The Parliament Acts are two Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1911 and 1949. They form part of the Constitution of the United Kingdom. The first Parliament Act, the Parliament Act 1911, asserted the supremacy of the House of Commons by limiting the legislation blocking powers of the House of Lords—the suspensory veto. Providing the provisions of the Act are met, legislation can be passed without the approval of the House of Lords. Additionally, the 1911 Act amended the Septennial Act to reduce the maximum permitted time between general elections from seven years to five years. The first Parliament Act was amended by the second Parliament Act, the Parliament Act 1949, which further limited the power of the Lords by reducing the time that they could delay bills, from two years to one. The Parliament Acts have been used to pass legislation against the wishes of the House of Lords on only seven occasions since 1911, including the passing of the Parliament Act 1949. Doubts which had existed in academic circles concerning the validity of the 1949 Act were refuted in 2005 when members of the Countryside Alliance unsuccessfully challenged the validity of the Hunting Act 2004 which had been passed under the auspices of the Act.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_Acts

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1536: Anne Boleyn, the second wife and queen consort of Henry VIII of England, was beheaded for adultery at the Tower of London. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Boleyn)

1643: "The Great Condé" scored a decisive victory at the Battle of Rocroi in the Thirty Years' War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_II_de_Bourbon%2C_Prince_de_Cond%C3%A9)

1649: The Rump Parliament passed an act to formally establish the Commonwealth of England. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_England)

1802: The Légion d'honneur was first instituted by Napoléon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Honor)

1922: The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union was founded. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Pioneer_organization_of_the_Soviet_Union)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

With all reverence, I would say, let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles. -- Abraham Davenport (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Davenport)