The British parliament and the U.S Congress have got notable similarities in their systems. Even so, there are also key differences that make these two houses distinct. Both the two houses have got two chambers that function in a much similar way. The British parliament is made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons while the U.S. Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both the UK Parliament and the U.S. Congress make laws and alter others.
Some of the major differences between the two legislatures include the following: First, the US Congress is bicameral while the UK Parliament is not. In Congress, both the Senate and the House of Representatives must agree for any particular law to be passed. This is opposed to the House of Lords which cannot block bills unless under very limited circumstances (Goodwin & Bates, 2016). Secondly, U.S. Congress does not have a real part in the executive functions in the government. Congress in itself is a legislative body which is separate from the executive (Sinclair, 2016). The UK Parliament, on the other hand, is an integral branch of the executive. The ministers in the government including the Prime Minister come from the Parliament. They remain members of Parliament even as they execute their leadership roles in the executive branch (Goodwin & Bates, 2016).
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Both the two systems have got their strengths and weaknesses. One major hindrance of the UK Parliament is the EU and its rules that the UK Parliament has to comply with. Apart from political issues affecting their own country, The UK Parliament has to deal with politics and rules decided on by other twenty-six countries of the European Union. This is opposed to Congress which only deals with the politics and tensions of their own country. The speed in which things get done in the two systems gives Parliament an upper hand. In the U.S. Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives stop each other from doing what they want as opposed to the UK Parliament where business runs for the most part through one party. The party controls what goes on when they are in session. If any major change is to be done, then it is easier done in Parliament than in Congress. This is something that can be borrowed by the Congress.
References
Goodwin, M., & Bates, S. (2016). The ‘powerless parliament’? Agenda-setting and the role of the UK parliament in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. British Politics , 11 (2), 232-255.
Sinclair, B. (2016). Unorthodox lawmaking: New legislative processes in the US Congress . CQ Press.
