Parliament and the legislative process

W e now turn from government to Parliament and from the executive to the legislative process in the British political system. Britain’s Parliament at Westminster is very old, dating back to 1265. It began as an English Parliament, adding Welsh, Scottish and Irish representatives with successive Acts of Union, and losing most of its Irish representatives with the establishment of a separate Irish state in 1922. The Houses of Parliament provide a visual symbol of the heart of British government, the very centre of political power. Indeed, the sovereignty of Parliament has long been regarded as the key principle of the British Constitution. Yet some argue that despite its venerable age and prestige, Britain’s Parliament is no longer very powerful, but is dominated by the executive which largely controls the legislative process which is nominally Parliament’s main reason for existence. The House of Commons does not fulfil its functions particularly effectively, while the composition of the House of Lords has long been so indefensible as to render it incapable of exercising much effective power.