Parliamentary procedure

Each parliamentary session begins with the 'State Opening of Parliament', a ceremonial occasion which the Queen proceeds from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster where she delivers the Queen's Speech from her throne in the House of Lords. Her speech is drafted by her government, and describes what the government intends to implement during the forthcoming session. Leading members of the Commons may hear the speech from the far end of the chamber, but are not allowed to enter the House of Lords. During the next five or so days, the government and Opposition debate aspects of the Queen's Speech in the Commons and vote on the amendments which the Opposition proposes. Since the speech is a statement of policy, defeat on any such vote would oblige the government to resign.

For most of the year the Commons adopts a routine of meeting each weekday afternoon, and 'sitting until about 10.30 p.m. although it sometimes sits beyond midnight. On Fridays the Commons sits from 9.30 a.m. through to 3.00 p.m., rising early in order to allow MPs to return to their constituencies for the weekend, where they must make themselves available and accessible for local matters, complaints and attendance at formal functions. The proceedings of Parliament are public, and space is available for a small number of people, especially the press, to listen. Since 1803 the proceedings of Parliament have been published the following day as Hansard, named after the man who first began to publish the record. Proceedings of both Houses are also now televised, the Lords since 1984 and the Commons since 1989. The manner in which business is conducted is the result of custom and precedent, from which have emerged standing orders which govern the details of practice in each House.

Each day begins, after brief opening formalities, with Question Time, lasting approximately an hour. MPs are able to ask ministers or other MPs questions on any point they may choose. Questions must be handed in 48 hours ahead, to allow ministers and their departmental staff time to prepare an answer. Naturally, both the Opposition and the party of government seek to use this period in order to reveal the weakness of their opponents. Once a minister's formal answer has been given, supplementary questions may be asked which the minister is expected to answer, Ministers and their civil servants are expected to have anticipated what further questions may be asked. Supplementary questions are used by the Opposition to outmanoeuvre a minister and reveal a weakness in government policy, or by an MP anxious to persuade the government to modify its course of action. On two afternoons each week the Prime Minister will answer questions on general policy matters. These occasions are usually the most lively.

After Question Time, the main debate of the day takes place. Time is given on 24 days during a session for individual MPs representing neither government nor Opposition to introduce debates or private Members' bills. But most of the time available in any parliamentary session is devoted to scrutiny of government spending, and debating new bills the government wishes to introduce. The system of debate is much the same in both chambers. It originates in a 'motion' (a proposal) 'moved' (proposed) by a minister or Member of the House. The Speaker then proposes the question as a subject of debate.

This is not as spontaneous as it may seem. The Leader of the House (appointed by the government) agrees with the Prime Minister the general business, including debates, which they want. The Leader of the House has cabinet rank, and is responsible for planning the transaction of government business in the Commons (a Leader is appointed in the Lords also), and for enabling proper debate of those matters of concern to the House. Twenty opposition days each session allow the Opposition to choose the subjects for debate. At the end of a debate the Speaker asks MPs if they accept the motion. If there is disagreement, there is a division as MPs enter either the 'Aye' (yes) or 'No' lobbies, corridors running either side of the Commons chamber. A bell rings throughout the House six minutes before the lobby doors close to enable MPs, wherever they may be in the House, to vote. Party 'whips' (or managers) stand outside the door of the lobby into which they expect their party's members to pass. Unless it is a free vote, members who ignore party policy risk the strong displeasure of the party leadership. Indeed, the leadership may 'withdraw the whip' from a disobedient member, in other words suspend him or her from party membership either temporarily or in a few cases, expel that member from the party. Without membership of the party, an MP's political career is only likely to last until the next general election Parliament's most important function is to create law. A draft law takes the form of a parliamentary bill. Most of these are public bills, implementing government policy. A bill is normally only drafted after exhaustive consultation with concerned professional, voluntary and other agencies. Proposals sometimes take the form of 'white papers', stating government policy, which can be debated before a bill is introduced. 'Green papers' are published when the government wants a full public discussion before it formulates its own proposals.

The process of passing a public (or government) bill is similar in both Houses. Its publication in printed form is announced in the chamber, and this announcement is called its 'first reading'. Its 'second reading', usually a few weeks later, is the occasion for a full debate in the House, unless there is general assent that a debate is unnecessary. If necessary the bill is passed to a committee which considers whether amendments would be desirable in the light of MPs' criticisms or concerns. At the 'third reading' the revised bill is considered in its final form, and a vote taken if necessary. The bill then passes through the Lords in г similar fashion. Once a bill has completed its parliamentary procedures, it is sent to the Queen foi royal assent (the third formal element of Parliament), by which it passes into law as an Act of Parliament. Royal assent has not been refused since 1 707.