British Culture Assignment - Group4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. PARLIAMENT
1. Roles of Parliament
2. Parts of Parliament
2.1. The Monarch
2.2. House of Commons
2.3. House of Lords
3. Comparison between UK’s Parliament and Vietnam’s National Assembly
4. House of Parliament
II. BRITISH ELECTION
1. General elections
2. Polling procedure
3. Post-election
4. Vietnamese and British election
4.1. Similarities
4.2. Differences
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
PARLIAMENT AND ELECTION IN
THE UNITED KINGDOM
I. PARLIAMENT
1. Roles of Parliament
Parliament is an essential part of UK politics. Its main roles are:
 Examining and challenging the work of the government
 Debating and passing all laws. Parliament is responsible for approving new laws
 Enabling the government to raise taxes.
2. Parts of Parliament
Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the United Kingdom. Made up of the House of
Commons, House of Lords and the Queen (who is the UK's current hereditary monarch).
 The Monarch, the Queen, opens and closes Parliament every year, asks the winning party in a

2.2. House of Commons
Full, formal title: The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.
2.2.1. History of House of Commons
The House of Commons of England evolved in England during the 14th century and, in
practice, has been in continuous existence since, becoming the House of Commons of Great
Britain after the political union with Scotland, during the nineteenth century, of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland after the political union with Ireland, finally reaching its current title after
independence was given to the Irish Free State in 1922.
The House of Commons was originally far less powerful than the House of Lords, but today its
legislative powers greatly exceed those of the Lords. Moreover, the Government is primarily
responsible to the House of Commons; the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she
retains its support.
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
2.2.2. Members of Parliament (MPs)
a) The leadership
 Speaker: John Bercow
 Leader: Sir George Young (Conservative)
 Shadow Leader: Hillary Benn (Labour)
b) The members
 The Commons is publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the
Commons forms the government.
 They hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years after the
preceding election).
 After the General Election 2010, there were 650 MPs elected. Due to the resignation of Mr
Gerry Adams on 26 January 2011 and the death of David Cairns on 9 May 2011 there are
currently 648 MPs.
2.2.3. Roles
a) Relationship with the government

b) The members
The Lords currently has around 830 Members, and there are three different types: life Peers,
bishops and elected hereditary Peers. Unlike MPs, the public do not elect the Lords. The majority are
appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister or of the House of Lords
Appointments Commission.
 Life Peers: Appointed for their lifetime only, these Lords' titles are not passed on to their
children. The Queen formally appoints life Peers on the advice and recommendation of the
Prime Minister.
 Archbishops and bishops: A limited number of 26 Church of England archbishops and
bishops sit in the House, passing their membership on to the next most senior bishop when
they retire. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York traditionally get life peerages on
retirement.
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British Culture Assignment - Group4
 Elected hereditary Peers: The right of hereditary Peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords
was ended in 1999 by the House of Lords Act but 92 Members were elected internally to
remain until the next stage of the Lords reform process.
2.3.2. Roles
a) Relationship with the Government
The House of Lords does not control the term of the Prime Minister or of the Government. Only
the Lower House may force the Prime Minister to resign or call elections by passing a motion of no-
confidence or by withdrawing supply. Thus, the House of Lords' oversight of the government is
limited.
The House of Lords remains a source for junior ministers and members of government. Like the
House of Commons, the Lords also have a Government Chief Whip as well as several Junior Whips.
Where a government department is not represented by a minister in the Lords or one is not available,
government whips will act as spokesmen for them.
b) Legislative functions
The House of Lords debates legislation, and has power to amend or reject bills. However, the
power of the Lords to reject a bill passed by the House of Commons is severely restricted by the