Is it the government or the parliament that rules in the United Kingdom?

Question

I'm confused. I thought that the whole point of electing a government was that the elected government was the party in power. Yet it seems that most political matters are delegated not just by the government, but by parliament as a whole.

If the Conservative and Liberal Democrat (and other) parties are not in power, why do they have a say in the House of Commons?

Answer 1

It's the government rules but any political bill/ reform/ matter should be passed in government to have majority.

Answer 2

It's my understanding that the government of the UK is derived from Parliament.

Technically, the UK has a bicameral (two-chambered) parliament,consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Lords are essentially ceremonial, however; the real government lies in the Commons. There are two political parties (currently, the Conservative party and the Labour party).The leader of the majority party becomes the Prime Minister. The majority party holds the right to organize the Cabinet (actually, this power is vested in the PM).

Now, how much of it did I get right? (By the way, I'm an American who learned this out of a textbook.)

Answer 3

The government governs. Parliament is there to make the government answerable. The function of the other parties is to be a n alternative government. Parliament has in many ways failed because very large majorities make for bad government. A powerful opposition keeps them on their toes and you do not get so many silly impracticable laws passed