Session 6. Parliament: the Commons and the Lords
Key question: How does a bill become a law in Westminster?
What do you remember from session 5? Answer alone in five minutes, then check.
1. What are Bagehot's three rights of the sovereign?
2. When was Royal Assent last refused?
3. Who writes the King's Speech?
Show the recap answers
- To be consulted, to encourage, to warn.
- In 1708, by Queen Anne.
- The Government.
Aims
- Describe the two Houses of Parliament
- Follow the real path of a bill, from 2024 to 2026
- Use the passive and sequence words: first, then, finally
To explain step by step how a bill becomes a law, and tell the story of one real Act, we need the present passive for a process, the past passive for one real case, and ordering words (first, then, after that, finally).
Documents
Document A. Two Houses (written for this sequence)
The House of Commons has 650 MPs. Each MP is elected in one constituency, by first past the post: the candidate with the most votes wins. The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, chairs the debates and keeps order. The House of Lords is not elected: most of its members are appointed for life, and 26 are bishops of the Church of England. The Lords examine and improve bills, but under the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 they can only delay most bills for about a year, and money bills for one month.
Source: UK Parliament, The Speaker of the House of Commons · UK Parliament, The Parliament Acts
Document B. A real bill: the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026
Introduced in the House of Commons on 5 September 2024. Second reading in the Commons on 15 October 2024. Sent to the Lords in November 2024. Lords third reading on 21 July 2025. Final agreement between the two Houses in March 2026. Royal Assent on 18 March 2026.
The Act “remove[s] the remaining connection between hereditary peerage and membership of the House of Lords”: since the end of April 2026, no one sits in the Lords because of a title inherited from their family.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 · UK Parliament, House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026: stages
Look: On 16 October 1834, a fire destroyed most of the old Palace of Westminster; Turner watched it. The building we see today was rebuilt after this fire. In two sentences: what does the fire destroy, and what survives?
Key words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| constituency | the area that elects one MP |
| first past the post | the voting system where the candidate with the most votes wins |
| bill / Act | a proposed law / a law that has been passed |
| reading | a stage of debate on a bill |
| hereditary peer | a lord whose title passes from parent to child |
| to delay | to make later |
Words in action
EntryComplete with: constituency, bill, Act, reading, hereditary peer.
- A ______ is a proposed law.
- Once it has received Royal Assent, it becomes an ______.
- Each MP represents one ______.
- A second ______ is a debate on the main ideas of a bill.
- A ______ inherited his title from his family.
Show the answers
1. bill. 2. Act. 3. constituency. 4. reading. 5. hereditary peer.
CoreCollocations. Complete with introduce, pass, receive, delay: to ______ a bill; to ______ Royal Assent; the Lords can ______ a bill; Parliament ______ a law.
Show the answers
to introduce a bill; to receive Royal Assent; the Lords can delay a bill; Parliament passes a law.
StretchHereditary comes from the same family as heir and inherit. Explain each word.
Show the answers
An heir receives property or a title after a death; to inherit is to receive it; hereditary describes a title passed from parent to child.
To say it: Present passive and past passive
A process that always works the same way: present passive. A bill is introduced in the Commons, then it is sent to the Lords.
One real case at a known date: past passive. The Hereditary Peers bill was introduced on 5 September 2024.
Ordering words give the order: first, then, after that, finally.
EntryComplete with the present passive.
- First, the bill (introduce) in the Commons.
- Then, it (debate) at second reading.
- Finally, it (give) Royal Assent.
Show the answers
1. is introduced. 2. is debated. 3. is given.
CoreRewrite Document B in the past passive.
- introduce / 5 September 2024
- send to the Lords / November 2024
- give Royal Assent / 18 March 2026
Show the answers
1. The bill was introduced on 5 September 2024. 2. It was sent to the Lords in November 2024. 3. It was given Royal Assent on 18 March 2026.
StretchExplain why sentence A is in the present and sentence B in the past. A: A bill is sent to the Lords. B: The bill was sent to the Lords in November 2024.
Show the answers
A describes the general process, true for every bill. B tells what happened to one bill at one date.
Activities
- Document A: complete the identity cards of the two Houses (members, elected or not, role).
- Document B: put the stages of the bill in order on a timeline.
- Simulation: the class is Parliament. Group 1 is the Commons, group 2 the Lords, one student is the King. Pass a class bill (for example: a longer lunch break) in three steps. Language: During the simulation, the Speaker announces each step in the passive: The bill is introduced. The bill is sent to the Lords.
- Summary: the Commons decide, the Lords revise and delay, the King signs as a formality.
Exercise: The path of a bill
Put the stages in the right order.
- Royal Assent
- second reading in the Commons
- the bill goes to the Lords
- introduction (first reading) in the Commons
- the two Houses agree on the final text
- committee stage and third reading in the Commons
Show answers
4, 2, 6, 3, 5, 1: introduction, second reading, committee and third reading, the Lords, final agreement, Royal Assent.
Figures of speech in the documents
“first past the post” (Document A)
The name of the voting system comes from horse racing: the first horse past the winning post wins, and nobody else gets a prize. The metaphor shows that only the candidate with the most votes wins the seat, even without half of the votes.
EntryWhich sport does first past the post come from?
Show the answers
Horse racing.
CoreWhat does the metaphor say about the voting system?
Show the answers
Only the winner counts, as in a race: the candidate with the most votes wins the seat, and the votes for the others elect nobody.
StretchWhy can critics use the same metaphor against the system?
Show the answers
In a race, the winner may cross the line just ahead of the others: a candidate can win a seat with much less than half of the votes, and many votes count for nothing.
Expression task
Written, after the simulation (activity 3): the Clerk of the class Parliament writes the report of the day.
EntryFour sentences in the present passive, with first, then, after that, finally.
CoreSix sentences: the process in the present passive, then what happened to the class bill in the past passive.
StretchAdd a final sentence comparing the class bill with the Hereditary Peers Act, with whereas.
Tools to use:
- is introduced, was sent
- first, then, after that, finally
- bill, Act, reading, Royal Assent
Show a model answer
First, a bill is introduced in the Commons. Then, it is debated and voted on. After that, it is sent to the Lords. Today, our bill on a longer lunch break was introduced by group 1 and was passed by the Commons. It was delayed by the Lords, but finally it was given Royal Assent by the King, whereas the real Hereditary Peers Act needed eighteen months.
C1 extension
Should the House of Lords be elected? Using Document B, write 150 words weighing up the arguments for and against an appointed chamber.
Lesson plan for the teacher (55 minutes)
| 5 min | Marked recap |
| 5 min | Painting as a landmark: the fire of 1834 |
| 10 min | Document A: identity cards |
| 10 min | Document B: timeline |
| 20 min | Simulation |
| 5 min | Homework |
Draw or write the path of a bill in six steps, in English, with one sentence for each step.
Write it in your planner before the bell. It is also posted on the school platform.
Show a model answer
Model answer: 1. A minister introduces the bill in the Commons. 2. MPs debate its main ideas at second reading. 3. A committee studies it line by line, then MPs vote at third reading. 4. The Lords do the same work. 5. The two Houses agree on the final text. 6. The King gives Royal Assent and the bill becomes an Act.