Comparison Between House Of Commons And House Of Lords (4) 41c

Contents  Introduction  Origin of the House of Lords  Origin of the House of Commons  Composition of both the Houses  Functions  Relationship with government  Powers of the Houses  Conclusion

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COMPARISON BETWEEN THE HOUSE LORDS AND THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. PREPARED FOR: Sir Hassan Masood Political Science Department PREPARED BY: Abubakar Saddique 1184 Government College University Lahore.

COMPARISON BETWEEN HOUSE OF LORDS AND HOUSE OF COMMONS

Introduction: The House of Commons is the popularly elected component of Parliament, consisting of 650 . of the government sit in, and are answerable to the House of Commons. Most major government legislation is introduced in the House. The House of Commons alone is constitutionally authorized to introduce legislation concerned with the raising or spending of funds. The House is also a place where MPs hold the government to , discuss national issues, and represent constituents’ views. The UK public elects 650 of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons. MPs consider and propose new laws, and can scrutinize government policies by asking ministers questions about current issues either in the Commons Chamber or in Committees. 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 of the Lords may also take on roles as Government Ministers. The House of Lords has its own services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. Unlike the elected House of Commons, most new of the House of Lords are appointed. hip 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 hip; 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.

Origin of the House of Lords: Thee origins of the House of Commons date from the second half of the 13th century, when landholders and other property owners in the counties and towns began sending representatives to Parliament to present grievances and petitions to the king and to accept commitments to the payment of taxes. In the 14th century the knights and burgesses chosen as representatives (i.e., the commons) began sitting in a separate chamber, or “house,” from that used by the nobles and high clergy (i.e., the lords). The House of Lords was initially the more powerful of the two houses, but over the centuries its powers gradually diminished. By the late 17th century, the House of Commons had gained the sole right to initiate taxation measures. The House of Lords retained its veto power over bills ed by the Commons, however, and in 1832 the only recourse of the Liberal Party government was to threaten to flood the House of Lords with new Liberal peers in order to prevent it from rejecting that government’s Reform Bill. Eighty years later the same threat was used, again by a Liberal government, to compel the Lords to approve the Parliament Act of 1911, which enabled a majority of the House of Commons to override the Lords’ rejection of a bill. Under this act, the House of Lords lost the power to delay legislation ed by the Commons for the raising and spending of revenue; it also lost the power to delay other legislation for a period beyond two years (reduced in 1949 to one year). The act also reduced the maximum duration of a parliamentary session to five years. The Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the "Great Council" that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, and representatives of the counties (afterwards, representatives of the boroughs as well). Richard Foot. “Timeline: A brief history of constituion.” Canwest News Service. 15 January 2009: http://www.canada.com/life/story.html?id=1181297

Mazhar-ul-Haq, Political Science theory and Practice (Lahore: Bookland, 1959), pp. 364-365.

Origin of the House of Commons: The origins of the House of Commons date from the second half of the 13th century, when landholders and other property owners in the counties and towns began sending representatives to Parliament to present grievances and petitions to the king and to accept commitments to the payment of taxes. In the 14th century the knights and burgesses chosen as representatives (i.e., the commons) began sitting in a separate chamber, or “house,” from that used by the nobles and high clergy (i.e., the lords). The House of Lords was initially the more powerful of the two houses, but over the centuries its powers gradually diminished. By the late 17th century, the House of Commons had gained the sole right to initiate taxation measures. The House of Lords retained its veto power over bills ed by the Commons, however, and in 1832 the only recourse of the Liberal Party government was to threaten to flood the House of Lords with new Liberal peers in order to prevent it from rejecting that government’s Reform Bill. Eighty years later the same threat was used, again by a Liberal government, to compel the Lords to approve the Parliament Act of 1911, which enabled a majority of the House of Commons to override the Lords’ rejection of a bill. Under this act, the House of Lords lost the power to delay legislation ed by the Commons for the raising and spending of revenue; it also lost the power to delay other legislation for a period beyond two years (reduced in 1949 to one year). The act also reduced the maximum duration of a parliamentary session to five years.

Composition of House of Lords: Unlike the elected House of Commons, most new of the House of Lords are appointed. hip 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. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy

Professor M.A Malik , Outlines of the constitution of the United Kingdom (Lahore: Pld Publisher, 2013),.

The Lords Temporal make up the rest of the hip; 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. hip was once a birthright of hereditary peers. Following a series of reforms, 92 (as of 1 July 2011) still sit by virtue of a hereditary peerage. Since males can only inherit the vast majority of hereditary peerages, only one of these 92 is currently a woman. The number of is not fixed; as of 11 June 2012 the House of Lords has 763 (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 hip. Several different qualifications apply for hip of the House of Lords. No person may sit in the House of Lords if under the age of 21. Furthermore, only citizens of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth citizens, and citizens of Ireland may sit in the House of Lords. The nationality restrictions were previously more stringent: under the Act of Settlement 1701, and prior to the British Nationality Act 1948, only natural-born subjects were qualified. Women were excluded from the House of Lords until the Life Peerages Act, ed in 1958 to address the declining number of active , made possible the creation of peerages for life. Women were immediately eligible and four were among the first life peers appointed. However, hereditary peeresses continued to be excluded until the age of the Peerage Act 1963. Since the age of the House of Lords Act 1999, hereditary peeresses remain eligible for election to the Upper House; there are two among the 90 hereditary peers who continue to sit.

Denis Mic, Constitution of U.K(Oxford: Bookland, 1959), P. 365. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Difference_between_presidential_system_and_parliamentary_system

Composition of House of Commons: The average age of MPs following the election has fallen slightly to 50 years old. Over the last 30 years the average age of MPs following elections has remained stable around this level, though perhaps contrary to the opinion of some long-serving . Despite increases in the ethnic diversity of MPs, the number of women and a fall in the average age, the ‘population’ of the House of Commons remains very different to the UK population it serves. Some of the most marked differences between the UK population and MPs are seen in education. 90% of MPs are university graduates, compared with 20% across the adult population. Over a quarter of MPs went to Oxford or Cambridge. More than one-third of MPs elected in 2010 attended fee paying schools (including twenty Old Estonians), compared with less than 10% of the adult population. The House of Commons is more reflective of the population it represents than ever before. However, it remains the case that more than 400 MPs, 62% of the total, are white men aged over 40.

Functions of House of Commons and House of Lords:

1) Parliaments Role:

Parliament is an essential part of UK politics. Its main roles are: 

Examining and challenging the work of the government (scrutiny)

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Debating and ing all laws (legislation)

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Enabling the government to raise taxes

The two-House system: The business of Parliament takes place in two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Checking the work of government: Parliament examines and challenges the work of government.

Legislation: Parliament is responsible for approving new laws (legislation).

Debate: Both Houses of Parliament hold debates in which discuss government policy, proposed legislation and current issues.

Rules and customs: The origins of Parliament go back to the 13th century, so there are many rules about how it runs.

Traditions of Parliament: A number of traditions are involved in the working of Parliament.

Parliament and government:

Parliament and government both play a part in forming the laws of the United Kingdom.

Parliament and Crown: Along with the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the Crown is an integral part of the institution of Parliament.

Devolved Parliaments and Assemblies: UK devolution created a national Parliament in Scotland, a national Assembly in Wales and a national Assembly in Northern Ireland.

Europe: The UK is one of 28 member states of the European Union and is subject to European Union (EU) legislation.

2) Legislation: One of Parliament's main roles is debating and ing laws.

Why are new laws needed? Find out why new laws are made and how they are developed.

Draft Bills: Draft Bills are Bills issued for consultation before being formally introduced to Parliament.

Bills:

A Bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to change an existing law that is presented for debate before Parliament.

age of a Bill: How does a Bill become an Act? Find out the stages a Bill goes through before it becomes law.

Acts: An Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law.

Delegated legislation: Delegated or secondary legislation is usually concerned with detailed changes to the law made under powers from an existing Act of Parliament.

The Parliament Acts: Although rarely used, the Parliament Acts provide a way of solving disagreement between the Commons and the Lords.

Method of Legislation: Bills may be introduced in either house, though controversial bills normally originate in the House of Commons. The supremacy of the Commons in legislative matters is assured by the Parliament Acts, under which certain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assent without the consent of the House of Lords. The Lords may not delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the House of Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more than one month. Moreover, the Lords may not delay most other public bills for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year. These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in the House of Commons. Moreover, a bill that seeks to extend a parliamentary term beyond five years requires the consent of the House of Lords.

By a custom that prevailed even before the Parliament Acts, only the House of Commons may originate bills concerning taxation or Supply. Furthermore, supply bills ed by the House of Commons are immune to amendments in the House of Lords. In addition, the House of Lords is barred from amending a bill so as to insert a taxation or supplyrelated provision, but the House of Commons often waives its privileges and allows the Lords to make amendments with financial implications. Under a separate convention, known as the Salisbury Convention, the House of Lords do not seek to oppose legislation promised in the Government's election manifesto. Hence, as the power of the House of Lords has been severely curtailed by statute and by practice, the House of Commons are clearly the most powerful branches of Parliament. The House of Lords debates legislation, and has power to amend or reject bills. However, the power of the Lords to reject a bill ed by the House of Commons is severely restricted by the Parliament Acts. Under those Acts, certain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assent without the consent of the House of Lords (i.e. the Commons can override the Lords' veto). The House of Lords cannot delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the House of Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more than one month. The House of Lords cannot delay other public bills for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year. These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in the House of Commons, and cannot have the effect of extending a parliamentary term beyond five years. A further restriction is a constitutional convention known as the Salisbury Convention, which means that the House of Lords does not oppose legislation promised in the Government's election manifesto.

ibid http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dictatorship?show=0&t=1360476664

Relationship with the Government Of House Of Commons: Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance. By convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the of, the House of Commons.

Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the Sovereign appoints the person who has the of the House, or who is most likely to command the of the House—normally the leader of the largest party in the Commons.

(The leader of the second-largest party becomes the Leader of the Opposition.) Since 1963, by convention, the prime minister is always a member of the House of Commons, rather than the House of Lords. The Lower House may indicate its lack of for the Government by rejecting a Motion of confidence or by ing a Motion of no confidence. Confidence and no confidence motions are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government." Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such. In particular, important bills that form a part of the Government's agenda were formerly considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. When a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the prime minister is obliged to either resign, making way for another MP who can command confidence, or request the monarch to dissolve Parliament, thereby precipitating a general election. Parliament normally sits for a maximum term of five years. Formerly, the prime minister was able to choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament up until this time had elapsed with the permission of the Monarch. However, since the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, are now a fixed at five

years, with only a vote of no-confidence or a two-thirds majority able to bring about an early general election.

Relationship with the Government of House of Lords: The House of Lords does not control the term of the Prime Minister or of the Government. Only the Lower House may force the Prime Minister to resign or call elections by ing a motion of no confidence or by withdrawing supply. Thus, the House of Lords' oversight of the government is limited. The House of Lords remains a source for junior ministers and of government. Like the House of Commons, the Lords also have a Government Chief Whip as well as several Junior Whips. Where a government department is not represented by a minister in the Lords or one is not available, government whips will act as spokesmen for them

3) Committee System: The Parliament of the UK uses committees for a variety of purposes, e.g., for the review of bills. Committees consider bills in detail, and may make amendments. Bills of great constitutional importance, as well as some important financial measures, are usually sent to the "Committee of the Whole House", a body that includes all of the Commons. Instead of the Speaker, the Chairman or a Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means presides. The Committee meets in the House of Commons Chamber. Most bills were until 2006 considered by Standing Committees, which consisted of between 16 and 50 . The hip of each Standing Committee roughly reflected the strength of the parties in the House. The hip of Standing Committees changed constantly; new were assigned each time the committee considered a new bill. There was no formal limit on the number of Standing Committees, but usually only ten existed. Rarely, a bill was committed to a Special Standing

Committee, which investigated and held hearings on the issues raised. In November 2006, Public Bill Committees replaced Standing Committees. The House of Commons also has several Departmental Select Committees. The hip of these bodies, like that of the Standing Committees, reflects the strength of the parties. Each committee elects its own Chairman. The primary function of a Departmental Select Committee is to scrutinize and investigate the activities of a particular government department.

To fulfill these aims, it is permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence. Bills may be referred to Departmental Select Committees, but such a procedure is seldom used. A separate type of Select Committee is the Domestic Committee. Domestic Committees oversee the istration of the House and the services provided to .

Other committees of the House of Commons include t Committees (which also include of the House of Lords), the Committee on Standards and Privileges (which considers questions of parliamentary privilege, as well as matters relating to the conduct of the ), and the Committee of Selection (which determines the hip of other committees). Much of the work of the House of Commons and the House of Lords takes place in committees, made up of around 10 to 50 MPs or Lords. These committees examine issues in detail, from government policy and proposed new laws, to wider topics like the economy. http://people.howstuffworks.com/dictator1.htm http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/162240/Britishconstitution

Select Committees: Select Committees work in both Houses. They check and report on areas ranging from the work of government departments to economic affairs.

t Committees: t Committees are committees consisting of MPs and Lords.

General Committees (including Public Bill Committees): These committees are unique to the Commons and mainly look at proposed legislation in detail. They include all committees formerly known as Standing Committees. The House of Commons has three Grand Committees

Grand Committees: The Commons has three Grand Committees, which look at questions on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Grand Committees in the Lords debate Bills outside the Lords Chamber.

4) Prime Political Forum: The most general and pervasive function is that the House of Commons provide the prime political forum in the country. In other words, it amounts to a convenient (and usually non-violent) setting for the exchange of views between Government and opposition. This idea of a political forum in theory is taken further in reality in that following a General Election, the choice of Government is a matter for the Commons in

the senses that: The leader of the party with the greatest number of MPs (not necessarily the greatest number of votes) is expected to become Prime Minister Prime Minister then chooses the political heads of the Government (the Cabinet and Ministers) from existing Commons of Parliament (though there are also about 25 out of about 120 chosen from the House of Lords). This picture of the Commons as a direct broker of Governments is probably exaggerated. The Electorate now largely determines the choice, so that the Government is really settled on election night and not a week or so later when Parliament actually assembles - unless perhaps no party wins an overall majority. The conflicting interpretations being presented here have been categorized as two different models The Westminster model - power flows from the electorate to Parliament that chooses and controls the executive. The Whitehall model - the electorate chooses the Government and Parliament is there to confirm that choice as an electoral college and then to serve Government and ensure it works effectively in accordance with its mandate. The role of MPs is on this view to facilitate and improve Government programmer by exploring and testing them but ultimately approving them. In short, Parliament is a critical rather than governmental body.

5) SCRUTINY OF POLICIES AND ISTRATION: The Commons next has the task of scrutinizing the Government's policies and istration of its policies. Again note that Parliament has few policies of its own and certainly no coherent overall programmed which rivals that of the Government - its functions are mainly to examine and react to the Government's policies and actions. The alternative to the Government is the Official Opposition not Parliament per se. This point is well made by John Stuart Mill:

"Instead of the function of governing, for which is radically unfit, the proper office of a representative assembly is to watch and control the government..."

Parliament is expected to sustain, scrutinize and influence rather than block Government. After all, most MPs are elected on the basis that they the Government's policies. Parliament thus provides legitimating for Government in the sense that its approval can be seen as representing the assent of the electorate.

6) Specific Readdress: The final task of the Commons is the redress of specific grievances. All MPs, even the Prime Minster, are elected by a specific locality (constituency) in which they are the sole representative and link with Parliament. It follows that they are seen as having constituency interests and responsibilities. In other words, they ask questions or raise matters in debate concerning the problems of their area and constituents. This work is often done informally and behind the scenes by meetings in the constituency and by letters to, and discussion with, Ministers or civil servants

Judicial Role of House of Lords: The judicial functions could also be exercised by Lords of Appeal (other of the House who happened to have held high judicial office). No Lord of Appeal in Ordinary or Lord of Appeal could sit judicially beyond the age of seventy-five. The Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and his or her deputy, the Second Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, supervised the judicial business of the Lords. The jurisdiction of the House of Lords extended, in civil and in criminal cases, to appeals from the courts of England and Wales, and of Northern Ireland. From Scotland, appeals were possible only in civil cases; Scotland's High Court of Justiciary is the highest court in criminal matters. The House of Lords was not the United Kingdom's only court of last

resort; in some cases, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council performs such a function. The jurisdiction of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom, however, is relatively restricted; it encomes appeals from ecclesiastical courts, disputes under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, and a few other minor matters. Issues related to devolution were transferred from the Privy Council to the Supreme Court in 2009. The twelve Law Lords did not all hear every case; rather, after World War II cases were heard by s known as Appellate Committees, each of which normally consisted of five (selected by the Senior Lord). An Appellate Committee hearing an important case could consist of more than five . Though Appellate Committees met in separate committee rooms, judgments were given in the Lords Chamber itself. No further appeal lay from the House of Lords, although the House of Lords could refer a "preliminary question" to the European Court of Justice in cases involving an element of European Union law, and a case could be brought at the European Court of Human Rights if the House of Lords did not provide a satisfactory remedy in cases where the European Convention on Human Rights was imposed. Wade & Philip, English Constitutional Law ( England: Oxford, 2001), pp. 121-195

A distinct judicial function—one in which the whole House used to participate—is that of trying impeachments. Impeachments were brought by the House of Commons, and tried in the House of Lords; a conviction required only a majority of the Lords voting. Impeachments, however, are to all intents and purposes obsolete; the last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806.

7) Disciplinary Powers of House of Lords: By contrast with the House of Commons, the House of Lords have not had an established procedure for putting sanctions on its . There are two other motions which have grown up through custom and practice and which govern questionable conduct within the

House. A member standing up, possibly intervening on another member, and moving the motion without notice brings them into play. When the debate is getting excessively heated, it is open to a member to move "that the Standing Order on Asperity of Speech be read by the Clerk".

Speakers Decision Rule: Speaker Denison's rule is a constitutional convention established by 19th century Speaker of the British House of Commons John Evenly Denison, regarding how the Speaker decides on his casting vote in the event of a tie. The principle is to always vote in favor of further debate, or, where no further debate is possible, to vote in favor of the status quo. For example, the Speaker will vote: 

In favor of early readings of bills

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Against amendments to bills

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Against the final enactment of a bill

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Against motions of no confidence

The thinking behind the rule is that change should only occur if an actual majority vote in favor of change. So say a bill was introduced to ban all blue cars. If the vote in the House of Commons was 301-300 in favors, then Parliament wants to ban blue cars and blue cars are banned. But if the vote was tied on 300-300, then it cannot be said that Parliament wants to ban blue cars, so why should blue cars be banned? Speaker Denison's rule is now a guiding principle in many other bodies, which have neutral chairpersons.

Denis Mic, Constitution of U.K(Oxford: Bookland, 1959), P. 399.

Resignation from the British House of Commons: of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used. Appointment to an "office of profit under the Crown" disqualifies an individual from sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP).

Conclusion: Hence 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 the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 known as of Parliament (MPs). are elected to represent constituencies by firstpast-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament 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 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the political union with Ireland before assuming its current title after independence was given to the Irish 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 . The House of Lords scrutinizes 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 ing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider its decisions. In this capacity, the Lords act 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 that Church Measures must be tabled within the House through the Lords Spiritual.

Bibliography: Professor M.A Malik , Outlines of the constitution of the United Kingdom (Lahore: Pld Publisher, 2013),. Wade & Philip, English Constitutional Law (Pld Publisher: Bookland, 2012), pp. 364-365.s Denis Mic, Constitution of U.K(Oxford: Bookland, 1959), P. 365.

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