parliament

Legislative (law‐making) body of a country. The world's oldest parliament is the Icelandic Althing, which dates from about 930. The UK Parliament is usually dated from 1265. The legislature of the USA is called Congress and comprises the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In the UK Parliament is the supreme legislature, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The origins of Parliament are in the 13th century, but its powers were not established until the late 17th century. The powers of the Lords were curtailed in 1911, and the duration of parliaments was fixed at five years, but any Parliament may extend its own life, as happened during both world wars. The UK Parliament meets in the Palace of Westminster, London.

History
Parliament originated under the Norman kings as the Great Council of royal tenants‐in‐chief, to which in the 13th century representatives of the shires were sometimes summoned. The Parliament summoned by Simon de Montfort in 1265 (as head of government in the Barons' War) set a precedent by including representatives of the boroughs as well as the shires. Under Edward III the burgesses and knights of the shires began to meet separately from the barons, thus forming the House of Commons.

By the 15th century Parliament had acquired the right to legislate, vote, and appropriate supplies, examine public accounts, and impeach royal ministers. The powers of Parliament were much diminished under the Yorkists and Tudors but under Elizabeth I a new spirit of independence appeared. The revolutions of 1640 and 1688 established parliamentary control over the executive and judiciary, and finally abolished all royal claim to tax or legislate without parliamentary consent. During these struggles the two great parties (Whig and Tory) emerged, and after 1688 it became customary for the sovereign to choose ministers from the party dominant in the Commons. The English Parliament was united with the Scottish in 1707, and with the Irish from 1801 to 1922. The franchise was extended to the middle classes in 1832, to the urban working classes in 1867, to agricultural labourers in 1884, and to women in 1918 and 1928. The duration of parliaments was fixed at three years in 1694, at seven in 1716, and at five in 1911. Payment of MPs was introduced in 1911. A public bill that has been passed is an act of Parliament.