Parliament

Parliament, Britain's legislature, is made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Queen in her constitutional role. They meet together only on occasions of ceremonial significance, such as the state opening of Parliament, although the agreement of all three is normally required for legislation.

The House of Commons consists of 659 elected members called Members of Parliament or MPs. Election to the House of Commons is an important part of Britain's democratic system. The main purpose of the House of Commons is to make laws by passing Acts of Parliament, as well as to discuss current political issues.

The House of Lords currently consists of 688 non-elected members (hereditary peers [наследственный пэр] and peeresses [супруга пэра, леди], life peers [пожизненный пэр] and peeresses and two archbishops and 24 senior bishops of the established Church [государственная церковь, официально признана государством и частично финансируется им] of England). Its main legislative function is to examine and revise bills from the Commons, but the Lords cannot normally prevent proposed legislation from become law if the Commons insists on it. It also acts as the final court of appeal. In recent years the House of Lords has undergone a process of reform to make it more democratic and representative. As a first step, the rights of some 750 hereditary peers to sit and vote in Parliament solely on the basis that they inherited their seats were removed. The remaining 92 Hereditary peers are allowed to sit temporarily in the transitional chamber until the full reform programme is in place. The next phase of the House of Lords reform would remove the remaining hereditary peers and create a partly-elected upper house.

The center of parliamentary power is the House of Commons. Limitations on the power of the Lords is based on the principle that the Lords should complement [служить дополнением до целого] the Commons and not rival [соперничать] it. Once passed through both Houses, legislation requires the Royal Assent [королевская санкция, санкция монарха (одобрение монархом законопроекта [bill], принятого обеими палатами парламента, после чего законопроект становится законом [act of Parliament])] to become law.

Parliament has a number of ways to exert control [осуществлять надзор] over the executive branch. Parliamentary committees [парламентский комитет] question ministers and civil servants before preparing reports on matters of public policy and issues can be debated before decisions are reached. However, ultimate power rests in the ability of the House of Commons to force the government to resign by passing a resolution of 'no confidence' [недоверие]. The government must also resign if the House rejects a proposal so vital to its policy that it has made it a matter of confidence [конфиденциальный вопрос; материал, не подлежащий оглашению]. The proceedings [работа] of both Houses of Parliament are broadcast on television and radio, sometimes live or more usually in recorded and edited form.

General elections are held after Parliament has been 'dissolved', either by a royal proclamation [королевская декларация (официальное сообщение по общенациональному вопросу;, о созыве или роспуске парламента [Parliament], об объявлении войны, о заключении мира)] or because the maximum term between elections - five years - has expired. The decision on when to hold a general election is made by the Prime Minister.

For electoral purposes Britain is divided into constituencies, each of which returns one MP to the House of Commons. MPs are elected by the relative majority method - sometimes called the 'first past the post' principle - which means the candidate with more votes than any other is elected.

In elections to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly [национальное собрание] for Wales and the European Parliament in 1999, forms of proportional representation (PR) were used for the first time in Great Britain. PR was also used in the 1998 elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly [ассамблея Северной Ирландии]. Northern Ireland has used a version of PR in European Parliament elections since 1979.

All British citizens together with citizens of other Commonwealth countries and citizens of the Irish Republic resident in Britain may vote, provided they are aged 18 years or over and not legally barred from [запрещать; исключать] voting. People not entitled to vote include those serving prison sentences, peers and peeresses who are members of the House of Lords, and those kept in hospital under mental health legislation [законодательство по охране психического здоровья].

Commonwealth Содружество, британское Содружество, британское Содружество наций (объединяет Великобританию и ее бывшие доминионы и колонии, ныне независимые государства (с разным статусом); английская королева выступает как символ свободной ассоциации независимых государств-членов Содружества и в этом качестве является его главой; объединение - правопреемник Британского содружества наций, основывавшегося на принципе " общей верности короне") Включает 50 государств; устава или конституции, определяющих характер, структуру и цели Содружества, не имеет; создавалось Великобританией для сохранения её экономических и военно-политических позиций в подвластных странах и территориях; население около 1435 человек)

Voting is by secret ballot. At a general election the elector selects just one candidate on the ballot paper and marks an 'X' by the candidate's name. Voting in elections is voluntary. In the June 2001 general election 59.4 per cent of the electorate voted, compared with 72 per cent in 1997.

Any person aged 21 or over who is a British citizen or citizen of another Commonwealth country or the Irish Republic may stand for election to Parliament, provided they are not disqualified. People disqualified include those who are bankrupt, those sentenced to more than one year's imprisonment, members of the clergy, members of the House of Lords, and a range of public servants and officials. Approved candidates are usually selected by their political party organisations in the constituency which they represent, although candidates do not have to have party backing.

The leader of the political party which wins most seats (although not necessarily most votes) at a general election, or who has the support of a majority of members in the House of Commons, is by convention invited by the Sovereign to form the new government.