Quick guides to Parliament can be found here

What Is Parliament?

The British Parliament (called the Westminster Model) has been called 'The Mother of Parliaments' because the model has been followed all over the world and because Britain's Parliamant has been instrumental in the setting up of Parliaments all over the world.  Parliament was originally formed in 1707 after the Act of Union between England and Scotland merged thier two legislative bodies.

Parliament consists of the Monarch, The House of Commons and the House of Lords.  Legally the Queen is the head of Parliament, and all laws must be authorised by her before they are passed.

The House of Lords (The Upper House) is a body of unelected members consisting of  Spiritual Members (the senior bishops of the Church of England), Law Lords and Peers.  As of May 2008 there are 94 hereditary peers and about 630 Life Peers who are appointed to the House of Lords by the Government.  The Law Lords will not continue to be part of the House when the UK Supreme Court is set up in 2009 and are professional judges who have been appointed to the House.

Because the House of Lords is unelected the House of Commons takes a more senior role in the legislative process.  Though all bills with the exception of finance bills are debated in the Lords the Upper House can only delay bills, rather than block them.

The House of Commons consists of 646 seats, with members elected on a local First-Past-The-Post system.  Each constituency votes for a member individually.  Members will often represent a party and the party that wins the most seats will almost certainly be asked by the Queen to form a Government.  There is no set timetable for General Elections, although they must be called at least once every five years.

What MPs Do

Members of Parliament are elected by their constituents to represent their views and make decisions on thier behalf.  They split thier time between being involved in the scrutinising and formation of new laws and the aiding of thier constituents, by holding surgeries and completing Casework.  Only your MP can represent you in Parliament, even if you did not vote for them and you can find out who your MP is here.

MP's may also have other interests including working for a committee (Such as Alan Keen's involvement in the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee) or by joining Parliamentary Groups (such as Alan Keen's involvement in the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Financial Exploitation). 

For further information on how Parliament works, the history of Parliament or Bills currently going through Parliament please visit the website at http://www.parliament.uk/.