Elections in Great Britain

The United Kingdom Parliament is composed of the Crown, that is the monarch, the House of Lords, an appointive and hereditary upper chamber, and the popularly elected lower chamber, the House of Commons. The latter enjoys supremacy over the former: the House of Lords' powers, originally equal to those of the House of Commons, were drastically reduced in 1911 and 1949 to delay of nonmoney (non-fiscal) bills. Since 1999, most of the country's hereditary peers are excluded from membership in the House of Lords.