Backbenchers Flashcards
arguments suggesting that the only purpose of backbench MPs is to support their party leadership
have limited effectiveness in select committees, suggesting their true and only purpose is to support their party leadership
subject to the party whip
limited in their ability to engage with legislation, suggesting that their only purpose is to support their party leadership
arguments suggesting that backbench MPs have other purposes besides supporting their party leadership
the work they do on select committees is vital in holding the government to account
backbench rebellions indicates that supporting their leadership is not their only purpose
protected by parliamentary privilege, which enables them to be an effective force in the Commons and indicates that they have other roles besides supporting their party leadership
have limited effectiveness in select committees, suggesting their true and only purpose is to support their party leadership
backbenchers may not be such an effective force and their influence should not be exaggerated because the government of the day usually holds a majority in these committees
this can restrict their effectiveness because those MPs are expected to support their party instead of criticising it which makes it difficult to properly scrutinise the government – not entirely effective, suggesting that their true and only purpose is to support their party leadership
perhaps their main role, even within select committees, is to support their party leadership
select committees hold no enforcement powers which means that they cannot compel the government to follow their recommendations or force them to take any action and while it’s true that 40% of committee recommendations are accepted, these rarely involve major changes to policy which raises questions of the effectiveness of backbenchers in select committees and the House of Commons as a whole
the work they do on select committees is vital in holding the government to account
one of the most significant ways in which backbenchers are an effective force in the Commons is through their work on select committees – supporting their party leadership is certainly not their only purpose, they are also essential in questioning and scrutinising the government
select committees usually consist of 11 members with a chair elected by all MPs and their role is to scrutinise departments of government and examine details of expenditure, administration and policy thus being crucial in holding the government to account
such committees are a very effective force in the Commons because they focus heavily on improving the work of the government by questioning ministers and forcing them to explain their actions which helps in holding the government accountable, such accountability would otherwise be escaped without select committees seeing as general elections are held every 5 years
furthermore, they are far less party political as they work across all parties and focus more on improving the work of government rather than acting for their own gain and this freedom is emphasised further by the fact that following a reform in 2010, chairs are elected by the whole House instead of being appointed by party whips - in other words they are more legitimate and less restricted by whips which allows them to act more effectively in examining the work of government in great depth and detail
they can also devote weeks to debating and investigating an issue, for example in 2018 the International Development Committee have been responsible for scrutinising and examining Oxfam in depth that would not have been able to be achieved in regular Commons debates as they cannot dedicate this much time to an issue which just goes to show how effective select committees can be
subject to the party whip
backbenchers are still subject to the party whip and are expected to obey the whip
they often avoid challenging high-status politicians in fear of repercussions because if they were to rebel against their own party this could cost them chances of promotions or even be detrimental to the future of their careers
their futures often depend on them staying in line with their party, which significantly limits how effective backbenchers can be as they are do not have the ability to operate freely, therefore they are arguably an ineffective force in the House of Commons and their main role seems to be to support their party leadership
the power of patronage and party loyalty is reinforced by party whips
this limits the influence backbenchers can have in the House of Commons and means that they are less likely to act independently
they may choose to obey the party whip in order to be considered for promotion in return for their loyalty
backbench rebellions
the rise in backbench rebellions against government measures goes to show that backbenchers are becoming a more effective force in the Commons – they clearly have other purposes besides supporting their party leadership
political scientists have calculated that coalition MPs rebelled in 35% of divisions during the 2010-15 parliament which has risen from 28% under the Labour government of 2005-10
this demonstrates that backbenchers are becoming more independent and therefore more willing to stand up to the government rather than merely support their party leadership
the increase in rebellions influences the government hugely because if they are uncertain whether they can get a piece of legislation through (due to rebellions) then they may choose not to proceed rather than risk a defeat at the hands of backbenchers which would be extremely embarrassing for the government in power
for example, the coalition government dropped its House of Lords reform bill after the second reading in 2013 due to the backbench rebellions that suggested they would be defeated in the Commons if they were to try and push forward with the bill
this illustrates the increasing powers of backbenchers to have direct influence on policy, they are becoming more powerful and in turn, a more effective force in the Commons
rebellions may discourage the government from proceeding with unpopular or controversial legislation rather than risking an embarrassing defeat in the House of Commons at the hands of rebellious backbenchers
limited in their ability to engage with legislation, suggesting that their only purpose is to support their party leadership
an argument as to why backbenchers are not an effective force in the Commons is that they are limited in their ability to engage in legislation whereas their fellow MPs that are ministers can do this much more easily
backbenchers can propose private members bills but such bills are rarely successful in becoming law and there are numerous problems with this process
not only are there very limited amounts of time available for private members bills but filibustering also occurs which is when another MP obstructs a bill by prolonging their speech and taking up all the time allocated to debating the bill which means it cannot be passed
therefore, backbenchers have limited influence in Parliament and are ineffective in any real legislative processes
protected by parliamentary privilege, which enables them to be an effective force in the Commons and indicates that they have other roles besides supporting their party leadership
a reason why backbenchers can be said to be an effective force in the Commons is that they are protected by parliamentary privilege
parliamentary privilege is the right to speak freely in debates without fear of legal consequences, it is basically the freedom of speech and expression and the right of both Houses to regulate their own affairs
the fact that no backbencher can be sued for what they say in parliament means they can perform their roles a lot more effectively without having to censor their opinions or silence debate and discussion
moreover, parliamentary privilege has supremacy and supersedes judicial injunctions as seen in 2012 when footballer Ryan Giggs had a court injunction preventing media from disclosing an affair he had, however, an MP broke the injunction by naming Giggs in the Commons
this is an example that shows how important parliamentary privilege is and how it allows backbenchers to do their jobs more productively and thus enabling them to be a more effective force in the House of Commons
