UK Parliament
About the Adviser
I am passionate about the UK Parliament, its history and influence on our lives today. Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with a huge number of MPs and Peers. The very first MP I met was when I was 13 years old, in an orthopaedic hospital for children, when he came to congratulate me on starting a record request radio programme for patients and their relatives!
Background
Both Parliament and Government have important powers and each play a part in making the laws of the United Kingdom. Parliament represents our interests and makes sure that they are taken into account by the Government. Government is in charge of managing the country and deciding how taxes are spent.
The UK Parliament is made up of three parts – the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch (King or Queen). The Government refers to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and their junior Ministers.
The Palace of Westminster is synonymous with UK Parliament and has become a symbol of democracy around the world.
The Palace of Westminster has changed dramatically over the course of nearly a thousand years of history. Transformed from a royal residence to the home of a modern democracy.
The site in and around the present-day Houses of Parliament has been a location for ecclesiastical buildings, kingship and power since at least the Middle Ages. Indeed, its history could reach even further back as legend holds that a Roman temple to Apollo once stood here, but that it was destroyed by an earthquake.
One of the most recognised buildings in the world, the Palace of Westminster owes its stunning Gothic architecture to the 19th-century architect Sir Charles Barry. Now Grade I listed, and part of an UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Palace contains a fascinating mixture of both ancient and modern buildings, and houses an iconic collection of furnishings, archives and works of art.
Photo credit : Harry Shum