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Topic: How Parliament Works

INTERACTIVE TOPIC · CHAPTER 5 — GOVERNMENT, THE LAW AND YOUR ROLE

How Parliament Works

Two chambers, one Speaker, 650 MPs and a weekly grilling for the Prime Minister. Build a law step by step, match the big jobs to the people who do them, and flip the chamber secrets.

⏱ About 10 minutesPASS PACK TOPIC6 learning blocksMastery check: 6 real questions
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STEP 1 · PRIME YOUR BRAIN

Before we start — have a guess

Two warm-up questions on the building where laws are made.

How many MPs sit in the House of Commons?

Who keeps order in the House of Commons chamber?

STEP 2 · THE PICTURE

Two Houses, one Parliament

🟢 The House of Commons
650 MPs, each elected by one constituency. This is where governments are made, budgets pass, and the real power sits. Green benches.
🔴 The House of Lords
Mostly appointed life peers, plus bishops (the Lords Spiritual) and a few hereditary peers. It revises and can delay laws — but cannot block money bills. Red benches.

The government — the Prime Minister and Cabinet — sits in the Commons and must keep its confidence. Parliament’s job is to make laws, check the money, and hold that government to account.

STEP 3 · LEARN BY DOING — 1 OF 2

Build a law

Tap the stages in order, from first debate to finished Act.

LEARN BY DOING — 2 OF 2

Match the job to the person

Tap a role, then tap what they actually do.

CHAMBER SECRETS

Flip the details

Answer in your head first, then tap to check.

TAP TO REVEAL

What colour are the Commons benches — and why does the Speaker matter?

Green. The Speaker chairs debates, keeps order and calls MPs to speak — and must be completely impartial.

TAP TO REVEAL

What happens at Prime Minister’s Questions?

Once a week, MPs question the PM in the chamber — the most watched moment of the parliamentary week.

TAP TO REVEAL

What is Hansard?

The official record of everything said in Parliament — debates have been written down for centuries.

TAP TO REVEAL

Where does the Prime Minister live and work?

At 10 Downing Street in London. Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, is the PM’s country house.

STEP 4 · QUICKFIRE RECALL

True or false — no thinking time allowed

STEP 5 · MASTERY CHECK

Six real questions on this topic

Score 5 or 6 and this topic is marked mastered on your path. Anything less: revisit the block you missed and retake.

Question 1 of 60 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 · Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role
Most members of the House of Lords today hold their seats because they were given which kind of peerage?
Most Lords are life peers, appointed for life rather than elected. The Lords reviews and suggests changes to laws passed by the Commons. Life peers are appointed by the monarch, on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Question 2 · Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role
How many Church of England archbishops and bishops, known as the Lords Spiritual, sit in the House of Lords?
Twenty-six senior Church of England figures — the Lords Spiritual — have seats in the House of Lords alongside the peers.
Question 3 · Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role
What does 'collective responsibility' mean for members of the Cabinet?
Under collective responsibility, once the Cabinet has decided a policy, every minister must defend it publicly; a minister who cannot do so is expected to resign.
Question 4 · Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role
What is Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, used for?
Chequers, a country house in Buckinghamshire, is the official country residence of the Prime Minister.
Question 5 · Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role
Which TWO of these statements about petitions on the UK Parliament petitions website are correct?
Choose TWO answers — select both to see the result
When a petition reaches 10,000 signatures the government must provide a formal response, and at 100,000 signatures the Petitions Committee considers it for a debate in Parliament. A petition never becomes law automatically, and there is no debate in the same week at 10,000 signatures.
Question 6 · Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role
The House of Lords can delay a bill passed by the House of Commons, but it cannot block it forever.
Under the Parliament Acts, the Lords can delay most bills but the Commons can ultimately pass them without the Lords' agreement.

✓ green = correct · ✗ red = wrong · 🚩 red ring = marked for review · gold outline = current question

✕ Exit to Topics
STEP 6 · TEACH IT BACK

Say it in your own words

Explain, in order, how a bill becomes an Act of Parliament — and what the House of Lords can and cannot do to it. Say it out loud or write it down — then compare.

Reveal a model answer

A bill is debated in the House of Commons and then in the House of Lords, passing through readings and committees in both. The Lords can suggest changes and delay a bill — but they cannot block money bills, and their delaying power is limited, so the elected Commons has the final say. When both Houses have agreed the text, the monarch gives Royal Assent and the bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

Where next?

Drill all of Chapter 5 in the Chapter 5 practice sets, or pick your next topic on the Topics path.