2.1 the structure and role of the house of commons and house of lords Flashcards
How are members of the HoC chosen?
through election to represent single-member constituencies, using FPTP
What was the number of candidates seeking election in 2015?
3971
How did Theresa May call an early election in 2017?
she had the support of the necessary proportion of MPs
How many MPs currently in parliament (April 2024) are independent?
18
How much of the total membership of the Commons consists of backbenchers?
three-quarters
What is a backbencher?
MPs who do not have a ministerial or shadow-ministerial position
How many people are in the HoL(April 2024)?
788
What are the three main categories of peer?
- hereditary peers
- life peers
26 ‘Lords Spiritual’ (Anglican archbishops and bishops)
What are the three main functions both the commons and lords perform?
- passing legislation
- scrutiny of the executive
- providing ministers
What is the Lords not allowed to intervene with?
‘money’ bills, they don’t have power to give consent to taxation
Who is most legislation initiated by?
the government
What is an example of opposition parties and rebels on the government side working together to defeat legislation?
March 2016 - Camerons defeat on plans to extend Sunday trading, when Labour and the SNP joined with Conservative dissidents
What are the party whips responsible for?
ensuring that MPs attend parliamentary votes and for granting leave of absence if their vote is not essential
What is a ‘three-line whip’
the most important votes that indicates MPs should be there
What may whips offer to encourage and reward loyalty?
prospect of ministerial posts
What may happen to MPs that persistently rebel?
- the whip may be withdrawn, meaning they are effectively suspended from the party and have to sit as an independent
What is an example of an MP who has had the whip removed and when?
Diane Abbott - April 2023
What is an example of legislation that was pushed through parliament quickly and how quickly?
2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act, which introduced control orders for individuals suspected of terrorist offences
- 18 days to complete all the stages
What is an example of legislation that is poorly drafted so virtually unworkable?
1991 Dangerous Dogs Act - passed in response to a series of tabloid stories about dog attacks
- a review by the RSPCA 25 years later saw that of the 30 deaths caused in that period 21 involved breeds not specified in the act
What are the three ways the function of scrutiny id performed?
- questions to ministers
- select committees
- debates
What are questions to ministers?
- may call for oral or written answers
- a weekly question-and-answer session in the chamber of the Commons
How has PMQs been criticised?
- being unduly theatrical
- largely a point-scoring exercise dominated by the PM and the leader of the opposition
What do select committees do?
shadow individual government departments in the Commons
What do select committees in the Commons investigate?
- on activities of government departments
What do select committees in the Lords do?
- carry out topic-based inquiries
An example of a select committee in the Lords
Science and Technology Committee
Who is in select committees?
backbench MPs
What does the Backbench Business Committee (2010) do?
gives MPs more power to shape the agenda by allowing them to choose the topic for debate on one day per week
What was the August 2013 House of Commons debate?
the Cameron government was defeated on its proposal to undertake military action in Syria
Why are debates in the Lords given credit for their high quality?
- participants commonly include recently retired individuals with expertise in a particular field
How does parliament act as a recruiting ground for future ministers?
- whips make recommendations to the PM on suitable candidates for promotion
How can the services of a particular individual as a minister be secured if that person is not an MP?
the award of a peerage
Who did Gordon Brown give a peerage to following the 2008 financial crisis?
- Brown recalled Peter Mandelson from the European Commission, appointing him to the Lords so that he could serve as business secretary
How many members of the Lords are over 70?
over half of its members
How many members of the Lords are male?
three quarters
How many members of the Lords are from ethnic minorites?
around 5%
How is the MPs who voted against HS2 an example of the link between constituents and MP?
a number of the 44 MPs who voted against the HS2 in March 2016 represented constituencies that would be affected by the planned route
What is a concern on how effectively parliament performs its representative function?
- MPs loyalty to their party = reinforced by the desire to win a promotion to the government, may come into conflict with the need to represent a constituency
What is a concern on how effectively parliament performs its representative function of society as a whole?
- 35% of MPs are female (Feb 2024) compared to 51% of the UK population
- 10% of MPs are from ethnic minorities (Oct 2023) compared to 18% of the UK popualtion
