House of Lords

politically. The wars from 1640-1660 completely changed England. The king and the House of Lords lost their power, and England changed from a monarchy to a republic, among other effects. On the first page, the author describes the effects that the war had. It says, “Sometimes such other events have changed the occupancy or the powers of the throne, but the conflict of 1640-60 was more extensive. The monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished, and were replaced by a republic and military…

whereas the Divine Right of Kings protected at least the institution if not monarch. The Social Contract protected neither. According to many a serious breach of a nation’s social contract by the monarch, entitled the ‘people’, to revisit the terms completely. In all three Revolutions, the Crown fought for its ancestral rights and privileges, it lost every time. The crowns victorious opponents regarded these offensives, as attacks on the Social Contract by the Monarchy. With the ‘contracts’ null…

New Zealanders are affected on a daily basis by the decisions the government makes. These decisions are made through a particular protocol that occurs within our parliamentary system (New Zealand Parliament 2014). This parliamentary system is embodied in constitutional law, and as a formal legal structure, it displays information in regards to the relationship between the three main branches of government. These three main branches are the judiciary (applies, sometimes makes law), the executive…

Every Wednesday, current Prime Minister, David Cameron, meets in the House of Commons for half an hour to answer questions from Members of Parliament. These questions are meant to address current events both international and domestic, and have come to be known as Prime Minister Questions (PMQs). All Members of Parliament must write their questions for the Prime Minister on the Order Paper several days prior to the PMQs. Once submitted, the questions are then sorted through, scrambled, and…

Background Section 24 of the British North America Act said that only “qualified” people could be appointed to Canadian Senate, interpreting this phrase meaning men only and should continue to refer to only men .This matter quickly became known as the “Persons Case”. Five Albertan Women lead by judge Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney and Irene Parlby fought to have Canadian Women recognized constitutionally as “persons” who were eligible to be…

Calypso: A Sea Nymph of Selfishness or Passion? Calypso [Kalypso, Kalupsô], written as Καλυψω in Greek, was the sea nymph in Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. the only context in which she is referred to. Her name, when translated, means “to conceal” and her father was Atlas, the titan who held up the sky. She lived on the island Ogygia, in which she was placed a prisoner for helping her father during the battle of Olympians and Titans. Calypso is mostly symbolized as a diversion, a force that keeps…

The government is a political party with the majority of MPs, this is currently the House of Commons. This is probably the biggest influence on parliament as a whole due to them being hard to control by any other house, this is due to them having the majority of power and the only way they can be made weak is if members of the Commons start turning against one-another. Most of the main bills that occur come from the government, so if the campaign did pass and get enough attention then it would…

the bill has been fully amended. The fourth stage occurs again, within the Senate. This is to ensure that both the House of Commons and the Senate agree to the amendments made. After this, the bill can progress towards the next stage. The fifth stage of the process, Third Reading, is the final stage of consideration for the bill within the House. During this stage, members of the House debate on the final form of the bill. Conclusively, during this stage members will decide whether the bill will…

The performance of power in the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament is simply that: a performance. With a meaningfully set stage and players who know their roll well, this act give the illusion of transparency to the public. I am not claiming all actions are predetermined, there is some room for improvisation, but on the whole the room which the general public is allowed admittance is one only used for meticulously planned and approved remarks. Does this mean it lacks power? Not…

In the House of Commons, issues of the day are examined, the government is held accountable, and policies and laws are decided on. Therefore, it is important that issues and legislation get discussed thoroughly and in great detail, thus, committees are tools for further examination. The most recent and most prominent committee in the House of Commons is the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. The special committee was tasked to investigate reforms to Canada’s electoral system. However, after…