adapted from https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/introduction-uk-parliament/
Parliament and Government
Parliament is there to represent our interests and make sure they are taken into account by the Government. The Government cannot make new laws or raise new taxes without Parliament’s agreement.没有议会的同意，政府不能制定新的法律或者征税。
Composition of Parliament
The UK Parliament is made up of three parts: the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch.
- The House of Commons is where all the people we have elected at the general election work as Members of Parliament (MPs). This includes people from all the different parties who won seats not just those from the winning party.下院的成员被称为议员（MP），来自各个党派（不限于执政党），由全国普选产生。
- Members of the House of Lords are mostly appointed for life rather than elected. They have often been chosen because of their achievements and experience. Many do not belong to a political party and are known as* ‘crossbenchers’.上院成员因为他们的成就和经验终身任职，而不是选取产生。很多上院成员不属于任何党派，被称为crossbencher,中立议员*。
- The third part of Parliament is the Monarch – currently Queen Elizabeth II. Although the Queen is the Head of State, her role in Parliament is predominantly ceremonial. She is politically neutral, which means that she doesn’t support any political party and doesn’t get involved in day to day politics. She grants Royal Assent to Bills (proposals for new laws or changes to existing ones) passed by the Houses of Parliament, which makes them law. She also opens the parliamentary session each year and invites the party that wins the most seats in a general election to form the UK Government. 议会的第三部分是君主——现在是女王伊丽莎白二世。虽然女王是国家元首，但是她在议会中的角色主要是象征性的。女王在政治上中立，这意味着她不偏袒任何党派，且不参与日常政事。她对议会通过的法案给予御准，使之成为法律。此外，她每年开启议会会议，并邀请普选中赢得大多数席位的党来组建政府。
The UK Parliament is a bicameral system (literally meaning ‘two chamber’) because both the House of Commons and the House of Lords are involved in making and agreeing new legislation (laws).英国议会是两院制，上院和下院都参与法律的制定和批准。
What does Parliament do?
Parliament’s job is to look closely at the Government’s plans and to monitor the way they are running things. It does this by examining and challenging the work of the Government (scrutiny), by checking, amending and passing all laws (legislation) and debating the important issues of the day.议会审查政府的计划并监督其执政。主要的方式有：
- 审查政府的工作并对其提出质疑
- 审查、修正、通过法律
- 讨论（辩论）当日重要议题
Parliament works on our behalf to try to make sure that the Government’s policies and decisions are:
- open and transparent – by questioning ministers and requesting information
- workable and efficient – by examining new proposals closely and suggesting improvements, checking how public money is being spent and tracking how new laws are working out in practice
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fair and non-discriminatory – by checking that they comply with equalities and human rights laws and by speaking up on behalf of affected individuals.Members of both Houses of Parliament can speak up for us if a government department or agency treats us unfairly.
议会的代表人民，以确保政府的政令和决策：
- 开放而透明：质疑各大臣获取信息。
- 可行而高效：仔细审查新的提案并提出改进意见，审查财政支出，跟踪新法律的实施情况。
- 公正不歧视：检查政府是否遵循平等原则，是否保障人权。
Parliament can hold the Government to account for its actions.
Government ministers are required to come to Parliament regularly to answer questions, respond to issues raised in debates and keep both Houses informed of any important decisions they take. In this way, Parliament can hold the Government to account for its actions. 政府大臣需要定期到议会来回答质疑，回应辩论中提出的问题，告知各院政府所做的各项决定。
Notes
- crossbencher 中立议员
A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and in the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opposition benches, where crossbenchers sit in the chamber. 中立成员是一些立法机构——比如英国上院或澳大利亚议会 的无党派或少数党成员。该名直译为 坐在交叉长凳上的人。因为他们在议院中座椅的位置在政府（执政党）和反对党所在的长凳之间，并且和他们垂直。
- crossbench adj. 中立的；独立的 n. 中立议员席
British House of Lords
To be continued.
本文不代表任何个人观点。This article does not represent any personal opinion.
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