2.2 comparative powers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords Flashcards
powers of the House of Commons
exclusive powers of the commons
bills, confidence, example 1979
- sole right to defeat a bill
- dismiss a governemnt if it loses a vote of no confidence
- Eg. 1979 28 March government lost a vote of confidence by 310-311 votes, Callaghan asked the Queen to dissolve parliament
powers of the house of lords
Walter Bagehot’s thoughts on the HoL
- The English Constitution, explained ‘efficient’ part of government with the ‘dignified’ part of government - lords.
powers of the house of lords
advantages of the House of lords
scrut, ind, dom
- not representative, so more of their time can be devoted to scrutiny
- indepdendent acting
- no government domination, lots of crossbenchers
powers of the house of lords
majority of appointments in the Lords are not…despite…
what does the HoL offer for HoC members?
- controversial
- despite accusations of cronyism
- HoL offers HoC members to continue their public service and use their political experience to inform debate
powers of the house of lords
example: Kenneth Clarke
- MP from 1970-2019
- served in cabinet under Thatcher, Major, Cameron
- lost the whip in 2019 for seeking to delay Brexit
- raised to peerage in 2020
powers of the house of lords
example: Alf Dubs
- former Labour MP
- entered as a baron in 1994
- In 1939 he escaped Prague on a kindertransport
- spoken out about the plight of child refugees
- in February 2022, tweeted on the early stages of Russian invasion in Ukrain
comparison of the relative functions and powers of the HoC and the HoL
relative functions/powers of the HoC: representation, financing, legitimation, executive consent, scrutiny, select committees
- represents the nation and is accountable to it in a GE
- must agree to the budget
- legitimises important decisions such as the dissolution of Parliament, and the commitment of the UK to major military operations
- executive requires consent of the HoC for legislation to be enacted
- scrutinises legislation in parliamentary debate
- HoC select committees monitor the work of governemnt departments
comparison of the relative functions and powers of the HoC and the HoL
relative functions and powers of the House of Lords: veto limits, but what do the parliament acts not mention? what is the lords main work? do the Lords protect civil liberties in the UK?
- cannot veto proposed legislation that was in the winning party’s manifesto
- parliamet acts of 1911/1949 do not mention statutory instruments, so the lords can technically veto these
- lords main work is a revising chamber, offering amendments and scrutinising the government through committees, ministerial questions and parliamentary debate
- the lords can reject proposals that threaten the constitution
