Legislatures of the United Kingdom
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The legislatures of the United Kingdom are derived from a number of different sources. The
United Kingdom legislature
The Parliament of the United Kingdom – along with the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the UK Parliament, the British Parliament, the Westminster Parliament or "Westminster", is the supreme legislative body for the United Kingdom and for English Law. It alone possesses
.The United Kingdom Legislation may take the form of
With there being no devolved legislature in England the UK Parliament is the supreme body for its governance, legislation, public bodies and local government.
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is an elected chamber consisting of 650 members, known as
The House of Commons is now considered to be the supreme chamber of Parliament.
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is an unelected chamber with all members to the House of Lords being appointed. As of August 2018, there are 793 members known as "Peers". The House of Lords no longer has the same powers as the House of Commons under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, especially when it comes to blocking general legislation and the passing of financial legislation.
Devolved legislatures
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood",[3] is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Of these 73 MSPs are elected using First past the post in single member constituencies and a further 56 MSPs are elected using the D'Hondt method, a form of party-list proportional representation in eight additional member regions with each region electing 7 MSPs.
The Scottish Parliament was convened by the
The
Senedd
The
The Senedd had no powers to initiate
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland which is a democratically elected body comprising 90[8] members known as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The 90 MLAs are elected using the single transferable vote across the 18 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies with each constituency electing 5 MLAs. It was established in 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement which was approved by the public in referendums which were held in both Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland.
It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly
The Assembly was dissolved on 26 January 2017 owing to a breakdown of trust which brought down both the Assembly and Executive. In January 2020, Arlene Foster resumed her post as First Minister.
European Union (1973–2020)
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The United Kingdom became a member state of the
The European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union (the council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU. The Parliament is composed of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009).[9]
The United Kingdom between 1979 and 2020 used to elect members to the European Parliament, of these a number were elected using the D'Hondt method, a form of party-list proportional representation in 11 former regional constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales while in Northern Ireland 3 MEPs were elected using the single transferable vote in a single national constituency. With the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU all legislation that provided for the holding of elections to the European Parliament as well as the position of Member of the European Parliament (MEP) within the UK was repealed by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
The historical legislatures
- Parliament of England (13th century to 1707)
- Parliament of Scotland (13th century to 1707)
- Parliament of Ireland (13th century to 1800)
- Parliament of Great Britain (1707–1800)
- Parliament of Northern Ireland (1921–1972)
See also
- United Kingdom constitutional law
- List of legislation in the United Kingdom
- Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom relating to the European Communities and the European Union
References
- ^ Section 2 of The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 (17 Geo. V c. 4)
- ISBN 978-1-78225-432-4.
- ^ "Scottish Parliament Word Bank". Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ "Scotland Act 1998: Scottish Parliament Reserved Issues". Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI). Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ Murkens, Jones & Keating (2002) pp11
- ^ "Scottish Parliament Official Report – 12 May 1999". Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
- ^ a b "Wales says Yes in referendum vote". BBC News. 4 March 2011.
- ^ After the March 2017 elections, previously 108.
- ^ Brand, Constant; Wielaard, Robert (8 June 2009). "Conservatives Post Gains in European Elections". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
External links
- UK legislation by His Majesty's Stationery Office