The Commons are a publicly elected body and the seats from it are used to calculate which party/coalition has enough of a majority to form the government.
The Lords are either appointed or hereditary. They can be members of the government (Lord Cameron is the Foreign Secretary, for example), but their seats don’t count towards party numbers.
I’m not 100% sure, actually. I know the Lords are still politically aligned, but while I assume that bills have to go through both houses, I’m not sure how that works in practice.
They don’t teach politics in primary or high school and I didn’t study it at university. The news mostly covers the Commons - it’s rare to hear about the Lords blocking a bill, but not unheard of.
The Commons are a publicly elected body and the seats from it are used to calculate which party/coalition has enough of a majority to form the government.
The Lords are either appointed or hereditary. They can be members of the government (Lord Cameron is the Foreign Secretary, for example), but their seats don’t count towards party numbers.
How are votes for legislation counted? Do they get to put their fingers on the scales?
I’m not 100% sure, actually. I know the Lords are still politically aligned, but while I assume that bills have to go through both houses, I’m not sure how that works in practice.
They don’t teach politics in primary or high school and I didn’t study it at university. The news mostly covers the Commons - it’s rare to hear about the Lords blocking a bill, but not unheard of.