How the UK Parliament Works: Commons, Lords and the Making of Laws

The United Kingdom’s Parliament is where laws are made, public money is approved and governments are held to account. It has two chambers, and each plays a different role.

The House of Commons

The Commons is the elected chamber. The country is divided into 650 constituencies, and voters in each one elect a Member of Parliament (MP). The party that can win the confidence of the Commons forms the government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister. Other parties form the Opposition, and the largest of them is known as the Official Opposition.

The Commons is where the biggest political debates happen. Prime Minister’s Questions, held on Wednesdays while Parliament is sitting, is the best-known weekly event, but much of the scrutiny happens in committees.

The House of Lords

The Lords is the second chamber. Its members are mostly appointed rather than elected, and include experts, former public servants and politicians. Its main job is to examine and improve legislation, and to question the government. It can suggest amendments and delay bills, but it cannot permanently override the Commons.

How a bill becomes an Act of Parliament

A proposed law is called a bill. Most government bills start in either House, and follow broadly the same stages:

1. First reading: a formal introduction, with no debate.
2. Second reading: MPs or peers debate the main principles of the bill.
3. Committee stage: detailed, line-by-line examination of the text.
4. Report stage: the whole House considers amendments.
5. Third reading: a final debate and vote on the bill.
6. The other House: the bill then goes through the same stages in the other chamber.
7. Ping-pong: if the Houses disagree on changes, the bill bounces between them until both agree.
8. Royal Assent: the monarch formally approves the bill and it becomes an Act of Parliament. In practice this is never refused.

Who holds the government to account

• Select committees are cross-party groups of MPs that investigate government departments and publish reports.
• Debates and questions let MPs challenge ministers directly.
• Votes decide whether the government’s plans pass. A government that loses the confidence of the Commons can fall.

Watching it yourself

You can follow debates live and read the official record on the UK Parliament website, which also lets you look up your local MP and see how they voted.