Editing Politics of the United Kingdom (section)

===British Parliament===
{{Main|Parliament of the United Kingdom}}

====House of Commons====
{{Main|House of Commons of the United Kingdom}}
[[File:UK Parliament HDR.jpg|thumb|left|Parliament meets at the [[Palace of Westminster]]]]

The four [[countries of the United Kingdom]] are divided into parliamentary [[constituencies]] of broadly equal population by the four [[Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)|Boundary Commissions]]. Each constituency elects a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) to the House of Commons at general elections and, if required, at by-elections. As of the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]] there are 650 constituencies (there were 646 before that year's [[2010 United Kingdom general election|general election]]). At the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]], of the 650 MPs, all but one – [[Sylvia Hermon]] – were elected as representatives of a [[political party]]. However, as of the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]], there are currently 11 independent MPs, who have either chosen to leave their political party or have had the whip withdrawn.

In modern times, all prime ministers and [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|leaders of the opposition]] have been drawn from the Commons, not the Lords. [[Alec Douglas-Home]] resigned from his peerages days after becoming prime minister in 1963, and the last prime minister before him from the Lords left in 1902 (the [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Marquess of Salisbury]]).

One party usually has a majority in parliament, because of the use of the [[First Past the Post electoral system]], which has been conducive in creating the current [[Two-party system]]. The monarch normally asks a person commissioned to form a government simply whether it can ''survive'' in the House of Commons, something which majority governments are expected to be able to do. In exceptional circumstances the monarch asks someone to 'form a government' ''with a parliamentary minority''<ref>The formal request from the monarch is either to (a) form a government capable of ''surviving'' in the House of Commons (which by implication does not require a majority behind it, given that skilled minority governments can and do survive for long periods); or (b) form a government capable of ''commanding'' a majority in the Commons, which by implication requires a majority behind it</ref> which in the event of no party having a majority requires the formation of a [[coalition government]] or 'confidence and supply' arrangement. This option is only ever taken at a time of national emergency, such as war-time. It was given in 1916 to [[Bonar Law]], and when he declined, to [[David Lloyd George]] and in 1940 to [[Winston Churchill]]. A government is not formed by a vote of the House of Commons, it is a commission from the monarch. The House of Commons gets its first chance to indicate confidence in the new government when it votes on the [[Speech from the throne]] (the legislative programme proposed by the new government).

====House of Lords====
{{Main|House of Lords}}
{{See also|Reform of the House of Lords}}

The House of Lords was previously a largely [[hereditary]] [[aristocratic]] chamber, although including [[life peer]]s, and [[Lords Spiritual]]. It is currently midway through extensive reforms, the most recent of these being enacted in the [[House of Lords Act 1999]], in which it sought to reduce the number of hereditary peers within the Lords to remove their automatic right to sit and vote. Although, through negotiation, 92 peers remain temporarily in the Lords. However, in September 2024, Starmer's Labour government introduced the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wright |first1=Oliver |title=House of Lords reform to remove hereditary peers in 18 months |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/house-of-lords-reform-to-remove-hereditary-peers-in-18-months-2vg20k8h7?utm_source=chatgpt.com |website=The Times |publisher=The Times |access-date=13 January 2025}}</ref> The bill strives to remove all individuals who hold legislative positions, resulting from birthright, to improve democratic representation within the legislative system - this is expected to become law by the end of 2025 (or early 2026). The house consists of two very different types of member, the [[Lords Temporal]] and Lords Spiritual. Lords Temporal include appointed members (life peers with no hereditary right for their descendants to sit in the house) and ninety-two remaining hereditary peers, elected from among, and by, the holders of titles which previously gave a seat in the House of Lords. The Lords Spiritual represent the [[State religion|established]] [[Church of England]] and number twenty-six: the Five Ancient Sees ([[Archbishop of Canterbury|Canterbury]], [[Archbishop of York|York]], [[Bishop of London|London]], [[Bishop of Winchester|Winchester]] and [[Bishop of Durham|Durham]]), and the 21 next-most senior bishops. Secular organisations such as [[Humanists UK]] oppose bishops sitting in the House of Lords.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://humanists.uk/campaigns/secularism/constitutional-reform/bishops-in-the-lords/ |title= Bishops in the House of Lords |website= humanists.uk |access-date= 12 March 2022}}</ref> The movement to end the Church of England's status as the official state religion of the United Kingdom is known as [[disestablishmentarianism]]. Alternatives include a [[secular state]] in which the state purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion.

The House of Lords currently acts to review legislation initiated by the House of Commons, with the power to propose amendments, and can exercise a [[suspensive veto]]. This allows it to delay legislation if it does not approve it for twelve months. However, the use of vetoes is limited by convention and by the operation of the [[Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949]]: the Lords may not veto the "money bills" or major manifesto promises (see [[Salisbury convention]]). Persistent use of the veto can also be overturned by the Commons, under a provision of the [[Parliament Act 1911]]. Often governments will accept changes in legislation in order to avoid both the time delay, and the negative publicity of being seen to clash with the Lords. However the Lords still retain a full veto in acts which would extend the life of parliament beyond the 5-year term limit introduced by the Parliament Act 1911.

The [[Constitutional Reform Act 2005]] outlined plans for a [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]] to replace the role of the Law Lords.

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom replaced the House of Lords as the [[final court of appeal]] on civil cases within the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009.