All About Parliament

How do people in the UK express their views about politics?

There are lots of ways in which people express their views about politics:-

• Signing a petition including those set up under the UK Parliament’s platform

• Writing a letter to the newspapers

• Putting comments on blogs or social media especially Twitter

• Talking to friends and family

• Joining a demonstration or public debate with their MP

• Answer questions in an opinion poll

• Shouting at members of the panel that they don’t agree with on BBC Question Time

• Becoming an active member of a political party, think tank or pressure group

Expressing political views through voting

Another way to express your views about politics is to vote. Voting in a General Election, where you select your Member of Parliament is especially important because:-

• There is a vital link between who gets elected to Parliament and who runs our Government.  The Prime Minister and other Ministers have to maintain the support of a majority of MPs in most votes that take place in the House of Commons

• Parliament has a legal dominance in our system which exceeds that of most other Parliaments, even the US Congress.  Parliament creates laws. Britain does not have a written constitution to define the power of Parliament but the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty is accepted as part of our unwritten constitution. This means that once laws have been passed by Parliament then the courts will only interpret what they say when they use them to judge cases.  They cannot declare laws to be unconstitutional.  It also means that laws are not permanent but can be overturned by any future Parliament.