UK Parliament 
The UK Parliament and the Role of MPs
UK Parliament is made up of different political parties as well as independent MPs and Lords representing a wide range of interests and views. The business of Parliament takes place in two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Their work is similar: making laws (legislation), checking the work of the government (scrutiny), and debating current issues.
The House of Commons is also responsible for granting money to the government through approving Bills that raise taxes (the Lords can consider these Bills but cannot block or amend them). Generally, the decisions made in one House have to be approved by the other. In this way the two-chamber system acts as a check and balance for both Houses.
Members of the House of Lords are mostly appointed by the Queen, a fixed number are elected internally and a limited number of Church of England archbishops and bishops sit in the House. The Lords acts as a revising chamber for legislation and its work complements the business of the Commons.
The Commons is publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons forms the government. Members of the Commons (MPs) debate the big political issues of the day and proposals for new laws. There are 646 Members of Parliament (MP) who each represent a different area of the United Kingdom. You can lobby your own MP to raise subjects of concern and interest in the House of Commons.
You can also contact Members of the House of Lords. However, as the Lords do not represent geographic areas (constituencies) you will not have a specific Lord for your area, as you do with MPs.
Raising issues in the Commons and the Lords
MPs and Lords can ask Ministers oral questions during Question Time. Time constraints limit the number of questions that can be asked and answered on a given day. MPs and Lords can also table a written question to the appropriate Government Department (The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in the case of questions relating to Colombia). The government is required to answer parliamentary written questions. The questions and answers are published in Hansard, the official transcript of what is said in Parliament.
The half-hour Adjournment Debates offer another opportunity for MPs and Peers to debate on proposed new laws, to discuss topical issues or to consider any topic chosen by a major party. Usually taken as the last business of the day, MPs must either win a ballot or be chosen by the Speaker to voice their concern.
An MP can also raise concerns via Early Day Motions (EDM). These are rarely debated, but an EDM will place on record an MPs opinion on a subject and enables them to gauge the support of fellows MPs.
All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal cross-party groups that have no official status within Parliament. They are essentially run by and for Members of the Commons and Lords, who share a common interest in a particular subject or country, although many groups involve individuals and organisations from outside Parliament in their administration and activities. APPGs act as pressure groups to promote a particular cause and help keep the Government informed on particular issues. Although currently there is not a country group on Colombia, various APPGs (including those on Human Rights, on Latin America and on Conflict Issues) may choose to debate Colombia in their meetings.
Contacting your MP
MPs have public contact details so their constituents can get in touch. In most cases you can write, phone, fax or email. MPs will generally only act on behalf of their constituents.
To see who your MP is, what their interests are and how they voted on key issues go to http://www.theyworkforyou.com and enter your postcode.
| Information taken from http://www.parliament.uk and www.theyworkforyou.com |