Editing Law of the United Kingdom (section)

===United Kingdom Parliament===
[[Image:houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]], as seen over [[Westminster Bridge]]]]
{{main|Parliament of the United Kingdom}}

The [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] is [[bicameral]], with an [[upper house]] - the [[House of Lords]], and a [[lower house]] - the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]. In addition to the two houses, the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|King]] is also a component of Parliament.

The House of Lords includes two different types of members: The [[Lords Spiritual]] (the senior [[bishop]]s of the [[Church of England]]) and the [[Lords Temporal]] (members of the [[Peerage]]). Its members are not elected by the population at large.

The House of Commons is a democratically elected chamber. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the [[Palace of Westminster]], commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament", in the [[City of Westminster]] in [[London]]. By [[constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]], all [[government ministers]], including the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords.

Parliament evolved from the [[early medieval]] councils that advised the sovereigns of [[List of monarchs of England|England]] and [[List of monarchs of Scotland|Scotland]]. The King, Lords, and Commons acting together to legislate may be described as the [[King-in-Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen in Parliament |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page4691.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118231241/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4691.asp |archive-date=18 January 2008 |access-date=19 February 2008 |work=The Monarchy Today: Queen and State |publisher=[[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|The British Monarchy]]|quote=The phrase 'Crown in Parliament' is used to describe the British legislature, which consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.}}</ref> The King-in-Parliament is, according to the doctrine of [[Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom|parliamentary sovereignty]], completely sovereign with the power to make and unmake any law other than to bind itself.

Real power is vested in the House of Commons. The Sovereign acts only as a figurehead and the powers of the House of Lords are greatly limited. The parliament retains some law-making powers for some jurisdictions outside of the United Kingdom proper.