Parliament is the place where MPs (members of parliament) meet to discuss matters and make laws. A parliament’s primary functions are to scrutinise and hold the government accountable, to represent its constituents and enact good governance. Parliaments are also responsible for the collection, management and dissemination of information that supports legislative decision-making.
The parliamentary system is based on the idea that parliaments are the sovereign decision-making body of the people. This means that parliaments have exclusive powers to make laws for the state, and can only be stopped by a vote of no-confidence in the Government in which case the Government will resign or the Government will be dissolved and a General Election will take place.
Generally Parliament is made up of two houses, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. MPs are elected to represent the interests of their constituencies and when a party wins more than half of the seats it is invited by the Monarch to form a government. If there is no overall majority a coalition is formed between the main parties. Each house has a series of distinct processes for considering legislation; firstly in a ‘first reading’, then in a’second reading’ and finally a ‘third reading’ where individual clauses are considered in detail. Throughout this process any amendments that are made have to be approved by the other house.
Several reforms have been implemented in recent years to increase Parliament’s ability to scrutinise and hold the government to account. These include the Backbench Business Committee and e-petitions. Select committees are another way of Parliament scrutinising the government; most of them have a specific policy area to cover and conduct investigations through hearings with ministers, gathering evidence and producing reports.