Abstain
To abstain is to refuse to take sides in a vote.
MPs who decide to abstain in a division remain
in the Chamber rather than enter one of the division
lobbies..
Act
The Act of Settlement 1701 decided who should
succeed Queen Anne as monarch of England. The
Queen had no children who survived, nor did her
predecessors William and Mary. All the strongest
claiments by blood were Roman Catholic who were
not allowed to inherit. Under the Act, it was
decided that once Anne died the throne should
pass to the ruler of the German state of Hanover,
who was descended from James I. So on the death
of Anne in 1714, George of Hanover came to the
throne as George I.
Administration Committee
The Administration Committee is one of the Domestic
Committees of the House of Commons. This committee
looks at the general services that the House of
Commons provides for members of staff and MPs.
The Administration and Works Committee in the
House of Lords has a similar role.
Affirmation
Affirmation involves declaring acceptance of the
Queen as the right and true monarch. The text
of the affirmation is: -
"I …… do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare
and affirm that I will be faithful and bear true
allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her
heirs and successors according to law"
Members may make an affirmation as an alternative
to swearing the Oath of Allegiance.
An Allocation of Time Motion
An Allocation of Time Motion, or 'Guillotine',
is to ensure that certain stages of a Bill are
completed by a certain date or within a fixed
number of sittings. In order to ensure the passage
of legislation within a realistic time, the Government
introduces an Allocation of Time Motion. Each
guillotine motion is specific to the Bill for
which it is to be applied.
Amendments
When Members of the House of Commons or the House
of Lords are debating or examining Bills they
often want to change some of the details. They
can therefore propose changes or amendments, and
debate and vote on them in the House.
Amendments are usually made during the Committee
Stage and in the Report Stage but in the House
of Lords can also be made at Third Reading.
Lords' Amendments are those amendments suggested
by the House of Lords and Commons' Amendments
are those that originate in the House of Commons.
Appellate Committee
The Appellate Committee is a committee made up
of Law Lords(usually five or seven). Its job is
to hear appeals from other British Courts in cases
of public importance on a point of law.
The Law Lords used to consider appeals in the
chamber of the House of Lords, but when a bomb
damaged the chamber during the war they temporarily
moved to a committee room. The move was so successful
that when the chamber was repaired the Law Lords
decided to continue to listen to appeals in the
committee room. Judgment by the Law Lords, however,
is delivered in the House of Lords Chamber.
Aye and No Lobbies
When there is a formal vote, or division,
in the House of Commons, MPs leave their seats
and walk into whichever division lobby corresponds
to the way they want to vote.
If they want to vote yes, they go into the Aye
Lobby. The Aye Lobby is the room on the right
of the Speaker, behind the Government benches.
If they want to vote no, they go into the No Lobby.
The No Lobby is the room on the left of the Speaker,
behind the Opposition benches.
Ayrton Light
Ayrton Light is the name of the light at the
top of the Clock Tower in the Palace of Westminster.
The Clock Tower contains the famous bell, Big
Ben. The Ayrton Light is lit when either
the House of Commons or the House of Lords is
sitting after dark. The light gets its name from
Thomas Ayrton, the first Commissioner of Works
who installed a gas lamp in the tower soon after
it was built in 1885.
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