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Knowledge Base: PSHRE Our Parliament Year 8 | Term 3
1. Parliament and Government
1.1
government
This is formed by the party which wins the most seats in a general election, the government runs the country and is consists of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and junior ministers, supported by civil servants.
1.2
parliament
Parliament is made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch. The Government cannot make new laws or raise taxes without Parliament’s agreement.
1.3
democracy
Democracy means 'rule by the people'. In the UK this means the Government is elected through voting by the adult population in a General Election.
1.4
House of Commons
This is where the elected Members of Parliament (MP’s) work. They belong to a variety of political parties.
1.5
House of Lords
The members who sit in this chamber are mostly appointed
for life rather than elected. Many have been chosen because of their achievements and experience and many do not belong to a political party.
1.6
prime minister (PM)
The leader of the party which gained the most votes in the General Election. This person is in charge of the Government and is elected by the Party not the population of the country.
1.7
cabinet
This is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the PM and its members include secretaries of state and other senior ministers.
1.8
minister
A Minister is someone who takes charge of a Government department, for example, the Minister for Education runs the department for Education and is responsible for schools,
colleges, teaching staff, pupils and other related educational issues.
1.9
opposition
This is usually the political party with the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons. The Leader of the Opposition takes the lead role in questioning the PM in Parliament.
1.10
MP (member of parliament)
This person has been elected to represent the population in a specific area of the country called a constituency.
1.11
general election
A countrywide election held every five years to elect MPs to the House of Commons.
2. Questions about Our Parliament
2.1
What is the role of an MP?
There are 650 elected Members of Parliament (MPs) They have all been elected to represent a part of the country known as a constituency. People who want to be MPs will have to campaign in their local area to try to gain votes. MPs have two major roles: 1 – Representing constituents in their local constituency by listening to their problems and trying to make the local area better. 2 –Working on UK law and policy in the House of Commons.
2.2
Where and what is the Palace of Westminster?
The Palace is in London and home of the Houses of Commons and Lords. The Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, close by other government buildings in Whitehall. The oldest part of the Palace still in existence, Westminster Hall, dates from 1097.
2.3
Who can vote in elections?
To be able to vote in the United Kingdom, you have to be aged 18 years or older, be registered to vote; be either a British citizen or, qualifying Commonwealth citizen; and not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote.
2.4
What is an Act of Parliament?
This is a Law which has been passed by both the House of Commons and House of Lords. It begins life as a White Paper. White papers are policy documents produced by the Government that set out their proposals for future legislation. White Papers are often published as Command Papers and may include a
draft version of a Bill that is being planned. This provides a basis for further consultation and discussion with interested or affected groups and allows final changes to be made before a Bill is formally presented to Parliament.
UK Parliament Youth Parliament Intro video Voting History UK
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