EXTRACTS FROM THE VISITOR ROUTE TOUR SCRIPT

  The role of Members is discussed at various points on the Visitor Route tour; the following stops on the route are particularly relevant.

  A full version of the tour script is available from the Central Tours Office.

STOP 7: PRINCE'S CHAMBER

  […] As we shall see, over the centuries there has been transition from royal control to a system of representative democracy, in which every adult in the country can vote for someone to represent them in Parliament. The House of Commons is the meeting place of these representatives, called Members of Parliament, or MPs for short. Elections are held at least every five years and one MP is elected for each of the 646 constituencies that make up the United Kingdom.

  An MP has three key responsibilities: representation, legislation and scrutiny. Representation: he or she is elected to represent the interests of every person in their constituency, no matter whom they supported at the election. Legislation: MPs have a key role in the law making process and debate and modify draft laws, known as "bills". And finally scrutiny: MPs have a responsibility to keep a check on the government. This is done in a number of ways: questions to ministers (for example, Prime Minister's Question Time), investigative select committees (which are made up of representatives of all parties, not just that in power), and controls on central government taxation and expenditure.

  Almost all MPs are members of a political party and the government is usually formed by the leader of the party which has the majority of MPs in the House. This is currently the Labour Party and the Prime Minister is the leader of that party, Gordon Brown. A government can only continue as long as it commands support for its main policies in the House of Commons. […]

STOP 9: LORDS' CHAMBER

  […] The chamber is now fitted with microphones so that Members can remain standing by their seats to speak; the benches have hidden loudspeakers so that Members can hear each other. The galleries above and around are for Members of the public and the press to watch debates. Anybody can apply for access to the gallery, and the proceedings of the House are also easily available through Hansard, the BBC Parliament channel, the internet and other sources.

  Increasingly, some of the detailed work of amending bills takes place in Committees "off the floor". Other committees, investigative select committees, are involved in the scrutiny of the government. Unlike their equivalent committees in the Commons, many of which mirror government departments, select committees in the Lords cover broader areas such as the European Union, Economic Affairs, Science and Technology and the Constitution. […]

STOP 10: PEERS' LOBBY/CORRIDOR

  […] Ultimately, however, the call for Reform was irresistible; with the rise in literacy (and therefore political awareness), the bulk of the population sought a voice, and although many were quite happy with the status quo and sought at least to delay change, change finally came in the form of the great Reform Acts. The first of these, in 1832, gave the vote to all owners or leaseholders of property worth £10 per annum, and increased by half the number of voters, although the way that seats were distributed meant that the countryside still held precedence. The next came in 1867, under Disraeli's premiership, and more than doubled the electorate, including many working men for the first time. In 1884 and 1885 Bills became law which redistributed seats better to reflect the changing shape of Britain, notably the shift in population and wealth between town and country. Votes for women, however, were still some way off; criminals were to be granted the vote before women.

STOP 11: CENTRAL LOBBY

  […] This is the mid-point between the Houses of Commons and Lords and the place where any member of the public can come to meet, or even "lobby", an MP or Lord. You don't need an appointment; the desk will attempt to contact the Member you ask for, and if he or she is in either chamber, a doorkeeper will take them a note telling them that they have a visitor—although be aware that this does not mean that they have to come out to see you—so it is always best to make an appointment first. Central Lobby is also the principal thoroughfare between the Chambers and offices and as such MPs and Lords can often be seen here. […]

STOP 12: MEMBERS' LOBBY

  This is Members' Lobby, the working ante-room to the Chamber just as is the Princes' Chamber for the Lords. Here there are message boards with pigeon holes for notes to be left for MPs while they are in the Chamber or in Committee meetings, if there is something in one of the slots, the MP's name is automatically illuminated. On the opposite side of the Lobby is a Letters Board, with much the same function.

  The nearby Vote Office supplies Members with Parliamentary papers, including Hansard, and just off the Lobby is the Members' Post Office where MPs can collect the hundreds of letters that they receive daily from the public.

  Also nearby are the Whips' offices. The party Whips are responsible for making sure their MPs follow party policy and every week issue a list of the business that is to be debated. When their attendance is essential the item is underlined three times—a three line whip. An MP is either very brave or very foolhardy if they ignore the whip! Whips also act as the eyes and ears of the party leaderships, keeping their ear to the ground and reporting back on the mood of Members; and they operate the pairing system, whereby if an MP has an important reason for being absent from a vote, the whips approach their opposite number in the other party and arrange for one of their MPs to be absent as well, thus cancelling each other out in the vote. This may sound strange, but is in fact very sensible and fair, and vital in order to enable MPs to carry out their many other Parliamentary and constituency duties without being constantly called back to the Chamber; it is also a very human measure, allowing MPs time off to recover from illness, or to attend to family matters, without risking the loss of an important vote.

STOP 14/15: COMMONS CHAMBER

  […] Visitors often comment that the Chamber is smaller than they had imagined, and indeed it has only 427 seats for 646 MPs. The size of the Chamber, and its confrontational design, help to make debates lively and robust but also intimate. When the Chamber was being rebuilt Churchill and others argued against an increase in its size. As MPs do not attend all debates because their work also involves them spending time in their constituencies and in committees, space is not usually a problem, although it can become crowded on big occasions like the Budget when some MPs sit on the steps.

  […]

  It is here in this space that MPs debate legislation, issues that concern them or their constituents, and question the government on their policies—their three key responsibilities.

  When new legislation, or an amendment to existing legislation, is proposed, it is introduced to Parliament as what is known as a Bill. Although they may be introduced in either House, to become law, bills must normally pass through and be approved by both Houses of Parliament; during this process they may be amended significantly. The first stage is the formal introduction of the bill, known as the First Reading; this is followed by a general debate on its content (Second Reading); next by detailed clause-by-clause consideration (Committee Stage); there are further opportunities to look at the bill in its entirety at Report Stage and, finally, at Third Reading.

  When you watch the proceedings of the Commons on television, the Chamber often looks rather empty. This is because, as with the House of Lords, much of the detailed work is carried out in committees made up of members of all parties and which meet outside this Chamber. In the House of Commons the committee stage of a bill usually takes place in a Public Bill Committee which meets upstairs in the Palace. In both Houses select committees are an important way in which a check is kept on the government. In the House of Commons there is a group of select committees which monitor the work of each major government department (eg the Treasury Committee or Health Committee). This work is referred to as taking place "off the floor".