British parliament also known as Westminster is bicameral, that is two chambers; the House of Commons and House of Lords. The house of commons usually referred to as the lower house has the most authority. The house of lords also referred to as the upper chamber usually have less authority compared to the lower house. The main role of the House of Lords is to scrutinize the activities of the government. The same parliament can assist in checking and revising legislation.
In the United Kingdom, most of the activities in the parliament is usually is done in closed committees. The house of Commons where most of the work is done has two types of committee; select committee and general committee. The select committee works for the period which the parliament is in existence. Their main work is to is to conduct investigations, receive evidence and issue relevant reports on the matter that they had investigated. On the other hand, the general committee is usually a temporary body (Magstadt, page 22). Their main work is to examine details of proposed legislation while considering whether the bill should be amended or not. To affirm transparency to the entire nation, The House of Lord select committees without any outside influence. The parliament also has joint committees that comprised of members from both the upper house and the lower house.
The British Parliament usually has tremendously many tasks and responsibilities. The following are some of the work that the parliament has to do. First, they assist in lawmaking. The parliament has a responsibility of making and approving laws. Article one section eight give them the authority to make laws that are essential for carrying in the execution and foregoing powers. This clause combined with the commerce clause and the general welfare clause the congress has been handed a sizeable leeway to carry out its responsibilities. The congress has made laws regulate the interstate railroads, funding school lunch initiatives, to limit greenhouse gases, provide student loans, and establish civil right protection among others.

Conversely, the parliament has the power to constitute Tribunals that are substandard to the Supreme Court. Article III of the constitution allows the parliament to enact courts at a lower level than the supreme courts. In addition, they are procure the oversight roles. This is a legislative duty of overseeing all the actions of the government. In this jurisdiction, they scrutinize all preliminary chores undertaken by the cabinet.
Taxation and Appropriation is one of the greatest role of this arm of government. In this case, they lay procedures on tax collection. The constitution states that all the bills for raising revenue should originate from the parliament. They also have the power to spend by paying debts and assisting in acquire for a particular defense.
Lastly, the constitution also gives the parliament the power to provide for coarse defense. They have the power to declare war but only after the president have declared war. In addition, they have a mandate of raising and supporting other military service. To secure maximum support, they make a rational and conclusive decision on whether to fund national military operations.
Key differences between the British and American system
In the United States, the parliament is composed of the House of Representatives and on the other arm, the senate. The roles of the parliament in British and America have so many similarities, but they have a number of differences.
In British, for one to be a member of the House of Commons, they must be over 21 years and must be nominated by ten members from the constituency. In the United States, the candidate must be over 25 years and must have been leaving in the states for over seven years.
In order for one to become a lord, they must of 21 years and above and a citizen of the United Kingdom. They must be in clear terms with the authority and also with the community. While in the United States, one must be over 30 years and must have resided in the state that they wish to represent for over nine years.
In British, the house of lords make a decision that must be fully ratified by the house of commons. They cannot produce bills related to revenue. They may reject a bill or legislation, but the house of commons may initiate parliamentary act that force the legislation to succeed. While in America, the senate acts a check and balance where if a bill comes from the house of representative, there is a possibility that it is rejected, and this can cause a gridlock.
In the above scenario, there are usually several problems when it comes to passing bills. There are constant stalemates in the houses when it comes to solving legislative issues (Sidlow, page 162). This is normally experienced in the United States where the senate usually checks the bills that have been affirmed by the House of Representatives. This is familiar in a situation where the party with the majority in the senate rejects a bill that had been passed by the opposition party who are the majority in the House of Representatives. Problems may arise when the party with the majority in the senate wants to pass a bill in the House of Representatives where there is a minority. These situations normally interfere with government operations.

Work Cited
Magstadt, Thomas M. Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Sidlow, Edward. Govt3. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.