Guides

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) is a Northern Irish political party that was formed in the early 1970s at the height of the 'Troubles'. The SDLP sits on the left of the political spectrum, and is affiliated to the Labour party.Read More

Special advisers are temporary civil servants, employed for the duration of an administration to provide a political dimension to the non-partisan work of the general civil service. The number of Special Advisors who later go on to become Members of Parliament is considerable. Read More

Standing Committees are like miniature versions of the Commons itself. A new Standing Committee is set up for each Bill, although there are normally no more than eight at one time. Within the Standing Committee, a Bill is debated clause-by-clause.Read More

Starred questions are questions for oral answer by Ministers in the House of Lords. They are called 'Starred Questions' because they appear next to a star on the order paper.Read More

By convention, Parliament expects to be the first to be informed of important issues, including new government policy announcements and updates on developing situations.Read More

Debates in the House of Commons take place on a motion to which amendments may be tabled. One special kind of substantive motion is one tabled by the Government to seek approval for expenditure.Read More