The United Kingdom constitution – a mapping exercise
A briefing paper which "maps" (or summarises) the main elements of the United Kingdom's uncodified constitution.

In the House of Commons, specific rights, privileges and sources of funding are available to the Official Opposition and other opposition parties.
Opposition parties in the House of Commons (235 KB , PDF)
The UK Parliament has traditionally been dominated by two main parties, which since the end of the Second World War have been the Conservative and Labour parties. In recent decades, Parliament has typically seen a third party take a significant number of seats, as well as a range of parties taking a small number of seats. These smaller parties include parties from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as parties that stand candidates across Great Britain.
While the party with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons typically forms the government, the second largest party is known as the Official Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition and their spokespeople have certain rights under parliamentary procedure, such as:
The leader of the second largest opposition party also has some rights under parliamentary procedure, such as the right to ask two supplementary questions at Prime Minister’s Questions and the right to set business on 3 opposition days.
Qualifying opposition parties can receive public funding in the form of Short Money and Policy Development Grants. Short Money is paid for three purposes:
Policy Development Grants are paid to assist opposition parties in developing policies to include in their election manifestos. Sinn Féin MPs are not eligible for Short Money or Policy Development Grants, as they do not take the oath of allegiance nor take their seats in the House of Commons. However, since 2006 a scheme has operated on similar terms to Short Money to allow Sinn Féin MPs to access funds to carry out ‘representative business’.
Opposition parties in the House of Commons (235 KB , PDF)
A briefing paper which "maps" (or summarises) the main elements of the United Kingdom's uncodified constitution.
On Wednesday 25 June 2025, there will be an Estimates Day debate on the spending of the Ministry of Justice. This debate pack contains details of the latest estimates and previous expenditure, background material, and suggestions for further reading.
A briefing paper on the office and functions of the Prime Minister