Parliament of Great Britain

         The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy. The Houses of Parliament in London, known also as the Palace of Westminster, is the place where members of Parliament (MPs) gather together to make laws. The Parliament consists of 2 Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members of each house meet in sessions which begin at the end of October and last for about 160 days. All the time Parliament is in session, a flag can be seen over the building, and when the House of Commons is still sitting after dark, there is a light over the face of Big Ben.

         The party which has the majority of seats in the House of Commons is called Government, and the others – the Opposition. The prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. All the affairs of the state are conducted in the name of the Queen, but it is the Prime Minister who is the ruler of the country. The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and ministers.

         Any M.P. may introduce a bill to the Parliament. Every bill has 3 readings at first in the House of Commons. The Speaker is the chairman at all the debates in the House of Commons, and it is his duty to keep order. The Speaker is elected by all the members of the House of Commons. He belongs to one of the political parties, but he never votes with other members. When the votes are equal he votes with the Government. After the third reading the bill goes before the House of Lords. If the Lords agree to the bill, it will be placed before the Queen for signature. The Queen having signed it, it becomes an Act of Parliament.

         The chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor. He sits on the woolsack, a large bag of wool covered with red cloth. It shows that wool made England rich.