Expert: Phil Woodford - 4/12/2002

Question
Dear Mr. Phil,

I'm a student from Lithuania. There is a question I'd like to ask about the Parliament of the UK. I know there is no written constitution in Britain but what is the main document or act that regulates the work of the institution anyway? I'm interested particularly in political parties, factions, whips and their behaviour in the Parliament. Would you happen to know what are the main laws dedicated to the political parties? Thank you very much.

Yours,
Kestutis

Answer
Hi Kestutis

You're right of course about the lack of written constitution.  This means that a surprising amount of British political activity takes place under conventions that are accepted and agreed, rather than governed by statute.  There are, however, some important pieces of legislation that would be worth investigating.  The 1911 Parliament Act was important in terms of clarifying the respective powers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.  There was a further Parliament Act in 1949.  It might be worth searching both of these on the web for further information.

Whips and factions in parliament are largely controlled by convention and internal party regulations.  Political parties are subject to more stringent statutory control, particularly in relation to elections.  Here, it is worth searching the Internet for the Elections Act 1999, the Representation of the People Act 2000 and the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Regrettably time pressures mean that I cannot answer your question more fully myself, but I hope the above is useful.

Best wishes

Phil W