Back to Westminster

Last Tuesday I was on Capitol Hill, popping into a Congressman's office - before taking lunch with a former member of Congress - then to National Airport to fly home. Yesterday I was in the Palace of Westminster - my first visit of the new Parliament.

In the United Kingdom, Parliament's are usually referred to by the date of their election. So most people will refer to this as the "2015 Parliament". But, like Congress, Parliament's can be known by their number. This is the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom. The first met in 1801, after the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. There was no General Election, but its members were those who had sat in the 18th Parliament of Great Britain, which was elected in 1796. Prior to the numbering of Parliaments of Great Britain (from 1707), Parliaments were known as the xth Parliament of the sitting Monarch. Some of the earlier Parliaments even had nicknames - such as the "Parliament of Devils", which was the 21st Parliament of Henry VI (1459), or the "Parliament of Bats" (1426).

Whilst down there I was able to read some of the excellent material produced by the House of Commons Library - which is also available online. I find the library to be a superb resource - both for academic study of parliament & for following business. More details - and links can be found here.

I didn't go into the gallery for the first day of the committee stage of the European Union Referendum Bill (Day 2 is tomorrow) - but I found the following very useful

Briefing on the Bill
EU exit: impact in key UK policy areas

The 55th Parliament

The British tend to identify their Parliaments by the year in which they were elected - unlike the Americans who refer to each Congress by a number. The first Congress sat from 1789 to 1991. The current congress is the 111th. What we will know as the 2010 Parliament is the 55th Parliament of the United Kingdom - the first met in 1801, after the Union with Ireland (the previous 18 parliaments are referred to as Parliaments of Great Britain - from the Union of England and Scotland). The earlier Parliaments of England are oftened numbered today by the number of parliaments summoned by each monarch - so the 29th Parliament of Edward I sat from 27th November to 4th December 1295 (but is better known as the "Model Parliament" - regarded as the traditional start of the regular participation of the Commons in Parliament). "The Long Parliament" which sat from 1640 to 1660 - began as the 5th Parliament of Charles I.

Lists of all members of the 55th Partliament (MPs in the House of Commons: Peers in the House of Lords) and the members of the government can be found here .