How does a parliamentary system of government work?

Answer

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Parliamentary systems around the world vary. They all share one thing in common - a House of Representatives.

Typically at the top of the country is a Head of State. In many countries the HoS is merely ceremonial with no real powers. This can be a president, or a monarch. The Head of State in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom is Queen Elizabeth II (although in practice the head of state of Canada, Australia and NZ is person known as the Governor General). Other countries which are republics, will have a president as their HoS.

Several parties will contest elections to have their members in the House of Representatives. How they are allocated seats in the House varies from country to country (New Zealand and Germany use MMP, Ireland uses STV and the UK uses FPP - FPP typically leads to having only two relevant parties).

Everyone in the House of Representatives is known as a Minister of Parliament or MP.

The country is often (but not always) led and run by a 'Prime Minister' (PM). This is the leader of the party with the most seats out of a coalition of parties (a coalition isn't always necessary) who together have more seats in the in the House of Representatives than any other party or coalition.

For example - In a House of 110 seats, Party A gets 50 seats. Party B gets 45 seats. Party C gets 11 seats and Party D gets 4 seats. The PM could be the leader of Party A as they won the most seats, but if Party B and Party C form a coalition, then the PM will be the leader of Party B.

Countries with an FPP system will not have coalition arrangements as there are only two dominant and opposing parties.

The PM is the Head of Government. This is different from the United States where the Head of Government and the Head of State are the same person (the President).

The prime-minister will form a cabinet out of other senior members of her party and their coalition partners (if any) who have all been elected into the House by whatever method. So unlike in the United States, the cabinet is elected.

The other parties are 'in opposition'. The second largest party is the main opposition and their leader is typically referred to as the leader of the opposition. The leader of the opposition is the main challenger to the job of Prime Minister.

The leader of the opposition may appoint a 'shadow' cabinet out of members of his party to mirror the prime-minister's cabinet. They don't have any power, but they will challenge their opposite number as they fell appropriate.

In this way voters know who the likely PM will be and what the cabinet might look like, should a main opposition party lead the government after the next election. In the US the Head of Government candidates relatively unknown before the election campaign and the resulting cabinet is entirely unknown (and unelected).

The House's main role is to create new laws, repeal archaic ones, or amend ones that need improvement. This is similar to the United State's House of Representatives in Congress.

All parties will be looking to represent those that voted them into the House, and thus there is often much debate whenever a law change is proposed. The governing party or coalition will typically have the strength of numbers to pass legislation. The opposition has varying degrees of influence depending on the country.

In some countries there is a second level to the parliament known as an upper house. In the UK this is the House of Lord's. In Australia, this is The Senate. For a bill to pass into law, the bill must pass first the Lower House, and then the Upper House. The Head of State then signs it into law (a formality).

In some countries, the Head of State (President/Queen etc) has more power than the Prime Minister.

As an example let's look at New Zealand's parliament.

New Zealand's Parliament consists of the Sovereign and the House of Representatives. The Sovereign's role in Parliament includes opening and dissolving Parliament, and giving the Royal assent to bills passed in the House of Representatives.

New Zealand's Parliament is unicameral. This means it has only one chamber (the House of Representatives) and there is no upper house such as a senate.

The House of Representatives consists of members of Parliament who are elected as the people's representatives for a term of up to 3 years. The usual number of members of Parliament is 120, but there are electoral circumstances when this could vary.

'Responsible government' is the term used to describe a system where the Government is formed by appointing Ministers who must first be elected members of Parliament. It means that in New Zealand the Government can stay in power only while it has the support ('confidence') of the majority of House of Representatives. This support can be tested in a confidence vote, such as passing the Budget. Ministers are responsible to Parliament, both collectively for the overall performance of the Government, and individually for the performance of their portfolios.

New Zealand's House of Representatives is elected using the mixed member proportional representation (MMP) voting system. Each elector has two votes - one for a local member of Parliament and one for a preferred political party. Political parties are represented in Parliament in proportion to the share of votes each party won in the party vote in the general election.

Sovereign

New Zealand's head of State is the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand. The Governor-General is the Queen's representative in New Zealand (and is the pseudo-president).

The Sovereign's role in Parliament is to:

• call Parliament to meet
• dissolve Parliament
• grant Royal assent to bills passed in the House so that they become laws.

The House of Representatives' role

The House's role is to:

• provide the Government (Executive) from amongst its members
  

The House provides the Government from amongst its members. The Government is a group known as the Executive and made up of Ministers who are responsible for running the country. To form the Government, a party (or parties) needs the support of the majority of the House on important votes. This is called having the 'confidence' of the House. A Government is formed when a single party or group of parties can show that they have the confidence of the House. This can involve making agreements among several parties. Some may join a coalition government, while others may stay outside the Government but agree to support it on confidence votes.

• make new laws and update old laws
  Much parliamentary business is about making new laws and amending old laws. The House examines and amends bills (proposed laws) in several formal stages. Once a bill has passed through all its parliamentary stages it becomes an Act of Parliament, forming part of New Zealand's law.
  
  
• represent the people
  Members of Parliament represent the voters of New Zealand in the House of Representatives.

Members represent the people to the House and the Government. They also represent the actions of the House and the Government to the people. If the people do not like what their representatives do in Parliament they can vote to replace them at the next election. This is how individual voters influence the way the country is run.

• examine and approve Government taxes and spending
  It is illegal for the Government to impose a tax without parliamentary authority. This authority comes from legislation agreed by Parliament.

The Government regularly requires Parliament's approval to spend money needed to run the country. This is known as obtaining 'supply'. It achieves this with the annual Budget (Appropriation Bill) and occasional Imprest Supply Bills. These are debated in the House and each debate offers a chance for the House to renew its confidence in the Government. If a Government fails to obtain supply a change of Government may result or a general election. This is because without supply of funds the Government is unable to pay its bills and the House is said to have lost confidence in the Government.

• hold the Government to account for its policies and actions.
  The House has several ways of holding the Government to account.
  1. Questions
     During daily question time members ask Ministers questions about how they are managing the country's affairs. This tests the performance of individual Ministers and the Government as a whole.
     
     Question time is usually 12 'questions for oral answer' to Ministers each sitting day with opportunities for members to ask supplementary questions too.
     
     Members can ask Ministers an unlimited number of written questions on any working day. These are known as 'questions for written answer'.
     
     
  2. Debates
     There are several debates in which the Government's Ministers may need to defend their policies and management of the country's affairs.
     
     
     • Debates about spending and taxes provide the most obvious opportunities for members to challenge the Government.
     • Members may raise any issues of concern during the Wednesday general debate. If a member raises an urgent matter involving ministerial responsibility, the Speaker may decide that it needs the House's urgent attention. If so, a debate follows.
     • The Address in Reply debate after a general election, and the Prime Minister's annual statement to House, provide an opportunity for members to challenge the Government's policies in several hours of debate.
       
       
  3. Select committee inquiries
     A select committee can decide to conduct an inquiry to examine the Government's performance in a particular area.
     
     Witnesses are asked to tell the committee their views on the subject. They often make recommendations to the committee on how performance might be improved.
     
     The committee then considers the evidence and reports to the House, often making recommendations to the Government. The Government must respond to these recommendations, but is not bound by them.
     
     
  4. Petitions
     There is a traditional right to petition the House when there is no other legal means of setting right a personal complaint. A petition can also ask for a change in public policy or the law.
     
     Petitions often draw attention to Government activities. Select committees consider petitions and can make recommendations in a report to the House.
     
     
  5. International treaties
     New Zealand laws are increasingly affected by international treaties relating to matters such as maritime safety, border security, and inter-country adoption.
     
     Select committees examine many proposed international treaties and can bring any concerns to the attention of the House before the Government completes the formal treaty-making process.

Obviously this is not representative of all parliamentary systems around the world. See the websites of some other parliaments:

Canada http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/Aboutparl.asp?Language=E
Germany http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/parliament/function/index.html
India http://164.100.47.134/newls/our%20parliament/parliament.htm
Sri Lanka http://www.parliament.lk/guide_to_parliament/guide_to_parliament.jsp
Sweden http://www.riksdagen.se/templates/R_Page____4394.aspx

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It works like any government. They talk and discuss and then vote on laws and the prime minister has final say before they tell the Queen and stuff about it.

Depending upon how much information you want on the subject try the following links

http://hubpages.com/hub/Strengths_and_Weakness_of_Parliamentary_Democracy

This site has a well thought out and brief description of the differences between US style government and the parliamentary system. It's balanced and doesn't try to prove which style is better. It has a coherent description of how parliament works. If you are from the US this might be a good starting point because it will give you a comparison to your own government, making it a bit easier to understand.

For a highly specific and very detailed look at parliamentary democracy as it affects a specific nation and it's affects on society, try this pdf

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Infoparl/27/1/27n1_04e_Smith.pdf

It's quite detailed, about 6 pages in length but worth the read if you want something more than the basic primer on parliaments.

Parliament is like English Congress. it works the same way

First answer by ID1254348505. Last edit by LGD3. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 23 [recommend question]