Parliament holds both the executive and legislative powers in Britain. The US consists of a separate Legislature and Executive branch. In Britain, while passing the laws, several of its members are chosen with the prime minister to administer the executive powers for each of the nation's departments. The Parliament is also bicameral, with the House of Lords being far overpowered by its lower part, the House of Commons. The House of Lords consists of life peers to serve in the final court of appeals, or "law lords", all other life peers, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, and the 21 senior bishops of the Church of England. The House of Commons consists of MPs-members of Parliament and each is elected from single-member districts, or constituencies, across the UK. The MPs are chosen in a general election that is held at least once every five years and a special by-election is used to fill a recently emptied seat in the House of Commons. This is similar to the US houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate, which relate more to the House of Commons, in that there is an election held every six years and each state elects its representatives.
Although Parliament has no official "separation of powers", the Houses have devised customs for checking up on itself. There is question time for 55 minutes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when ministers answer MPs' questions. The Prime Minister's question time is every Tuesday and Thursday when the House is sitting. Parliamentary questions are ways of seeking information about the Government's intentions and are also a way of raising complaints brought to MPs' notice by the constituents. Early day motions (EDMs) also provide opportunity for MPs to express their views on particular issues. A number of EDMs are tabled each sitting day; they are very rarely debated but can be useful in determining the degree of support for the issue raised by the number of signatures of other MPs, which the motion attracts.
