2. Parliament and Parliamentary Sovereignty Flashcards
Composition of UK Parliament
House of Commons
House of Lords
+ Monarch
How are members of the house of commons elected?
Members of Parliament are elected by attaining the most votes at a general election in their respective constituencies (the ‘first past the post’ system).
Constitutional convention wrt Speaker of the House of Commons
To carry out their duties impartially
Maximum number of people who can hold ministerial office in the House of Commons
95
Besides MPs, who are members of the House of Commons
By convention, the PM and most cabinet ministers
What are recall petitions
Recall Petition allows an MP to be removed from their seat and for a by-election to follow
Conditions for opening a recall petition
ONLY ONE MUST BE MET:
1. MP is convicted of an offence and receives a custodial sentence
2. following a report from the Committee on Standards, the MP is suspended from the Commons for at least 10 sitting days
3. the MP is convicted of providing false or misleading information for allowances claims
Consequences of recall petition being triggered
- MP removed from their seat
- By-election called if at least 10% of registered voters in their constituency sign petition within 6 weeks
If an MP has been recalled and a by-election has been called, can this MP stand as a candidate?
Yes
Status of most members of the House of Lords
- Life peers appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958
How are life peers appointed
By monarch, on advice of the PM
- PM gets advice from a non-political commission which puts people forward
Current membership #s of the House of Lords
- The lords temporal
- 700 life peers
- 92 hereditary peers - The lords spiritual
- 26 senior clergy from CoE
How often must parliament be summoned, according to statute
Every 3 years
By convention, how often does parliament meet
Throughout the year
Statutory limit on the duration of a parliament
5 years
What must the PM do to call a general election
- Must ask the Monarch to dissolve parliament (which they will, royal prerogative)
- Was back and forth for a while about when early parilamentary elections could be held
- But now, dissolution is a royal prerogative power again
Timeline of parliamentary sessions
- Sessions usually start in spring of one year and end in the spring of the next
When does a parliamentary session ‘end’
- When parliament is ‘prorogued’ by royal decree
- Prorogation terminates all business pending at the end of a session
Effect of prorogation on public bills which have not yet passed into law
- Normally, they will lapse
- But, subject to agreement, can be carried over form one session to the next
Public v Private Bills
Public: apply to the public in general
Private: change the law for a certain individual or locality
The legislative process: General Process for a bill to become law
the bill must pass through both houses (approved in the same form) and then presented for royal assent
Two forms of public bills
Government Bills
Private Members’ Bills
Government Bills
These bills are bills submitted to Parliament as part of the Government’s
legislative programme. They are usually listed in the King’s Speech at the start of a parliamentary session and are usually public bills. The relevant government department decides on the detailed contents.
Private Members’ Bills:
bills introduced by MPs or Lords who are not government ministers. Although a very small minority of these ever become law due to lack of parliamentary time, they sometimes create significant publicity regarding an issue so may indirectly influence the Government’s legislative proposals.
Bills relating to financial measures: who must introduce it
A minister in the COMMONS
Generally, which house introduces bills
Either
the Legislative process: when do proceedings in the house of lords begin
Generally, after the third reading in the commons
When do the lords send the bill back to the commons
After the third reading, if it has been amended by the lords (can go backwards and forwards repeatedly)
What happens in the first reading
The title of the bill is read out, it is printed and published
What happens in the second reading
At this stage the main debate takes place in the House of Commons on the general principles of
the bill.
What happens in the Committee Stage
- Bill referred to general (or public bill) committee consisting of 16-50 members appointed by selection committee (prop. rep for parties)
- Bill is examined in detail, amendments can be made
What happens in the committee stage with importance bills (eg. government expenditure)
Referred to ‘committee of the whole house’
Which two types of bills will be referred to the ‘committee of the whole house’ at the committee stage
- important bills
- unimportant / uncontroversial bills
What happens in the third reading
This stage involves the consideration of the bill as amended - normally the debate is brief and only verbal amendments may be made. This is the final opportunity to vote on the bill; often MPs
do not
Can a bill suspend its commencement to sometime AFTER royal assent?
Yes, if determined by delegated legislation under the act
Salisbury Convention
The house of lords will not reject a bill giving effect to a major part of the democratically elected government’s manifesto
Outcome of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
To ensure that the will of the house of commons prevails
- Allow royal assent to be given to a bill not consented to by the house of lords, provided that speaker certifies that provisions of the acts have been complied with
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949: Requirements for Money bills lacking House of Lords Consent
- Money bill passed by the commons can be presented for assent month after being sent to the lords
- will become law without consent
What are ‘money bills’
Public bills certified by the speaker as dealing ONLY with national taxation ro supply
Parliament Acts: Requirements for other public bills to pass without the consent of the lords
- If passed by the Commons and rejected by the Lords in each of two successive sessions, a bill can be sent to the Monarch for her assent. One year must
elapse between the second reading in the Commons in the first session, and the third reading there in the second session.
Which bills are excluded from authorisation without lords consent by the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
Bills seeking to extend the maximum duration of Parliament are excluded.
DEF: Delegated Legislation
Every exercise of power to legislate that is conferred by or under an ACT of Parliament
Who makes delegated legislation?
Ministers, in the form of rules or regulations (‘statutory instruments’)
Can delegated legislation be amended?
No, not by either house of parliament
Does delegated legislation need either House to vote on it to come into effect
No
How does delegated legislation ‘come into effect’
- Procedure to enact will be included in the ‘parent’ act
- Normally affirmative or negative resolution procedure
Affirmative Resolution Procedure
The instrument either cannot come into effect, or ceases
to have effect, unless one or both Houses passes a resolution approving the instrument.
Negative Resolution Procedure
The Government is required to ‘annul’ the instrument if either House passes a resolution rejecting the instrument within a specified period (usually
40 days) after it is ‘laid before Parliament’.
The ‘Enrolled Act’ Rule
once an Act of Parliament has been
entered onto the Parliamentary roll, the courts will not question the validity of that Act or hold the Act to be void.
Doctrine of implied repeal
This holds that an Act of
Parliament will impliedly repeal the contents of an Act of an earlier Parliament to the extent of
any inconsistency between the two Acts.
What statutes does the doctrine of implied repeal not apply to?
Constitutional Statutes
DEF: Constitutional Statute
a. statute must condition the legal relationship between citizen and state in some general, overarching manner; or
b. statute must change the scope of fundamental constitutional rights
How can constitutional statutes be repealed
Requires express words
(eg. Scotland Act)
Henry VIII Powers
- included in legislation introduced by government
- powers permit relevant gov. minister to amend / repeal the relevant statute and sometimes other statutes by delegated legislation
Parliamentary Privilege: general rule (freedom of speech)
MPs are immune from civil and criminal proceedings regarding anything they say in parliamentary proceedings. This is based on article 9 of the Bill of Rights
Can the speaker waive the parliamentary privilege of free speech
No, it is absolute
Does parliamentary privilege protect MPs from arrest whilst parliament is in session?
- Yes, civil offences only
NOT CRIMINAL OFFENCES
Principle of ‘exclusive cognisance’
Parliament can determine its own rules and procedures
- MPs will be disciplined according to these
- these also determine the entry of MPs into parliament
Can the government use the prerogative to authorise expenditure?
No
