MA Global Management Students Visit House of
Parliament
London, 4th December 07
Report by Sarah Darwiche and Awais Ahmed
–
MA Global Management students
The House of Parliament is open to all members of the public,
including overseas visitors. We were given a full tour of the
building by a parliament staff member who described the
history and the processes that take place in each room. This
included rooms where the country’s laws, bills and debates and take
place.
We were told that 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.
Two Houses
By the 14th century two distinct Houses, the House
of Commons and the House of Lords,
had developed.
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. In 1660 the monarchy was
restored under King Charles II.
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.
Power Shift
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.
Our group then had a session with a Member Of
Parliament; Ms Glenda Jackson
MP, responsible for Hampstead & Highgate
area. Ms Jackson in her former career is also a two time
Oscar Winner. Little did we know from the soft exterior she was an
absolute iron lady! She has many interesting views of the current
political situation and state of affairs both locally and
internationally. She has great passion for her work.
Alas our exciting outing came to an end. For many of us the
visit was a great experience which has helped us better understand
Parliament's role in UK politics, it's relationship with
Government, the Crown and the rest of Europe. We also had
a short briefing on what Member of Parliaments and Lords do, how
they are elected and how we can contact them.
Report by Sarah Darwiche and Awais Ahmed
– MA Global Management students