2.1 Structure and role of HoC and HoL Flashcards
1
Q
The UK has a (…) legislature
A
bicameral
2
Q
3
Describe the membership of the House of Commons
A
- Frontbenchers - MPs who holds ministerial role + party whips in government and those who shadow them in opposition (‘payroll’ vote)
- Backbencher - MPs without an officia role in government or opposition
- Speaker/deputy speakers - politically-neutral MPs who preside over debates in House of Commons
Sometimes PPS included as frontbench
3
Q
3
List the membership of the House of Lords
Description on other cards
A
- Life peers
- Heriditary peers
- Lords spirtual
4
Q
6
Describe life peers
A
- Created by Life Peerages Act 1958
- Appointed by monarch after proposals by PM acting on advice of Appointments Commission
- By convention, Leader of Opp and other party leaders can propose a certain number
- Usually experts in their field
- May be crossbenchers or party members
- e.g. Simon Murray, David Cameron
5
Q
5
Describe hereditary peers
A
- 92 peers who hold position from inheriting it from their parent
- when vacancy occurs in 90/92 seats, fellow hereditary peers vote to replace them in by-election with other hereditary peers who wish to stand
- Holder of ‘Earl Marshal’ and ‘Lord Great Chamberlain’ have automatic right so sit
- e.g. Oliver Eden
- no female heriditary peers currently
6
Q
2
Describe the Lords Spiritual
A
- 26 bishops and archbishops of Church of England
- e.g. Justin Welby
7
Q
6
List the main functions of Parliament
A
- Legislative function
- Debate
- Scrutiny
- Representation
- Legitimation - act on behalf of public to give consent to laws
- Providing ministers
8
Q
4
List the factors of representative function for the House of Commons
A
- Party representation
- Constituency representation
- Functional representation (e.g. LGBT)
- Pressure group representation
9
Q
2 (yes) + 4 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills party representation
A
Yes
- Essentially all MPs elected by representing political party at election
- Strong whip system e.g. Boris Johnson removed whips from 21 MPs
No
- MPs may cross benches e.g. Christian Wakefield, Dan Poulter
- Whip system increasingly breaking down
- Dominance of government means party-line votes lack scrutiny e.g. Liz Truss fracking vote
- FPTP limits minor party representation
10
Q
2 (yes) + 2 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills constituency representation
A
Yes
- All MPs elected as representatives of their constituency
- many MPs act as ‘delegates’ e.g. Nicky Morgan voted against legalising gay marriage in 2013 claiming that she had recieved more letters from constituents to oppose it than support it
No
- MPs often vote in line with parties
- Can support views opposed to that of constituency e.g. Theresa May supported brexit whislt Maidenhead opposed it
11
Q
3 (yes) + 2 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills functional representation
A
Yes
- specific select committees i.e. Women and Equalities Committee
- 2019 elec produced most representative HoC (34% female, 10% BAME, 7% LGBT)
- These issues are sufficiently debated/represented - HoC voted for same-sex marriage in 2013 despite being almost entirely straight in membership
No
- still unrepresentative of population (e.g. 66% male)
- greater divides in class (80% MPs have professional/business background - so WC under-represented)
12
Q
2 (yes) + 2 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills pressure group representation
A
Yes
- MPs may have link to think tank, charity, etc - represent views + issues under-represented in political debate
- e.g. Neil O’Brien MP sits on Onward advisory board
No
- lobbying scandals related to MPs e.g. Owen Paterson
- pressure groups hold no legitimacy
13
Q
11
List ways in which the House of Commons can scrutinise the government
A
- PMQs and Ministerial Question Time
- Select Committees
- Legislative process
- Opposition days
- Humble address
- backbench business committee
- petitions committee
- EDMs
- Emergency debates
- Adjournment debates
- Urgent questions
14
Q
3
Describe humble address
A
- Request from House of Commons for release of documents named in the address
- e.g. in 2017 labour used humble address to get Government to release its Brexit impact assessments
- Difficult to achieve given government majority in HoC
15
Q
3
Describe House of Lords in the legislative function
A
- Cannot veto - only delay for one year
- revising chamber - amendments given important consideration given expertise of members
- crossbenchers not influenced by party whip system - assess legislation’s merits and demerits with open mind
Re-do this card
16
Q
3
Give an example of the invokation of the Parliaments Act 1949
A
- Sexual Offences (amendment) bill 2000 proposed reducing age of consent for homosexual sex from 18 to 16
- Passed HoC, rejected by HoL
- Govt invoked 1949 Parliament Act to give bill royal assent, bypassing HoL
17
Q
2
Give an example of the government responding to the House of Lords
A
- HoL criticism that the Internal Market Bill (2020) did not sufficiently recognise authority of devolved govts to determine goods and services policy
- led to govt conceding that some regulatory diffferences could be accepted within a ‘common framework’
18
Q
2
Give an example of the government not responding to the House of Lords
A
- HoC rejected all five of HoL amendments to EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill in 2020
- Included Dubs amendments which would have ensured that unaccompanied child refugees would still be able to join relatives in UK after brexit
19
Q
4
Describe House of Lords select committees
A
- Committee work highly regarded due to expertise of emembers
- Unlike HoC which monitors departments, HoL committees concentrate on major social/political issues and make recommendations to govt
- Sessional committees
- Special inquiry committees
20
Q
2
Describe sessional committees
A
- deal with particular issue e.g. environment and climate change
- e.g. Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
21
Q
3
Describe the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
A
- HoC do not have time to examine secondary legislation
- Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee plays valuable role in scrutinising such statutory instruments
- e.g. in 2022, committee criticised rushed secondary legislation to reduce time when claimaints may limit job search to previous pay level from 3 months to 4 weeks
22
Q
3
Describe House of Lords special enquiry (ad hoc) committees
A
- investgate specific issue
- set up for specific time period
- e.g. a HoL special enquiry into negative econ/social effects of gambling reported findings and advice in 2020 based on extensive consultation
23
Q
5
Describe secondary legislation
A
- changes to detail of existing Acts can be delegated to government ministers and civil servants
- done through statutory instruments (SIs) aka Henry VIII clauses
- 2020 - 1618 SIs passed, but only 49 Acts passed
- done for urgency, but can be used to bypass government scrutiny
- Accusations of ‘governing from shadows’
24
Q
4
Describe Joint HoL and HoC committees
A
- Three are permanent and meet regularly (Human Rights, National Security Strategy, SIs)
- Consult widely and membership reflects accumulated experience of both Houses
- e.g. National Security Strategy committee featured Lord Dannatt (former Blair defence sec) + Tobias Elwood (Chair of Defence select) in 2022
- also established to deal with specific issue e.g. Joint Committee on Draft Online Safety Bill made 127 recommendations in 2021
25
Q
3 - (3) (2) (3)
Describe the argument that the House of Commons effectively fulfill its function
A
-
Representative function
- 2019 elec produced most functionally representative HoC (e.g. 7% LGBT) - represent social groupings in debates/issues
- range of minor parties represented, especially regional ones i.e. NI parties
- MPs act as delegates of constituency e.g. Jess Phillips ceasefire vote - exemplifies social contract
-
Scrutiny function
- prominence of PMQs places spotlight on executive decisions with detailed questions and answers e.g. Sunak 150k student dependents
- Wright Reforms enhances independence of Select Committes who regularly consult experts - reports granted weight with 30-40% recommendations being taken uo
-
Legislative function
- Core part of legislative process e.g. public bill committees
- BBBC allows wider backbenchers to set parliamentary agenda and debate issues ignored by executive
- control of legislative process most evident in Letwin Amendment
26
Q
3 - (3) (2) (3)
Describe the argument that the House of Commons does not effectively fulfill its function
A
-
Representative function
- Functional representation still limited (only 34% are female)
- FPTP limits minor party representation
- powerful whip system removes independence of MPs
-
Scrutiny function
- PMQs is raucous and known for ‘theatre’ with many questions used to praise the government for electioneering
- Select committees reports must be unanimous and so avoid contorversy in recommendations - limits ability to properly scrutinise departmental processes and policy
-
Legislative function
- Governments increasingly using secondary legislation to bypass Parliament and especially HoC
- PMBs rarely advance due to little parliamentary time allocated + whip system
- EDMs remain non-binding - legislative function reduced to virtue-signalling
27
Q
2
Describe a recent government defeat in the House of Lords
A
- Defeated Sunak plans to dilute river pollution regulations to drive homebuilding in Sept 2023
- 203-156 loss (47 vote margin)
28
Q
2
How many times were the Government defeated in the HoL and HoC in the 2022-23 session?
A
HoL - 125
HoC - 0
29
Q
3 - (3) (2) (2)
Describe the argument that the House of Lords effectively fulfills its function
A
-
Representative function
- Appointments system enables selection of diverse life peers
- life peers selected on merit and represent different industries/interest groups e.g. Lord Addington serves as President of BDA
- especially true for crossbenchers not subject to party whip e.g. Tammi-Grey Thompson
-
Scrutiny function
- Lords members are more indepently-minded and thus more willing to challenge the government
- Expertise leads to a higher quality of debating and forensic questioning of ministers
-
Legislative function
- lack of government majority in HoL leads to more regular government defeats e.g. 125 defeats (2022-23)
- serves as ‘revising chamber’ in ‘ping pong’ - amendments taken more seriously due to expertise
BDA - British Dyslexia Association
30
Q
3 - (2) (3) (2)
Describe the argument that the House of Lords does not effectively fulfill its function
A
-
Representative function
- Though reduced in numbers and influence, heriditary peers exemplify skewed representation towards aristocracy
- Royal Prerogative of PM to recommend peerages leads to packing of HoL with party members e.g. Cameron appointed 51 LD peers, May/Johnson appointed none
-
Scrutiny function
- Ministerial questions not directed towards department unlike HoC
- scrutiny of bills limited by Salibsury convention and ‘money bills’
- ability to scrutinise from different expert standpoints limited by poor and irregular attendance by peers e.g. Lebedev
-
Legislative function
- HoL can ignore amendments e.g. 5 amendments made on EU Withdrawal Bill
- No legislative veto - can be overulled by HoC
