The Structure and Role of Parliament

What The Structure and Role of Parliament covers

The two chambers, how a bill becomes law, the competing theories of what an MP is for, and the machinery — select committees, questions, the opposition — by which Parliament holds the government to account.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The Two Chambers and Parliamentary PrivilegeRecall questions on the make-up of the Commons and the Lords, the Speaker, life peers, the Lords Spiritual and crossbenchers, the revising role of the Lords, and parliamentary privilege and how it can be abused.Open →
• The Passage of a Public BillRecall questions on public and private members' bills, each stage of a bill from first reading to royal assent, ping-pong, money bills and the Salisbury Convention, and delegated legislation and its scrutiny.Open →
• Burke and the Models of RepresentationRecall questions on Burke's trustee model and its critics, the delegate model, the doctrine of the mandate and party discipline, and the descriptive or resemblance model of representation.Open →
• The Roles of MPs and PeersRecall questions on the roles of a backbench MP, redress of grievances and constituency work, whips and free votes, what peers add and what limits them, and how referendums sit alongside representative democracy.Open →
• Scrutiny of the Executive and PMQsRecall questions on what scrutiny means, the mechanisms Parliament uses and the criticisms made of Prime Minister's Questions.Open →
• Select Committees, the Opposition and Parliament's InfluenceRecall questions on the Public Accounts Committee and the limits of select committees, the official opposition, opposition days and Short money, votes of no confidence, and when Parliament's influence over government rises or falls.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take The Structure and Role of Parliament further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Delegate representation vs Trustee representation

  Delegate representation: representatives follow constituents’ expressed wishes. Trustee representation: representatives exercise independent judgement.

• Affirmative procedure vs Negative procedure

  Affirmative procedure: delegated legislation requires explicit approval. Negative procedure: delegated legislation stands unless actively rejected.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which two chambers make up the UK Parliament?

   Model answer

   The House of Commons and the House of Lords.

2. 2

   How many MPs sit in the Commons, and how is each elected?

   Model answer

   There are 650 MPs, each elected in a single-member constituency under first past the post.

3. 3

   Who chairs debates in the Commons, and what is required of them?

   Model answer

   The Speaker, who must set aside party allegiance and act with complete impartiality.

4. 4

   Name the two categories of member who sit in the House of Lords.

   Model answer

   Life peers and the twenty-six Lords Spiritual. The ninety-two remaining hereditary peers were removed by the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026.

5. 5

   Which Act made it possible to appoint peers for their lifetime only?

   Model answer

   The Life Peerages Act 1958.

6. 6

   Who are the Lords Spiritual?

   Model answer

   Senior archbishops and bishops of the Church of England who sit in the Lords by virtue of their office.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

The Structure and Role of Parliament revision questions

What does The Structure and Role of Parliament cover in AQA A-Level Politics?

6 subtopics: the two chambers and parliamentary privilege, the passage of a public bill, burke and the models of representation, the roles of mps and peers, scrutiny of the executive and pmqs and select committees, the opposition and parliament's influence. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is The Structure and Role of Parliament organised?

By the AQA 7152 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.