British-American Parliamentary Group

Last updated

The British-American Parliamentary Group is a group consisting of members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. "The objects of the British-American Parliamentary Group are to promote friendly relations and mutual understanding between Members of both Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom and Members of both Houses of Congress of the United States of America; to discuss problems common to the United Kingdom and the United States; to exchange courtesies and to provide opportunities for discussion with Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and other distinguished citizens of the United States; and to arrange for the exchange of visits and information between legislators of both countries." [1] Its co-presidents are the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker, among the vice presidents are former Speakers of the House of Commons, one former prime minister, the current deputy prime minister, former leaders of the opposition, and former foreign secretaries. The chairman is the prime minister. [2] There are currently over 600 members from both the Labour and Conservative parties.

Contents

The group is an autonomous body within parliament, therefore they appoint their own staff to carry out the group's proceedings. The British American Parliamentary Group was founded just before the start of World War II in 1937 in hopes of creating closer relations between the members of Congress and Parliament. It was initially funded by the British Government and is now being financed through a combination of a grant from the House of Commons and the members' subscriptions. In 1967 they formally adopted rules and objectives and have made a few amendments since then. There are currently 14 rules and objectives. [1]

In 2012 the British-American Parliamentary Group celebrated their 35th anniversary of connecting British Members of Parliament with U.S. members of Congress. While the group has been around since the late 1930s, MPs did not start visiting Congress members until 1977. The exchange allows for participants to network with each other, learn about the different political processes of the two countries and discuss different policies. The MPs and Congress members were matched up at the beginning of the week, they were able to shadow the Congress members both in D.C. and in their home congressional districts. [3]

In 2014, 4 MPs (members of parliament) spent a week in D.C. meeting with United States Congressmen, visiting the different government departments such as the Department of Defense, the White House and the Library of Congress. The purpose of the visit and the meetings that ensued were to inform the MPs of how the US political process works, policy development, and the structure of the federal government. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Lords</span> Upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Commons of the United Kingdom</span> Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of the United Kingdom</span> Legislative body in the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster in London. Parliament possesses legislative supremacy and thereby holds ultimate power over all other political bodies in the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories. While Parliament is bicameral, it has three parts, consisting of the sovereign (King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. In theory, power is officially vested in the King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is de facto vested in the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President (government title)</span> Title of the head of state in various governments

President is a common title for the head of state in most republics. The president of a nation is, generally speaking, the head of the government and the fundamental leader of the country or the ceremonial head of state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the United Kingdom</span> Political system of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The politics of the United Kingdom functions within a constitutional monarchy where executive power is delegated by legislation and social conventions to a unitary parliamentary democracy. From this a hereditary monarch, currently Charles III, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, currently Rishi Sunak, serves as the elected head of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster system</span> Parliamentary system of government

The Westminster system or Westminster model is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of the system include an executive branch made up of members of the legislature, and that is responsible to the legislature; the presence of parliamentary opposition parties; and a ceremonial head of state who is different from the head of government. The term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the current seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Westminster system is often contrasted with the presidential system that originated in the United States, or with the semi-presidential system, based on the government of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Commons of Canada</span> Lower house of the Canadian Parliament

The House of Commons of Canada is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Canada</span> Canadian federal legislature

The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is dominant, with the Senate rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and may initiate certain bills. The monarch or his representative, normally the governor general, provides royal assent to make bills into law.

A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers, which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances. Question time originated in the Westminster system of the United Kingdom, and occurs in other countries, mostly Commonwealth countries, who use the system.

A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often have a different title. The terms congressman/congresswoman or deputy are equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The term parliamentarian is also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as the Senate parliamentarian in the United States. The term is also used to the characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliamentary system</span> Form of government

A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the legislature, typically a parliament, to which it is accountable. In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a person distinct from the head of government. This is in contrast to a presidential system, where the head of state often is also the head of government and, most importantly, where the executive does not derive its democratic legitimacy from the legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister's Questions</span> UK parliamentary practice

Prime Minister's Questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every Wednesday at noon when the House of Commons is sitting, during which the prime minister answers questions from members of Parliament (MPs).

A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology or the will of their donors or constituents. Whips are the party's "enforcers". They work to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their party's official policy. Members who vote against party policy may "lose the whip", being effectively expelled from the party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speaker (politics)</span> Presiding officer of a legislative body

The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosie Winterton</span> British Labour politician

Dame Rosalie Winterton, is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster Central since 1997. In June 2017, Winterton became one of three Deputy Speakers in the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Evans</span> British Conservative politician

Nigel Martin Evans is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ribble Valley constituency in Lancashire since 1992. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Joint Executive Secretary of the 1922 Committee from 2017 to 2019. He served as First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means, one of the Speaker's three deputies, from 2010 to 2013. He was elected as Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means in 2020.

In countries with a parliamentary system of government, contempt of Parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of the United Kingdom</span> Executive authority of the United Kingdom

His Majesty's Government is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the prime minister who selects all the other ministers. The country has had a Conservative-led government since 2010, with successive prime ministers being the then leader of the Conservative Party. The prime minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition</span> Parliamentary political opposition to the government of the United Kingdom

His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, commonly known as the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom, is the main political opposition to His Majesty's Government. This is usually the political party with the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons, as the largest party will usually form the government. Since May 2010, the Official Opposition has been the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer since 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "British-American Parliamentary Group". bapg.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Register of All-Party Groups – America". UK Parliament. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "British American Parliamentary Group Exchange Enters 35th Year of Connecting British Members of Parliament with U.S. Members of Congress". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Special Relationships: UK MPs Shadow US Reps Around the Country | Meridian Blog". blog.meridian.org. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.