C2 PARLIAMENT Flashcards
1
Q
what reforms have changed the makeup of the house of lords?
A
- 1958 LIFE PEERAGES ACT- intro life peers rather than purely hered
- 1999 HOL REFORM ACT- got rid of all but 92 hered peers
- planned lab leg to remove all of these & make peers retire at 80 years old
- (this all gives hol more output legit)
2
Q
name 4x examples of life peers?
A
- Lord WINSTON- on science & tech committee- useful for health/ science
- Lord HOGAN HOWE- former head of met police
- Lord MARTIN REEVES- astrophysicist
- Lord VALLENCE- former chief scientific officer- key advisor to gov on managing covid-19
3
Q
what reforms have changed powers of House of Lords?
A
- 1911 Parl Act; meant HoL could only delay a bill being passed by two yeras before HoC could bypass hol and put law ino effect
- used to be able to reject outright any bill
- 1949 Parl Act reduced this to 1 year
- 1945ish comes Salisbury Convention; HoL should not v against bills that were cpntained in gov’s manifesto
4
Q
who did boris johnson appoint as a life peer?
A
- his brother- nepotism
- Peter Druddas (cronyism)
5
Q
what are the main purposes of parliament/
A
- legislating
- scrutiny
- representation
- legitimation
6
Q
how does parliament perform legitimation effectively?
A
- recent PMs have given HoC to lelgitimise military action taken abroad- previously a prerogative right of the monarch
- began in 2003, w TB allowed hoc to v on whether uk should join us military intervention in iraq (approved)
- coalition in 2013 also asked hoc to vote on whether to approve action against the syrian regime, which the house voted against despit the gov supporting it- shows power of hoc
7
Q
how is legitimation performed ineffectively by parliament?
A
- uncodified const mean the powers of hoc in relation to gov are not clearly set out
- eg 2018 TM joined american led assaults on syrian regime w/o consulting hoc; lab leader JC crit it as ‘flagrant disregard’ of the legitimation role of hoc
- hol has no power to legitimate secondary leg (made by ministers as changes to acts of pa by ‘statutory instruments’
- crit of recent govs of trying to ‘govern from the shadows’, making major leg changes by statutory instruments, w/o them being given the same legitimation as a primary act of parl
8
Q
what types of bills are proposed & passed into statute law?
A
- government bill- bills intr in pa by gov- almost all bills that get debated in pa
- PMBs- intro by indiv MP ormemebrs of the lords- v few usually get passed into law, & those that do usually need gov supp/votes to back it eg assissted dying bill 2024 by kim leadbeater
- only 13 fridays each year devoted to priv members bills
9
Q
what are the stages of the legislative process?
A
- first reading
- second reading- v to take to next stage
- public bill comitteee- scrut by a committe esp est, suggests amendments
- report stage- bill & amendments debated & voted on
- third reading- further debated, transferred to other chamber, where same stages repeat
- royal assent- once passed by hol &hoc
10
Q
what can MPs do to restrain gov power in legislating?
A
- rebel against party whips- so gov is constrained in what bills it can pass
11
Q
give 2x examples of gov being defeated in bills (legislation of pa effective)?
A
- 2005; TB’s gov plans to extend te detention of terrorist suspects to 90 day was defeated in hoc (his first defeat since 1997)
- 2016; DC’s gov lost vote on bill to reform Sunday Trading Laws (courtesy of SNP v against even though it only affected eng)
12
Q
when (PMs) has parliament been effective in legislating, due to minority govs?
A
- 2017-19, TM defeated record 33 times, mostly on brexit
- 2019, july-december, BJ defeated 12x, mostly on br again
13
Q
give four signif private members’ bills that passed?
A
- 2017 Homeless Reduction Act, prop by tory BB Bob Blackman
- 2023 Firearms Act prop by tory BB Shaun Bailey; tightened restrictions on gun ownership
- 2023 Shark Fins Act, prop by lab BB Christina Rees; prohibited M & X of shark fins in UK
- 2024 Assissted Dying Bill prop by Kim Leadbeater (lab BB)
14
Q
why are defeats of gov on bills v rare?
A
- FPTP + WB’s; govs usually ejoy large majs
- w large maj, can use whips to ensure mps v for their side, impossible to be outvoted on matters they strongly beleive in
- public bill committee stage is key stage; membership of these dominated by gov party & members are selected by arty whips; so these don’t provide effective scrutiny, as loyal P members follow leader’s instructions
15
Q
example of parliament being ineffective at legislating due to maj gov?
A
- TB’s gov not defeated for first 8 years in office
16
Q
what legislative consequence is there of gov dominance, showing parl is ineffective at legislating?
A
- some ill-thought through bills make it into law
- eg in rush to get its business done, 2017 tory gov passed 13 bills on the last day parl was open before the 2017 election- 54% of total bills gov passed after 2015 GE- being rushed shows a gov is confident it willl face little challenge in pa; means bills will not be subject to serious scrut
17
Q
how many PMBs acctually pass into law?
A
- 5%; theyre only eveer successfull when able to persuade gov on their side
18
Q
how is parliament ineffective at legislating in general?
A
- gov dominate leg process, partucularly due to hol reforms
- all these are mechanisms behind ELECTIVE DICTATORSHIP
19
Q
how is scrutiny a function of parliament?
A
- overseeing & investigating the work of gov and its decsions- holding gov to account
- public bill committees
- select committees
- public accounts committee
- liaison committee
20
Q
what are select committees?
A
- usually abt 11 members, from range of dif parties, who scrut gov’s work, usually linked to a specific gov dept, eg Health & Social Care Committee, Education Select Committee, Home Affairs Select Committee
- carry out inquries, write reports, can Q ministers & ask to see gov papers
- reports published often recieve lots of publicity; prompt gov into action
21
Q
what is the public accounts committee?
A
- assesses gov spending to ensure the uk taxpayer is getting their money;s worth
- always headed by a senior figure from an opposition party eg now= Sir Geoffery Clinton Brown, cons MP
22
Q
what is the liaison committee?
A
- chairs of all other select committees- senior, experienced BBs w departmental expertise
- Q PM 2x pa for several hours
23
Q
what are the Wright reforms?
A
- mean chairs & indiv members of select committees chosen by wider hoc not gov; so more indep
- also increased chairs’ salaries, so higher caliber MPs willing to persue gov scrut as career path ratehr than being in gov
24
Q
how does ‘parliamentary privilege’ help select committees?
A
- mean MPs in them can ask minister the most libelous Qs w/o fear of prosecution
25
how is the work of select committees limited?
- gov has to respond witin two months, but don't have to enact any of their policy suggestions
- can't force memebrs of gov to turn up eg BJ + liaison committe on two occassions- unlike committees in congress, who have power to subpoena witnesses to attend
26
what has the public accounts committe recently investigated?
- (when lab Meg Hiller= chair), work of Dept of Transport on HS2; found cost of HS2 outweighed its benefits- played role in gov scrapping northern leg of HS2
- also investigated how gov went abt signif PPE contracts during covid- ongoing, baroness more took leave of absense after implicated in ppe scandal
27
what work has the education select committee effectively done?
- infl gov to end one word ofsted judgements after suicide of head teacher in 2024
28
what work has the house of commons priviledges committee done?
- investigated whether BJ misled parl when refuting accusations of wrong-doing relating to party-gate- BJ found to have indeed misled the hoc & thus sped up his forced resig as PM
29
how is parliament effective in its function of representation?
- advances in tech; able to communicate & see concerns of their const, which they meet in weekly 'surgeries'
- reflects the country demographically more so nowadays; 'resemblance theory' states only if pols come from range of soc groups can they govern
30
how has parliament become more representative since 1987?
- women MPs- 6%->41%
- ethnic minorities MPs- 1%->14%(18% of uk pop)
31
how has parliament not become more representative since 1987?
- disabled MPs- 0.5%->2% (24% of ukpop)
32
give an example of the 1949 parliament act being relevent?
- 2000 sexual offences act- lowered age of sexual consent for homosexual sex from 18-16. hol blocked it, so hoc invoked the parl act to force it through
33
when has hol blocked a bill, leading to it being dropped by gov?
- 2008 lab gov dropped new COUNTER TERRORISM BILL- would have increased ime terrorist suspects could be held w/o traial up to 42 days, after it was rejected by hol
34
why is the hol often more eefective than hoc in scrutinising secondary leg?
- hoc doesn't have as much time
- hol members often more informed on issue sthan hoc
35
give an example of hoc making changes to a bill after pressure from hol?
- MARCH 2023 PUBLIC ORDER ACT
- as a result of some defeats in hol, hoc made some chanegs, eg gov agreed to remove the power of courts to enforce wearing an ankle taag to prevent someone participating in protest activities
- hogan howe spoke abt it when debating
- yet many og hol's proposed amendments didn't pass eg wanted to limit power to stop & search at a protest w no grounds of suspiciopm to just chief inspectors; was rejected by gov, who gave power beyond them
36
what can HoC do that HoL cannot?
- hoc has many exclusive powers:
- vote on money bills
- veto legislation
- oppose bills in winning P's manifesto (salisbury)
- rep views of const
- dismiss a gov through VONC
37
what more effective ways of scrut does hoc have over hol?
- PMQs
- committees
38
