Each government department has a Parliamentary Branch. The Branch is charged with managing the department's relations with the House of Commons and the House of Lords.Read More

All Ministers, of whatever rank, have a Private Office of four or more civil servants assigned to him or her on appointment. The lead figure in the Private Office is the Private Secretary who works closely with the Minister in discharging all his or her functions. The Private Office is responsible for the Minister’s diary...Read More

Often referred to as a Minister's 'eyes and ears in Parliament', or as a simple 'bag carrier', the Parliamentary Private Secretary supports a particular government minister in his or her duties. It is the first rung on the ministerial ladder for a backbench MP.Read More

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson is responsible for briefing the press and broadcast journalists on most weekdays when Parliament is sitting.  Initial plans for these UK briefings to be televised, as in the US, were put on hold in early 2021. Read More

The leader of the largest party in the House of Commons is by convention asked by the Monarch to be Prime Minister and to form a government in a ceremony known anachronistically as the 'kissing of the hands. The Prime Minister has a wide range of direct powers.Read More

In our guide to plenary sessions in the Scottish Parliament you will find useful information regarding the business agenda of Parliament decided by the Parliamentary Bureau, how debates and motions are tabled in Parliament, the rules of weekly question sessions, voting in the Parliament and the passing of legislation including which areas the Scottish Parliament...Read More

Pillar three relates to justice and home affairs (JHA), another highly sensitive political area. As such, decision-making under pillar three continues to be primarily intergovernmental. This is probably the least developed area of EU common policy, because of the cultural and legal barriers to harmonisation and the implications it has for national sovereignty. Indeed, the...Read More

Pillar two relates to common foreign and security policy (CFSP). The Maastricht Treaty provides for the EU to develop CFSP, covering all areas of foreign and security policy with the following objectives: 1. To safeguard the common values, interests, independence and integrity of the EU, in conformity with the UN Charter 2. To protect the...Read More

Once the political decision has been taken to pursue a specific policy or legislative objective, work on drafting a proposal begins within the relevant DG. Most initial proposals are drafted by a middle-ranking 'A' grade civil servant, and is gradually passed upwards (being revised throughout) through the DG's hierarchy, to the commissioner's cabinet, to the...Read More

The Parliament Act allows for a Bill to become law without the agreement of the Lords when certain conditions have been met. The Bill must have been introduced and passed by the Commons in two consecutive Sessions, with the Lords on both occasions actively preventing its passage.Read More

Draft Bills are normally subjected to pre-legislative scrutiny at the hands of a joint-committee of MPs and peers formed for that purpose.Read More

Private Members’ Bills are Public Bills that are introduced by back-benchers. Any peer can introduce a Bill on any day. Private members’ Bills have to wait for time to be allocated to them via the Usual Channels. They tend to be debated during dinner breaks or on Fridays. A Bill without Government support is unlikely...Read More

Uppal, Paul - politics.co.ukRead More

DUP MP for North Antrim. Former MLA. Son of the DUP founder and former First Minister, Rev Ian Paisley.Read More

Pamela Nash, MP for Airdrie and Shotts, LabourRead More

Pat Glass, Labour MP for North West DurhamRead More

Phil Wilson, Labour MP for SedgefieldRead More

Conservative MP for Weston-Super-Mare. Former junior minister. One time McKinsey management consultant, who also worked for JP Morgan. Married to Baroness Harding who ran the government's Covid test and trace system.Read More

Leicester South, LabourRead More