Wednesday 1st July 2009
History of Parliament by Richard Skelton
Richard Skelton (left) was our speaker, who after a successful career in the Royal Air Force spent 28 years as Principal Doorkeeper to the House of Lords responsible to the Black Rod in the general running of that chamber.
Richard gave us highlights of the House of Parliament through the centuries from which we were quickly able to ascertain that basically nothing has changed from Cromwell and onwards.
Members of the House are still well able to cut and thrust in the day to day business, yet can provide plenty of banter and good humour when the need arises.
For 40 minutes Richard kept us enthralled with amusing anecdotes, from a lady in a fur coat confronting animal rights protestors, a deaf priest taking confession in a hospital ward to Black Rod being gently and amusingly admonished by the Queen for breaking up one of her residencies whilst officiating at a Palace function.
A highly and entertaining talk.
The vote of thanks was given by Ken Robinson.
John Mills
Houses of Parliament
more technical info about Parliament here http://www.parliament.uk/index.cfm extract below with thanks
Parliament is an essential part of UK politics. Its main roles are:
Examining and challenging the work of the government (scrutiny)
Debating and passing all laws (legislation)
Enabling the government to raise taxesThe UK public elects Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons. MPs are involved in considering and proposing new laws, and can use their position to ask government ministers questions about current issues.
MPs split their time between working in Parliament itself, working in the constituency that elected them, and working for their political party. Some MPs from the ruling party become government ministers with specific responsibilities in certain areas, such as Health or Defence.
Parliament, as a political institution, has developed over hundreds of years. During that period the two distinct Houses – Commons and Lords – emerged and the balance of power between Parliament and the monarchy changed dramatically.
The origins of Parliament go back to the 12th century, when King's councils were held involving barons and archbishops. They discussed politics and were involved in taxation and judgments.
Over time, these councils took a more formal role and saw knights representing each county. This was the beginning of a Commons element in Parliament. The word 'Parliament' was used to describe these meetings by the early 13th century.
By the 14th century two distinct Houses, the Commons and the Lords, had developed.
Central Lobby between the two Houses
Houses of Commons
House of Lords
The Commons involved representatives from counties, towns and cities, the Lords already consisted of members of the nobility and clergy. During the 15th century, King Henry V put the Commons on an equal footing with the Lords.
The 17th century saw civil war break out between supporters of Parliament and the monarchy. King Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649 and a Commonwealth led by Oliver Cromwell established. During the years 1649 to 1660 a series of Parliaments were elected using different constitutional rules.
The Bill of Rights was agreed in 1689. This established Parliament's authority over the monarch: Parliament would be responsible for passing or repealing all laws.
The 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland saw the nations' individual Parliaments replaced by the new Parliament of Great Britain.
After the 1800 Act of Union with Ireland, the Dublin Parliament was abolished and Irish MPs and Lords were represented in the Westminster Parliament.
The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 increased the authority of the Commons over the Lords when passing new laws. The Acts removed the powers of the Lords to amend any Bills concerning money and reduced the amount of time they could delay a Bill.
MPs and Members of the House of Lords are expected to adhere to high standards in their public life. There are separate Codes of Conduct for MPs and Lords that give guidance on the way they should carry out their public duties.
In the House of Commons the Code of Conduct is backed up by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Committee on Standards and Privileges. MPs are required to register a wide range of financial interests they may have which are relevant to their parliamentary work.
Royal Gallery
