Parliament of the United Seats of Whestcorea
Whestcorean Parliament | |
|---|---|
| 1st Ministry of Whestcorea | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 14th September, 2016 |
| Preceded by | Federal Government of Whestcorea |
| Leadership | |
Prime Minister | Bob Christ (PP) |
Speaker of the House | |
Jamesearlblessedheart (x2) (DDP) | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 19 |
 | |
Parliament political groups | Governing Administration
Most Loyal Opposition
|
The Parliament of the United Seats of Whestcorea is the supreme legislative body of the United Seats of Whestcorea and all territories thereof. It is second only to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Whestcorea - soon to be repealed - in terms of legislative supremacy, and thus can, within constitutional limits, pass whatever laws necessary regardless of local or regional elected representation. Its head is the Prime Minister, currently Bob Christ, who is the legally recognized head of the Whestcorean executive branch, and its seat is in Carriage 3323 on the Underground in the UK city of London.
The parliament is unicameral, meaning there is no upper or lower chamber that it must either operate with or maintain the confidence of - the House can legislate on its own. Unlike its counterpart in the United Kingdom prior to the coming into force in September 2009 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Parliament does not possess any Constitutional judicial power, which is presently, though nominally, vested in the Supreme Court of Whestcorea.
The Parliament is almost entirely simulated by random number generation. The manner in which votes are taken is somewhat complicated; all party leaders, who must be living, non-simulated Members of Parliament (presently, there are two, Bob Christ, leader of the Party Party, and Jamesearlblessedheart (x2), Leader of the Opposition) are entitled to vote in a voice vote. Once the voice vote is taken and the result issued by the Speaker, if a party leader requests, a division may be called, wherein all MPs, simulated or not, are entitled to vote. If no division is called, the Speaker tosses a coin: if heads, the result as issued is accepted, and the consequent actions are taken. If tails, it is taken that a simulated MP has called for a division, and a division takes place in which all MPs may vote.
Simulated MPs decisions are generated based on a random number generator that takes into account, at the moment, one primary factor: party loyalty. MPs are given random levels of party loyalty when generated, from one to five - the likelihood that an MP will vote with their party leader on matters of legislation is dependent, thus, upon how much they consider themselves loyal to the party and how much they feel confident in disobeying the party whips.
Parliamentary procedure
Any non-simulated MP may beg a motion of any kind, requesting legislation be passed, resolutions be made, and other acts of governance be carried out.
When a motion is made, all party leaders are asked to vote by voice. If a division is called, either by a living or simulated MP, all party leaders are then asked by the Speaker how they would like their delegation of MPs to vote on the matter in question, and the results are then generated randomly and calculated. There is, in general, a higher likelihood that MPs will vote with their parties than not given the present form of the algorithm utilized, and so far in parliament there has been no mass rebellion from simulated Members of Parliament against their party line.
Term
As of the 14th of September, 2016, the term of office of Members of Parliament is, under the provisions of the presently acknowledged Whestcorean Constitution, four months. After this time, Parliament will, nominally, need to be re-elected, which means that unless the Constitution is repealed, the mandate of the current Parliament will expire on the 14th of January, 2017.
Following a general election, a new Prime Minister needs to be appointed. The vote is taken from among the MPs of the Parliament, and whichever candidate receives the nomination of a majority of MPs (with candidates eliminated as necessary) is appointed Prime Minister.
There is no legislation, passed either by the present government or the administration of the Federal Republic, that sets out when, how, or if Parliament can be dissolved prior to the expiration of its mandate. Conventionally, however, Whestcorean deliberative assemblies have never dissolved prior to the expiration of their term.
Judicial functions
Nominally, under the Constitution, the House of Patricians has equal footing with the Supreme Court in terms of judicial review and judicial hearings. In practice, however, the House of Patricians has never heard a case, and, indeed, only one person has ever sat there; moreover, in the new Whestcorean Parliament, the House technically does not exist in spite of legislative and Constitutional requirements. As such, Parliament has no judicial function.