The House of Commons

The House of Commons

The House of Commons is the real legislative branch. The national chief executive is the prime minister, who is the leader of the majority party in the Commons. Almost all legislation is introduced by the majority party. The Commons has complete control of money bills—all tax policy and expenditures. Under the law all legislation must be passed by the Commons and Lords in identical form and be assented (agreed) to by the monarch. In practice, however, the Lords rarely holds up legislation passed by the Commons, and the sovereign almost automatically agrees to any bill passed. The royal veto power has not been used since the reign of Queen Anne, early in the 18th century.