United Kingdom
House of Lords
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Parliamentary system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Bicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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Yes
Structure
Data on parliamentary sessions, parliamentary committees and parliamentary groups.
Sessions
- Number of ordinary sessions of parliament per year
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One
Dates of parliamentary sessions
| Parliament is usually in ordinary session | Extraordinary sessions can be held | |
|---|---|---|
| January | x | x |
| February | x | x |
| March | x | x |
| April | x | x |
| May | x | x |
| June | x | x |
| July | x | x |
| August | x | |
| September | x | x |
| October | x | x |
| November | x | x |
| December | x | x |
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Number of days the parliament/chamber met in plenary, per year
This may include virtual sessions.
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151(2023)
Notes: Figures are calculated by parliamentary session, not by calendar year. For e.g., figures refer to a session running from 11 May 2021 to 28 April 2022.
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All languages recognized in the constitution can be used in plenary meetings
Answer “No” includes the countries where only one language is recognized by the Constitution.
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No information available
Committees
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Number of permanent committees
This number does not include sub-committees or joint committees in bicameral parliaments.
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6(2019-12)
- Number of permanent joint committees in bicameral parliaments
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No information available
Parliamentary groups
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Parliamentary groups are recognized in the parliamentary rules
“Parliamentary groups” are the primary means by which political parties organize themselves in parliament. They may also be known as “party groups”, “caucuses” or “fractions”. They are different from all-party groups on specific issues, or inter-parliamentary friendship groups.
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Yes
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Number of parliamentary groups
Parliamentary groups are the primary means by which political parties organize themselves in Parliament. They may also be known as “party groups”, “coalitions”, “caucuses” or “factions”. They are different from all-party groups on specific issues, or inter-parliamentary friendship groups.
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8(2023)
- Minimum number of members required to form a parliamentary group
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Not applicable
Notes: There are no UK provisions for ‘Party Groups’ in the sense recognised in many other Parliaments, but of course MPs operate through their parties, thus figures refer in practice to individual parties. In the House of Lords there is a similar number of parties to the House of Commons, plus “Cross benchers” and non-affiliated Members both of which are not linked to established political parties; there are also 26 Church of England Bishops, who are not affiliated to political parties.
- There is a minimum number of members to form a parliamentary group
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No
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Percentage of members required to form a parliamentary group
The percentage is calculated by dividing the minimum number of members required to form a parliamentary group by the statutory number of members of the parliament or chamber.
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0%(2022)
- Independent members can jointly form a parliamentary group
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Yes
- Not applicable. There are no independent members in this parliament/chamber
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No
- Several parties can jointly form a parliamentary group
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Yes
- Relevant provisions about parliamentary groups in the parliamentary rules of procedure
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The Companion to the Standing Orders provides that ”The Crossbench Group is made up of members not affiliated to any political party. Members belonging to smaller parties may also sit on the Cross Benches.” Elections for hereditary membership of the House are also sometimes based on group (party) membership.