Distinguish between the different functions of the House of Lords and House of Commons

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21st September 2005

Distinguish between the different functions of the House of Lords and House of Commons

Both the House of Lords and House of Commons carry out many functions in Parliament. Each function plays a vital role, which all interconnect with each other. The House of Commons perform many more functions than the House of Lords but one wouldn’t be possible without the other, in a manner of speaking, otherwise parliament would, perhaps,  make political errors. However, the main factor that contributes to their similarities is legislature.

The House of Commons and House of Lords have two main similarities but within those two functions there are many differences. However, these differences help parliament in a chain of events. Only the House of Commons is allowed to make bills, these don’t have to be made by the government. Bills are introduced by an individual MP, known as a Private Members’ Bill, also, the House of Commons takes a free vote on a particular issue. This is when all whips will be called off and the MPs will be allowed to make up their own mind on that issue. However, the first similarity is that both the House of Lords and House of Commons are involved in the process of legislature. A bill is firstly made by the House of Commons through much debating and is sent on to the House of Lords. Now, the House of Lords has three options, two of which are its most important functions. The House of Lords could either pass the law onto the monarchy if they agree with it and then, it would become an official law or they could delay or amend the bill but only up to a year. With an exception, the House of Lords cannot deal with money bills or public expenditure. Amending the bill simply means that it is sent back to the House of Commons for them to re-think it over because there is either a legal fault in the bill or a human rights issue to contend with. As there are nay legal minds in the House of Lords this makes the task of amending bills easier. In some cases, the House of Lords give suggestions of how to amend the law but the House of Commons doesn’t have to listen to them. The House of Lords can also delay the law; this means they can ignore the bill and not even discuss it, such as that of foxhunting but seeing as they are all Lords they probably did this for their own benefit!

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The other of these two similarities is that they both debate although they debate in different ways and circumstances. The House of Commons debates wider issues and a large quantity of them; they debate what bills they are going to pass and the laws in which the government wish to pass. They all have a right to their own opinions so discuss which bills would be the most suitable to help the nation and perhaps themselves in some cases. The House of Lords have a rather enclosed choice of issues to debate; they can either debate government bills or ...

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