2.Legislature Flashcards
‘money bills’
- Commons has financial privilege over the Lords
- Must receive royal assent no later than a month after being introduced in the Lords even if not passed by the Lords
Salisbury Convention
- Legislation included in the government’s election manifesto would not be opposed by the Lords in it’s 2nd or 3rd reading
- Challenged during Conservative-Lib Dem coalition of 2010-2015 as the government arguably had a weaker mandate on which to govern
House of Lords role reformed
- Parliament Act 1949
- Lords can only delay bills, for a year, rather than vetoing the passage of a bill
- House of Lords Act 1999
- Removed all but 92 hereditary peers
Secondary Legislation made using the Negative Procedure
- Around 75% of secondary legislation
- It then become law unless it is actively voted down within a set period but the government is under no obligation to find time for it to be debated in the House
Secondary Legislation made using the Affirmative Procedure
- Around 25% of secondary legislation
- Both Houses must actively approve a piece of Secondary Legislation before it can become law
- Most Secondary Legislation under the Affirmative Procedure is debated in Delegated Legislation Committees (DLCs) where it is typically agreed that it has been ‘considered’ without a formal vote
Private Members’ Bills
- Private Members’ Bills have precedence over government business on 13 Fridays (when many MPs have returned to their constituency) in each year
- Private Members’ Bills have limited time and are thus susceptible to filibustering
- Rarely pass through to become Acts
Government limiting scrutiny
-Boris Johnson Proroguing Parliament in 2019 to avoid scrutiny on Brexit- Supreme Court limited this when Boris prorogation in 2019 was declared as unlawful
Scrutiny of Statutory Instruments
- Sometimes the government leaves difficult and controversial matters of policy to Statutory Instruments so that the government can avoid the difficulties of having to pass a law through both houses of Parliament
- Statutory Instruments are almost never debated on the floor of the Commons and less than 0.001 Statutory Instruments have ever been voted down by Parliament
Strengths - Select Committees
- Studies from 2015 estimated that 40% of committee recommendations end up as government policy
- The influence from government, shadow cabinet or party whips on the selection of committee chairs and members is limited as they are now elected by the whole house (Wright Reforms 2009) allowing genuine scrutiny
Limitations to Select Committees
- The turnover of members damages committee effectiveness. The Defence Committee saw 83% turnover during 2010-2015. Replacements might not be fully informed or motivated
- The government is not compelled to take up any recommendations
Public Bill Committees-How effective is Parliament at holding government to account?
- Part of the legislative process
- Has the power to amend bills and return the amended bill to the whole House
Voting against government legislation-How effective is Parliament at holding government to account?
- Government of Boris defeated 4 times since 2019 election despite 80 seat majority
- Defeats of government legislative proposal are extremely rare as a the executive has a majority in the Commons
The Liaison Committee -How effective is Parliament at holding government to account?
- The Liaison Committee, which is made up of the chairs of each of the select committees, takes evidence from the PM three times a year on the direction of public policy
- Prime Ministers have dealt with the Liaison Committee with relative ease
Backbench Business Committee-How effective is Parliament at holding government to account?
- Given backbenchers more control over the agenda of the Commons, to raise debates that the executive would wish to avoid
- e.g. In 2011, there was a large Tory revolt against the government’s position on an EU referendum which led to the Tory leadership changing its position to supporting an EU referendum
Parliamentary Questions to PM/Ministers (PMQs)-How effective is Parliament at holding government to account?
- Holds the head of the executive to parliamentary account
- MPs from the governing party often use their question opportunities to applaud the government while opposition MPs use it to shout criticisms of the government
