The House of Lords
As we all know, Britain is a constitutional monarchy. Strictly speaking, the parliament today consists of the Queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. However, most everyday references to parliament refer to the working of the lords and commons, with the monarchy regarded as a separate institution.
Below the Queen is the House of Lords, it originated in the 14th century, and it used the name of “the House of Lords” in 1544. Whereas in most bicameral systems the upper house has fewer members than the lower, the lords outnumber the commons in Britain.
The House of Lords consists of two parts. One is the lords spiritual,  who are the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of England. Now, it can not number no more than 26 staffs, including five most important Prelates and 21 other most senior Church of England bishop. And the current lords spiritual represent only the Church of England.
The other is the Lords of Temporal. Since the Dissolution of Monasteries, it has been the mos
t numerous group in the House of Lords. Unlike the Lords Spiritual, they may be publicly partisan, aligning themselves with one or another of the political parties that dominate the House of Commons. At the beginning, there are a few hereditary peerages, they have all kinds of titular ranks such as duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron and so on. A hereditary peerage was granted by the king, but Prime Minister must put forward a proposal at present.
Lords are not elected and are not considered to represent anyone besides themselves. They sit in the lords either because they have inherited the seat from their forefathers or because they have been appointed by the sovereign, at the suggestion of the Prime Minister.
monarchyThe House of Lords does not control the term of the Prime Minister or of the Government. So, the House of Lords’ oversight of government is limited. The House of Lords remain a source for junior ministers and members of government.
The main function of the House of Lords is to bring the wide experience of its members into
the process of lawmaking. The House of Lords debates the legislation, with the exception of money bills, and the members have 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 Parliament Acts.
Historically, the House of Lords held several judicial functions which originated from the ancient role of the Curia Regis. Most obviously, until 2009 the House of Lords served as the court of last resort for most instances of UK laws. Since October.1th 2009 this role is now held by the newly created Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The House of Lords and the House of Commons assemble in the Palace of Westminster. And members need not seek the recognition of the presiding officer before speaking, as is done in the House of Commons. Once all speeches on a motion have concluded, the motion may be put to a vote. The House first vote by voice vote, but if any lord challenged the result, a recorded vote known as a division follows.
Nowadays the composition of the House of Lords is seen as being both sexist and elitist be
cause of the way the majority of peerages are passed down through aristocratic patrilineal lines. It is very likely that efforts will be made to reform the House of Lords to make it a more effective and modern institution in the next decade.
In a word, the house of lord is a very important part in Britain’s institution. And it will make a great difference in the development of Britain.

版权声明：本站内容均来自互联网，仅供演示用，请勿用于商业和其他非法用途。如果侵犯了您的权益请与我们联系QQ:729038198，我们将在24小时内删除。