2.1 Structure and role of HoC and HoL Flashcards
The UK has a (…) legislature
bicameral
3
Describe the membership of the House of Commons
- 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
List the membership of the House of Lords
Description on other cards
- Life peers
- Heriditary peers
- Lords spirtual
6
Describe life peers
- 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
Describe hereditary peers
- 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
2
Describe the Lords Spiritual
- 26 bishops and archbishops of Church of England
- e.g. Justin Welby
6
List the main functions of Parliament
- Legislative function
- Debate
- Scrutiny
- Representation
- Legitimation - act on behalf of public to give consent to laws
- Providing ministers
4
List the factors of representative function for the House of Commons
- Party representation
- Constituency representation
- Functional representation (e.g. LGBT)
- Pressure group representation
2 (yes) + 4 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills party representation
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
2 (yes) + 2 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills constituency representation
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
3 (yes) + 2 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills functional representation
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)
2 (yes) + 2 (no)
Describe the extent to which the House of Commons fulfills pressure group representation
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
11
List ways in which the House of Commons can scrutinise the government
- 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
3
Describe humble address
- 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
3
Describe House of Lords in the legislative function
- 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
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