What Is Parliament?

Parliament is the UK's legislative authority. It has three elements - the monarchy, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. All of these elements must be in agreement before a proposal can become law. The Parliamentary Government sets the legislative agenda. It is formed by the majority party or a coalition of parties. The Government is therefore able to gather a majority in favour of its proposed laws, regardless of the strength of feeling among opposition MPs. Legislation can also be proposed, drafted and introduced by individual MPs through a private members bill. However, these are rarely successful in ending up as law.

Each bill must go through a series of debates called "readings" by both houses. It must also come under the scrutiny of committees in both houses. A bill can only become law when it is give Royal assent, that is, the signature of approval from the monarch. It is convention for the monarch to approve legislation, whether he or she agrees with it or not.