2.1 - The Structure and the Role of the House of Commons and the House of Lords

Question 1

Structure of the House of Commons - How many MPs, what do they represent, and how are they divided?

Answer 1

• 650 MPs each elected from a constituency (a geographical area containing on average 75,000 voters)
• Nearly all MPs represent a political party (some independents are elected but this is rare)
• MPs are divided into frontbench and backbench MPs

Question 2

Structure of the House of Commons - What are frontbench MPs?

Answer 2

Frontbench MPs are usually more senior and serve in the cabinet or shadow cabinet or are appointed by the leader of the governing or opposition party

Question 3

Structure of the House of Commons - What are backbench MPs?

Answer 3

Backbench MPs are the large majority – they can be more independent than frontbench MPs but are still expected to show party loyalty – members of other parties that aren’t the main parties are also considered backbenchers

Question 4

Structure of the House of Commons - Where do MPs do their work and what are whips?

Answer 4

• MPs do much of their work in committees – either select or legislative committees
• All main parties appoint party whips who work under a chief whip – their role is to ensure that MPs tow the party line when it comes to votes in P

Question 5

Structure of the House of Commons - What is the role of the Speaker and who is the current Speaker?

Answer 5

Proceedings of the Commons are presided over by the speaker – an elected MP who is expected to be neutral in organising the business of Parliament along with the party leaderships, maintain order and discipline in debates, decide who gets to speak in the Commons, and settle disputes about Parliamentary work – current speaker is Sir Lindsey Hoyle

Question 6

How does one become an MP? (5 steps)

Answer 6

1) Join a party
2) Get placed on the Party’s approved central list of candidates
3) Get nominated as a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for a constituency by being elected by the local party members
4) When an election is called, ensure that you are nominated by at least 10 local residents and registered with the constituency’s returning officer
5) Win a plurality of voters in he constituency when a general election is called

Question 7

Structure of the House of Lords - What are hereditary peers and how many are there?

Answer 7

92 members are hereditary peers – people who inherited their peerage (determined by the House of Lords Act 1999)

Question 8

Structure of the House of Lords - What are archbishops and bishops of the Church of England and how many are there?

Answer 8

Twenty six members are archbishops and bishops of the Church of England – the ‘Lord Spiritual’ – this reflects that Anglican Christianity is the established religion of the UK

Question 9

Structure of the House of Lords - What are life peers and how are they nominated?

Answer 9

The other members of the Lords, life peers, are appointed as one of the prerogative powers of the PM – most life peers are nominated by the PM and other leaders of political parties – this means they are political appointment

Question 10

Structure of the House of Lords - How is the political structure of the House of Lords determined?

Answer 10

• No firm principle regarding the party makeup of the Lords – general principle that it is roughly in line with party representation in the Commons
• The political makeup of the Lords tends to be that there is no outright majority for the governing party – partly due to there being so many crossbenchers (members of the Lords who are not formal members of any political party and so are independently minded)

Question 11

Structure of the House of Lords - Are there frontbenchers in the Lords, who is the Lords speaker, and where does most of the Lords’ work take place?

Answer 11

• There are frontbenchers in the Lords just as there are in the Commons – gov must have representatives in the Lords as pretty much all business goes through both houses
• Equivalent of the Commons speaker is the Lords speaker – held by Lord McFall since 2021
• As in the Commons, much of the work takes place in committees – legislative and select committees thought select committees in the Lords are much less important than in the Commons

Question 12

What are the functions of the Commons and the Lords?

Answer 12

• Legislating
• Scrutiny of gov
• Representation (constituency, grops, social)

Question 13

Functions of the Commons - Legislating - How are laws created and what does this ensure?

Answer 13

• Parliament’s most important constitutional function
• Most laws are created by the gov of the day and then passed through P with possible amendments before being sent to the Lords
• This ensures proposals from the gov have democratic legitimacy as they have passed through an elected chamber

Question 14

Functions of the Commons - Legislating - Budgets and backbenchers

Answer 14

• Commons must also approve taxation and expenditure every time a change is proposed – occurs every time a chancellor announces the annual budget
• Backbench MPs can also propose Private Members’ Bills – but these only tend to pass with gov support

Question 15

Functions of the Lords - Legislating - Does the Lords legitimise legislation?

Answer 15

Lords does not really legitimise legislation as the only thing they can really do is scrutinise legislation and possibly amend the proposals - salisbury convention sees the Lords not able to propose any terms containing within a winning gov’s manifesto

Question 16

Functions of the Lords - Legislating - Delay and secondary legislation

Answer 16

• Can also delay legislation by up to a year – but the Commons can vote to bypass the Lords without its approval one year after a Bill’s delay EG Hunting Act 2004
• Lords also scrutinises secondary legislation – law-making or changes to laws that do not need to pass through the normal P route

Question 17

Functions of the Commons - Scrutinising gov - What can the Commons do to hold gov accountable?

Answer 17

• Most important political function of the Commons – gov cannot be continuously accountable to the people so Commons holds it to account
• Can criticise gov – esp in PMQs
• Can force the gov to justify its policies and decisions

Question 18

Functions of the Commons - Scrutinising gov - What are the three main ways P is able to scrutinise gov?

Answer 18

• Largely through departmental select committees and the PAC members can investigate the quality of gov – these committees are often critical of gov and sometimes recommend alternate courses of action
• Commons can refuse to pass a piece of legislation – EG in 2016 when they voted against extending trading times on Sundays – when this happens the gov is seen as weak which can affect a PMs position – EG 2019 when Theresa May was forced out of office after repeated failures of her Brexit bills
• Commons can also remove a gov through votes of no confidence EG 2019 May (though she survived) and 2022 Johnson

Question 19

Functions of the Lords - Scrutiny of gov - How effective is the Lords’ ability to scrutinise gov?

Answer 19

• Role of scrutinising gov in the Lords is limited because nearly all senior ministers sit in the Commons
• Gov minsters do sit in the Lords to represent gov but the Lords lacks the means to properly scrutinise gov

Question 20

Functions of the Lords - Scrutiny of gov - Where are the Lords somewhat effective with scrutiny?

Answer 20

• Lords can scrutinise legislation as most peers are experts in their field and therefore effective at scrutinising legislation
• Lords can also take part in the committee stage of a bill where peers can debate legislation and propose amendments

Question 21

Functions of the Commons - Representation - Constituency representation - What is and how effective is constituency representation?

Answer 21

• Widely acknowledged that the most effective part of the UK political system is the link between constituency and MP
• This is a non-partisan role in which MPs are expected to take care of the interests of all constituents

Question 22

Functions of the Commons - Representation - Constituency representation - What happens if constituency interests run counter to gov interests?

Answer 22

• Sometimes constituency interests can run counter to gov interests – this presents a dilemma for the MP
• Whips don’t like MPs abandoning party loyalty, but this is usually done in this scenario, esp on controversial topics EG fracking and HS2

Question 23

Functions of the Commons - Representation - Constituency representation - How can MPs help individuals?

Answer 23

• Individuals can also approach MPs through surgeries if they need help with a dispute against a public body such as HMRC
• If MPs feel their constituents have a good case, they will try to put things right on their behalf

Question 24

Functions of the Lords - Representation - Constituency representation

Answer 24

House of Lords doesn’t have a constituency so just represents its own interests

Question 25

Functions of the Commons - Representation - The representation of groups - How can MPs represent groups?

Answer 25

• MPs often pursue the interests of a particular section of society EG supporting organisations such as Friends of the Earth and Age UK
• Can also do this by creating cross-party groups EG on betting and gambling, sex equality, etc
• These groups tend to transcend party allegiances and exert collective pressure on gov over key issues
• However, the main groups represented in P are political parties and their interests

Question 26

Functions of the Lords - Representation - The representation of groups - Is the representation of groups in the Lords effective and why?

Answer 26

• In some ways this is better carried out by the Commons and the Lords
• Lords don’t need to worry about constituency needs or re-election so can focus on issues that affect a group from across the whole of society
• Furthermore since many Lords are from non-political backgrounds they represent a wider range of experience than MPs in the Commons

Question 27

Social representation in the Commons - Gender split?

Answer 27

66% - Male
34% - Female

Question 28

Social representation in the Lords - Gender split?

Answer 28

72% – Male
28% – Female

Question 29

Social representation in the Commons - % of BAME MPs?

Answer 29

10% BAME MPs (vs 18% of UK pop)

Question 30

Social representation in the Lords - % of BAME peers?

Answer 30

6% BAME peers (vs 18% of UK pop)

Question 31

Social representation of the Commons - Average age?

Answer 31

51

Question 32

Social representation of the Lords - Average age

Answer 32

71

Question 33

Social representation of the Commons - How many Oxbridge educated?

Answer 33

19% (Compared to less than 1% of the pop)

Question 34

Social representation of the Lords - How many educated in state grammar schools?

Answer 34

55% (Compared to 5% of the pop)