MPs are elected on a "first past the post" basis which simply means that when all the votes for the candidates are counted, the one with the most wins, whether or not that is the view of the majority. Often at a General Election there will be four or more candidates so many MPs will not have an overall majority.
MPs represent political parties, the main three are Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. There are then a number of minor parties such as Scottish Nationalists, Plaid Cymru and various Irish parties.
One MP is elected by his or her colleagues to be the Speaker. This is effectively the Chairman of the Commons and that person gives up their party affiliation to take the position.
The Commons Chamber has two sides - Government and Opposition you must be one or the other. Currently Labour are in Government and are joined by the SDLP from Northern Ireland. Everyone else is Opposition, though that is not to say they do not sometimes vote with the Government if they agree!
The Parliamentary year normally begins in mid-October and lasts until mid-July. The House sits from Monday to Thursday and occasionally on a Friday. The standard hours are 2.30pm until 10pm, Monday to Wednesday. From 11.30am to 7pm on Thursday and from 9.30am to 2.30pm on a Friday. Though there is usually other business at the end of those hours and parliament can sometimes sit right through the night!
HOW MPs MAKE LAWS
Laws have to be agreed by both the House of Commons (the elected chamber) and the House of Lords (the appointed chamber). Though the Commons does have reserve powers which can be invoked eventually if the Lords cannot agree.
When proposed new laws are presented to parliament they are called "Bills". Once they are agreed they become "Acts".
So any Bill has to have a 1st and 2nd Reading, followed by Committee Stage, Report Stage and 3rd Reading. Once this has completed the Bill passes to the other House where the whole process is begun again.
If there is agreement the Bill becomes an Act. If not the Bill passes back and the amendments from the other House must be considered. This process continues until there is agreement or until the Commons invokes the Parliament Act that allows them to have the final say as the elected chamber.
But what do these terms mean in reality?
1st Reading
This is the first time a Bill is brought to the attention of the House and all that happens is that the name of the Bill is read out and the date of the 2nd Reading announced.
2nd Reading
This is the first time a Bill is tested. By this time it will be printed and MPs can see what the full extent of the Bill is. There is usually a debate at this time on the general principles of the Bill rather than the detail. If it is opposed a vote will be taken and if passed the Bill moves to Committee Stage.
Committee Stage
Having successfully passed the 2nd Reading stage, a committee of MPs is formed to scrutinise the Bill in great detail. This happens upstairs in one of the many committee rooms. The Bill can be amended and changed quite radically and for many pieces of legislation this is where the real work is done. There will be several Bills in committee at the same time and this partially explains why you sometimes see the Commons Chamber looking perhaps a bit more empty than you might expect!
Report Stage
The committee will present their Bill back back to the full Commons at Report Stage. This gives all MPs the chance to discuss the merits of the Bill as it now stands and new amendments can be made at this stage. But once they are agreed the Bill moves to 3rd Reading.
3rd Reading
So after much discussion and probably many changes there is a final version, presented for final approval. This is called 3rd Reading. The Bill cannot be amended at this time but there can be a vote, indeed there often is.
But if all those hurdles are cleared the Bill is then sent down the corridor for their Lordships to do it all again. No wonder change is so slow!!
Select Committees
Select Committees are discharged with the responsibility of holding Government Departments to account.
Each Government Department will be shadowed by a Select Committee. These are All Party committees and their membership reflects the overall proportions of the Parties in the Commons.
The Committees are often made up of members who are acknowledged as having some expertise in those areas. For example having been the Chairman of Humberside Police Authority for four years I was appointed to the Home Affairs Select Committee.
Select Committees have the freedom to investigate whatever issues within the Departments remit they wish to.
The Committees have significant powers. If they summons a person to give evidence to them, they must attend as in a court of law. Similarly there are penal punishments should anyone decline.
Their reports list recommendations and the relevant Government Minister must respond to each point, either to say when they will be actioned of if not, why not.
They are an important part of our democracy and often bring the best out of the House as usual party loyalities are dropped for the benefit of consensual policies.
All Party Groups
Within reason, there is an All Party Group for just about any issue you can think of!
Members are not restricted to how many groups they can join, but there is a limit to how many you can realistically participate in!
The Groups must have members of all the main parties to be eligible to be registered and the Groups include members of both the Lords and the Commons.
Some Groups allow outside interest groups to hold associate membership. In that case they are called Associate Parliamentary Groups but they are the same in all other senses.
The Groups meet to discuss issues and to lobby the Government for future action. They are powerful and influential groups and Ministers regularly appear in front of them to discuss topical issues.
Early Day Motions
Sometimes described as political graffitti, these are motions signed by MPs that appear on the order paper.
They are calls for debates on any issue and whilst they never go any further the number of MPs who sign such a motion (known as EDMs) is carefully monitored by Government Departments.
If you get over 100 to sign it will be carefully considered, over 200 then it is something the Government needs to be looking at.
Members of the Government are not allowed to sign such motions unless they have a very clear constituency interest.
Whilst theoretically these motions have no power they are used in all kinds of lobbying to raise issues and gauge what level of support there is for any particular issue.
Adjournment Debates
At the end of every day there is a debate on the motion to adjourn the House.
Members use these debates as an opportunity to raise issues of personal interest or to do with their constituency. The relevant Minister must attend and respond.
To apply for such a debate the Member must put in a request to the Speaker. Every week this is oversubscribed and a draw takes place to allocate the places available.
Most debates have a maximum duration of 30 minutes and whilst there are no rules, the accepted norm is that the member speaks for 15 minutes, allowing the Minister the same to respond.
During the last parliament a second chamber in Westminster Hall was introduced for the specific purpose of adjournment debates. This allows more debates to take place but inevitably they are still oversubscribed.
