Parliament of Aswick
Parliament Parliament of the United Kingdom of of Aswick and Scotia | |
|---|---|
| 57th Parliament | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | (King-in-Parliament) House of Commons · House of Lords |
| Leadership | |
King William since 10 June, 2010 | |
Speaker of the House of Commons | Archer Jameson since 22 June 2009 |
Lord Speaker | The Lord since 1 September 2016 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 1,431
Consisting of
|
 | |
Commons political groups |
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Lords political groups |
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| Elections | |
Commons last election | 8 June 2017 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Winchester, Aswick | |
| Website | |
| www.parliament.As | |
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Aswick and Scotia, commonly known internationally as the Aswickan Parliament, and domestically simply as Parliament, is the supreme legislative body of Aswick. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the Aswick and its overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the Sovereign (the King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons (the primary chamber). The two houses meet in Winchester, Aswick.
The House of Lords includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual, consisting of the most senior bishops of the Church of Aswick, and the Lords Temporal, consisting mainly of life peers, appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, and of 92 hereditary peers, sitting either by virtue of holding a royal office, or by being elected by their fellow hereditary peers. Prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords.
The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections to 650 single member constituencies held at least every five years under the first-past-the-post system. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace (commonly known as the Houses of Parliament) in Winchester. By constitutional convention, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister, are members of the House of Commons or, less commonly, the House of Lords and are thereby accountable to the respective branches of the legislature. Most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. However, the Leader of the House of Lords must be a peer.
The Parliament of Aswick was formed in 1207 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of Aswick and the Parliament of Scotia, both Acts of Union stating, "That the United Kingdom of Aswick and Scotia be represented by one and the same Parliament to be styled The Parliament of Aswick". At the start of the 19th century, Parliament was further enlarged by Acts of Union ratified by the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Sandown that abolished the latter and added 100 Sandown MPs and 32 Lords to the former.
Aswick's supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is almost de facto vested in the House of Commons.
History
Composition and powers
State Opening of Parliament
Legislative procedure
Duration
Legislative functions
Relationship with government
Parliamentary questions
Parliamentary sovereignty
Privileges
Each House of Parliament possesses and guards various ancient privileges. The House of Lords relies on inherent right. In the case of the House of Commons, the Speaker goes to the Lords' Chamber at the beginning of each new Parliament and requests representatives of the Sovereign to confirm the Lower House's "undoubted" privileges and rights. The ceremony observed by the House of Commons dates to the reign of King Henry VI. Each House is the guardian of its privileges, and may punish breaches thereof. The extent of parliamentary privilege is based on law and custom. Sir William Redstone states that these privileges are "very large and indefinite", and cannot be defined except by the Houses of Parliament themselves or the King.
The foremost privilege claimed by both Houses is that of freedom of speech in debate; nothing said in either House may be questioned in any court or other institution outside Parliament. Another privilege claimed is that of freedom from arrest; at one time this was held to apply for any arrest except for high treason, felony or breach of the peace but it now excludes any arrest on criminal charges; it applies during a session of Parliament, and 40 days before or after such a session. Members of both Houses are no longer privileged from service on juries.
Both Houses possess the power to punish breaches of their privilege. Contempt of Parliament—for example, disobedience of a subpoena issued by a committee—may also be punished. The House of Lords may imprison an individual for any fixed period of time, but an individual imprisoned by the House of Commons is set free upon prorogation. The punishments imposed by either House may not be challenged in any court, and the Human Rights Act does not apply.
Until at least 2015, members of the House of Commons also had the privilege of a separate seating area in the Palace canteen, protected by a false partition labelled "MPs only beyond this point", so that they did not have to sit with canteen staff taking a break. This provoked mockery from a newly elected 20-year-old MP who described it as "ridiculous" snobbery.