Parliament possesses legislative supremacy and thereby holds ultimate power over all other political bodies in the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories.

[7] 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.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom is one of the oldest legislatures in the world, and is characterised by the stability of its governing institutions and its capacity to absorb change.

The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 formally amended the name to the "Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland",[15] five years after the secession of the Irish Free State.

Members of the House of Commons (MPs) were elected in an antiquated electoral system, under which constituencies of vastly different sizes existed.

Many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords (peers), who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters.

In 1909, the Commons passed the "People's Budget", which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners.

On the basis of the Budget's popularity and the Lords' consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910.

Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, which sought to restrict the powers of the House of Lords.

The Irish republicans responded by declaring the elections to these home rule Parliaments, held on the same day in 1921, to be the basis of membership for a new Dáil Éireann.

Additionally, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 led to abolition of the judicial functions of the House of Lords with the creation of the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October 2009.

Whilst the privy council can also issue legislation through orders-in-council, this power may be limited by Parliament like all other exercises of the royal prerogative.

The House of Commons is the most powerful of the components of Parliament, particularly due to its sole right to determine taxation and the supply of money to the government.

Additionally, the prime minister and leader of the government sits in the House, having acquiring this position by virtue of having the confidence of the other members.

This also means that the House is also the primary location in which the government faces scrutiny, as expressed through Question Time and the work of various select committees.

Black Rod turns and, under the escort of the Door-keeper of the House of Lords and an inspector of police, approaches the doors to the Chamber of the Commons.

In 1642, King Charles I stormed into the House of Commons in an unsuccessful attempt to arrest the Five Members, who included the celebrated English patriot and leading Parliamentarian John Hampden.

Standing Order 57 is the third method, which allows a bill to be introduced without debate if a day's notice is given to the Table Office.

A Money Bill concerns solely national taxation or public funds; the Speaker's certificate is deemed conclusive under all circumstances.

Governments have a tendency to dominate the legislative functions of Parliament, by using their in-built majority in the House of Commons, and sometimes using their patronage power to appoint supportive peers in the Lords.

In 1976, Quintin Hogg, Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone created a now widely used name for this behaviour, in an academic paper called "elective dictatorship".

Parliament controls the executive by passing or rejecting its Bills and by forcing Ministers of the Crown to answer for their actions, either at "Question Time" or during meetings of the parliamentary committees.

The motions sometimes take the form "That this House has [no] confidence in His Majesty's Government" but several other varieties, many referring to specific policies supported or opposed by Parliament, are used.

Important bills that form part of the Government's agenda (as stated in the Speech from the Throne) are generally considered matters of confidence.

These conditions and principles are constitutional conventions arising from the Sovereign's reserve powers as well as longstanding tradition and practice, not laid down in law.

Written Questions are submitted to the Clerks of the Table Office, either on paper or electronically, and answers are recorded in The Official Report (Hansard) so as to be widely available and accessible.

According to the jurist Sir William Blackstone, "It has sovereign and uncontrollable authority in making, confirming, enlarging, restraining, abrogating, repealing, reviving, and expounding of laws, concerning matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical, or temporal, civil, military, maritime, or criminal… it can, in short, do every thing that is not naturally impossible."

The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 states "It is recognised that the Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign" without qualification or definition.

It is entirely within the authority of Parliament, for example, to abolish the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, or — as happened in 2020 — to leave the EU.

The emblem now appears on all official stationery, publications and papers, and is stamped on various items in use in the Palace of Westminster, such as cutlery, silverware and china.