PARLIAMENT

the institution in the UK responsible for making laws, raising taxes and discussing issues which affect the country, which is made up of three parts; the sovereign (= the king or queen), the House of Lords and the House of Commons . The word ‘parliament’ was first used in the 13th century, when Henry III held meetings with his noblemen to raise money from them for government and wars. Several kings found that they did not have enough money, and so they called together representatives from counties and towns in England to ask them to approve taxes. Over time, the noblemen became the House of Lords and the representatives became the House of Commons . The rise of political parties in the 18th century led to less control and involvement of the sovereign, leaving government in the hands of the cabinet led by the prime minister . Although the UK is still officially governed by Her Majesty’s Government , the Queen does not have any real control over what happens in Parliament. Both the House of Lords and the House of Commons meet in the Palace of Westminster , also called the Houses of Parliament in chambers with several rows of seats facing each other where members of the government sit on one side and members of the Opposition sit on the other. Each period of government, also called a parliament, lasts a maximum of five years and is divided into one-year periods called sessions .