housed in the Palace of Westminster, once a home of the monarchy... Like the monarchy, Parliament is an ancient institution, dating from the middle of the thirteenth century.
Parliament is the seat of British democracy, but it is perhaps valuable to remember that while the House of Lords was created in order to provide a council of the nobility for the king, the Commons were summoned originally in order to provide the king with money.«The more money a king demanded, the more the Commons questioned its use. Because of its growing, financial power, its ability to" raise or withhold", money, the House of Commons eventually - from the seventeenth century onwards - gained power not only in matters of finance but also of legislation over both the monarch and also the Lords. Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the state. Free from the constraint of a written constitution it may make any laws it pleases. It could even prolong its own life without consulting the electorate, if it chose to do so. Thus Parliament, rather than the will of the people, is clearly the real sovereign power in the state. The only guarantee against parliamentary tyranny is the sense of tradition and reasonablenance of its members.
Furthermore, in practice it is not Parliament as a whole which is sovereign, but the government of the day and its supporters, since they almost invariably form a majority in the Commons. For the duration of its normal term, five years, .the government of the day may enact or implement its policies, so long as it can ensure party support in the Commons. In the words of one distinguished and long-serving parliamentarian who has sat in both the Commons and the Lords, Britain's parliamentary system is in practice a form of 'elective dictatorship', an important qualification on the idea of Britain as a democracy.
Parliament's functions today are to pass laws, to raise enough money through taxation to enable the government to function, to examine government policy and administration, particularly its financial programme, and to debate or discuss important political issues.
The life of a Parliament is not fixed, and the government of the day may call for a general election at any time during its five-year term. Each Parliament is divided into annual sessions, running normally from October to October with breaks for public holidays and for a long summer 'recess' (usually late July until October)".
The House of Commons
The dynamic power of Parliament lies in the House of Commons. Its 659 members represent 529 constituencies in England, 40 in Wales, 72 in Scotland and 18 in Northern Ireland. There are only seats in the Commons debating chamber for 370 members, but except on matters of great interest, it is unusual for all members to be press at any one time. Many MPs find themselves in other rooms of the Commons, participating in a variety of committees and meetings necessary for an effective parliamentary process.
The shape of the Commons debating chamber makes an important comment on the political process in Britain. Unlike many European chambers which are semicircular, thus reflecting the spectrum of political opinion in their seating plan, the Commons is rectangular, with the Speaker's (the presiding MP) chair at one end, and either side of it five rows of benches running the length of the chamber. On one side, to the Speaker's right, sits Her Majesty's Government and its supporters, and on the other Her Majesty's Opposition, composed of all Members who oppose the government. The front benches on either side are reserved for members of the Cabinet and other Ministers, and Opposition spokesmen, known as the 'Shadow Cabinet', respectively.
Behind them and further down the chamber sit MPs from their own party, known as 'back-benchers”. The layout Hints at two features of British political life: that it has traditionally been a two-party system and that the process is essentially adversarial (indeed, a red line on the floor in front of each front bench still marks the limit - a little more than two swords' lengths - beyond which a Member may not approach the opposite benches). The Speaker is chosen by a vote of the entire House, although in practice the party leaders consult their supporters in order to achieve informal agreement beforehand. The Speaker is responsible for the orderly conduct of business, and is required to act with scrupulous impartiality between Members in the House. In the words of one past Speaker, 'It's not my duty as Speaker to bend arguments in any way, but to ensure that everything that happens here is seen clearly by those who put us here. We are, after all, the servants of those who put us here: the electorate.' The Speaker is assisted by three Deputy Speakers. Unlike peers, who can only claim expenses, MPs are paid salaries, approximately twice the average national wage, but substantially less than most MPs could earn outside the Commons.
The House of Lords
The upper chamber of Parliament, the House o Lords, is not democratic in any sense at all. It consists of four categories of peer, totalling 1,1 members in 1996. The majority are hereditary, peers, currently about 750, of whom only about half take an active interest in the affairs of state. A smaller number, about 400, are 'life' peers - an idea introduced in 1958 to elevate to the peerage certain people who have rendered political or public service to the nation. The purpose was not merely to honour but also to enhance the quality of business done in the Lords...Only one-quarter of these life peers are women. All life peers are created on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the day, with nominations also sought from opposition parties. Nine of the most senior judges, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (commonly known as the “Law Lords”), are also entitled to sit in the Lords. Finally, alongside these secular peers, the Lords Temporal, are the 26 most senior bishops and archbishops of the Church of England, the Lords Spiritual: The Law Lords and the Lords Spiritual are the ancient non-hereditary component of the Lords.
Until 1911 the Lords were able to reject draft laws, known as bills, passed in the Commons, and thus frustrate not only the government of the day, but also the will of the Commons. Since then the Lords have been unable to challenge financial legislation, and have only been able to delay other legislation (since 1949 for no more than one session) but not prevent it. Their only other surviving discretionary power is to veto an attempt by the Commons to prolong its own life beyond its five-year term. The role of the Lords, therefore, is now more to warn than to frustrate over-zealous governments, and they have done this more by the proposition of amendments to legislation which causes them unease, than by direct opposition.
Although there are over 1,000 peers entitled to sit in the House of Lords, average daily attendance is only about 300 and most of these are life peers who retain a strong interest in the affairs of state. The Lords conduct their business in a far more orderly fashion than the Commons. The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor, the senior law officer of the state. The position is not like that of the Speaker, for the Lord Chancellor is not impartial, but a government officer. He or she is responsible for the administration of justice and is also an automatic member of the Cabinet.
A larger number of peers support the Conservative Party than the other parties-. Those active peers who support Labour or the Liberal Democrats, plus the independent peers (who have 'cross-benches' across the back of the chamber to sit upon), are together almost the same in number as the Conservatives; This preponderance in favour of the Conservatives arises partly because the majority of hereditary peers sympathise more with the Conservative Party than its opponents. Also Labour declined to nominate candidates for life peerages for a period during the 1980s since its party policy included abolition of the Lords on the grounds that it was an undemocratic anachronism. Despite this preponderance, however, no Conservative government can be absolutely sure of a majority, if its proposals are controversial. Peers, of whatever party loyalty, are far freer to vote according to their own convictions, rather than party policy, than are members of the Commons.
Лордов будут избирать
Великобритания проводит реформу верхней палаты парламента
Вчера нижняя палата парламента Великобритании — палата общин — проголосовала за проведение реформы палаты лордов, согласно которой часть представителей верхней палаты теперь будет избираться. Впрочем, полной выборности лордам все-таки удалось избежать. Эксперты считают, что один из старейших институтов страны, палата лордов, сильно тормозил принятие многих законопроектов, а потому нуждался в реформировании.
Палата лордов до сих пор была невыборной частью парламента Великобритании и на сегодняшний день состоит из 750 человек: двух архиепископов, 24 епископов англиканской церкви и 724 членов пэрства. Институт палаты лордов возник в XIV веке и до начала XIX века обладал большей властью, нежели палата общин. Постепенно верхняя палата стала утрачивать свои полномочия, а 10 лет назад премьер-министр страны Тони Блэр, только пришедший к власти, выгнал из верхней палаты 90% наследственных пэров. Помимо законодательной власти палата лордов обладает также и судебной: в ее состав входит, например, Высший апелляционный суд.
Споры о судьбе верхней палаты Британского парламента продолжаются несколько лет. Радикально настроенные его члены предлагают кардинальные изменения в парламентской системе страны. Сейчас всерьез обсуждаются несколько вариантов реформы, начиная от полной ликвидации палаты лордов до 100-процентного или частичного выборного формирования. Нижняя палата, решающая судьбу верхней, очевидно, пока не готова к радикальным переменам.
По словам руководителя Центра британских исследований Института Европы РАН Алексея Громыко, в Великобритании давно велись дебаты о том, что в стране развитой демократии парламент не может формироваться по признаку наследственности или назначения. В 2003 году палата представителей уже предпринимала попытку реформировать верхнюю палату парламента, однако тогда палата общин так и не смогла набрать большинства голосов для осуществления каких-либо изменений. На этой неделе спикер палаты общин Джек Стро неоднократно заявлял о необходимости проведения реформ. По его словам, вчерашнее голосование было последним шансом их осуществить. «В противном случае, — предостерегал он, — страна сможет вернуться к этому вопросу только через поколение. Общественность не будет больше терпеть невыборную палату лордов».
Следует отметить, что и консерваторы-тори, и либералы-виги, выступая на этой неделе перед парламентариями, высказывались за принятие изменений. Представитель либерал-демократов Саймон Хьюз отметил: «Если избираемая палата общин говорит о необходимости реформ, то неизбираемая палата лордов не должна стоять на нашем пути». Еще дальше пошел парламентарий от лейбористов Билл Этерингтон, заявивший, что стране не помешает и избираемый президент взамен наследственного монарха. «Если уж мы избавляемся от наследственных членов палаты лордов, то следует обратить внимание и на монархию. Я не понимаю, почему у нас должен быть глава государства, оказавшийся на своем месте исключительно по факту рождения», — сказал он.
ДЕНИС ЖУЙКОВ
09.03.2007
Who is Who in the Houses of Parliament
The Chamber of the House of Commons
S Mr Speaker
p Press Galleries
H Hansard Reporters
0 Government Officials' Box
(advisors to Ministers)
С Clerks of (he House
T Table of the House
D Despatch Boxes
Ma Mace
L Lines
В Bar of the House
X Cross Benches
SA Sergeant at Arms
M Members' Galleries
G Visitors` Galleries
The Chamber of the House of Lords.
The arrangement of seating in both Houses of Parliament reflects the nature of the party system. Both debating chambers are rectangular in shape, are overlooked by galleries, and have at one end the seat of the Speaker, in front of which stands the Table of the House, and at the other end a technical barrier, known as the 'Bar' (two bronze rods normally kept retracted). The benches for members run the length of the chamber on both sides. Intersected by a gang-way, the benches face each other across a broad area known as the 'floor of the House'. The benches to the right of the Speaker are used by the Government and its supporters; those to the left are occupied by the Opposition, and members of any other parties. In the House of Lords, there are also the bishops' benches and a number of cross-benches for peers who do not wish to attach themselves to any party.
Leaders of the Government and the Opposition sit on the front benches of their respective sides to the Speaker's side of the central dividing aisle with their supporters. The backbenchers, the ordinary members of Parliament, sit behind them, occupying the seats behind the front benches. In the House of Commons, where there is room for only 350 MPs on the benches backbenchers may also sit in the side galleries, which can accommodate a further 90 members. In both Houses the galleries also provide accommodation for visitors, the press and government and parliamentary officials.
Each House has its Leader. The Leader of the House of Commons is the member of the Government primarily responsible for organizing the business of the House, and for providing reasonable facilities for the House to debate matters about which it is concerned. One of the functions of the Leader is to announce the following week's programme to the House. The Leader may also move procedural motions relating to the business of the House. In the absence of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the House of Commons acts as the spokesman of the House on ceremonial and other occasions. The Leader of the House of Lords has similar functions in the Lords and is regarded as the main Government spokesman in the House.
Outside Parliament, party control is exercised by national and local organizations. Inside Parliament, and particularly in the House of Commons, it is exercised by officers known as 'Whips'. There are Government and Opposition Whips in both Houses of Parliament, but the Whips in the House of Lords are less exclusively concerned with party matters. On the Government side in the House of Commons the Chief Whip is Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury. There are other Government Whips, including the Deputy Chief Whip and five Assistant Whips.
The Government Chief Whip, who is directly answerable to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House of Commons, is responsible for settling the details of the Government's programme of business, for estimating the time likely to be required for each item, and for arranging the business of the individual sittings.
Duties which are common to the Whips of all parties include keeping members informed of Forthcoming parliamentary business; ensuring the attendance of members and their party vote; providing lists of members to serve on select and standing committees. The Whips are also responsible for conveying upwards to the party leadership the opinions of their back-bench members. The Government Whips in the House of Lords often act as Government spokesmen in the House.
In the House of Lords, the office of Speaker (the Lord Chancellor) carries with it no authority to control debate. Members of the House of Lords do not address themselves to the Lord Chancellor during debates, but to their fellow members in the House. If, during a debate, two peers rise to their feet at the same time, the House itself determines who shall speak: the Lord Chancellor has no power to decide which peer shall take the floor. In the Commons, on the contrary, the Speaker has full authority to give effect, promptly and decisively, to the rules and orders of the House.
The Speaker of the House of Commons presides over the House of Commons. In debate all speeches are addressed to him, and he calls upon members to speak. If he rises to give a ruling upon a doubtful point, or for any other reason, he must be heard in silence, and while he is on his feet no other MP may remain standing. It is the function of the Speaker to guard against abuse of procedure or any infringement of minority rights; and to allow or disallow a closure motion (to end discussion so that the matter may be put to the vote). He also has certain powers to check irrelevance and repetition, and save time in various other respects. In cases of grave and continuous disorder, he has power to adjourn the-House or suspend the sitting on his own initiative. Voting in the House of Commons is carried out under the direction of the Speaker, whose duty is to pronounce the final result. In the event of a tied vote (when an equal number of votes is cast) the Speaker must give his decisive vote.
A vote is taken by means of a division (that is to say the separation into two lobbies of the members who wish to vote for or against a question). Members voting 'Aye' go out of the chamber into the lobby on the right of the Speaker, while those voting 'No' pass into the lobby on his left.