Chapter 5 - Parliment Flashcards
What is the House of Commons?
I democratically elected chamber in Parliament.
Out of the two chamber what one is it?
The lower one
What is the membership of the commons like?
650 MP’s, elected in each constituency (a geographic area of roughly 70,000 voters) by FPTP
What does the largest party in the commons following a general election form?
Government or is the leading partner in a coalition government
What are leading figures in government or the shadow cabinet known as?
Frontbenchers
What are other regular MP’s in the Commons known as?
Backbenchers
What do departmental and other select committees do?
Scrutinise government departments, question civil servants and other public figures, and write wide-ranging reports.
What are public bill committees?
Legislative committees that review and amend legislation during its passage through parliament.
What do whips within main parties ensure party MP’s are aware of?
Votes taking place, seeking to maintain party discipline when they do
What happens when and MP dies or resigns?
It triggers a by-election to find a replacement
What is an MP’s salary and why is it this?
£75,000, to cover costs of running an office and employing staff, plus accommodation in and travel in London
What happened in the 2009 MP’s expenses scandal?
Hundreds of MP’s had to pay back expenses claimed, 4 of them were jailed- shouldn’t face persecution due to parliamentary privelidge
Elements of parliamentary privilege: freedom of speech?
Members of both houses are free to raise any issue in parliament without persecution eg revealing information subject to court injunctions
Parliamentary privilege: exclusive cognisance?
Right of each house to regulate its own internal affairs without interference from outside bodies eg the courts
MP’s who are imprisoned, or suspended from the House for at least 21 days may be what by voters?
Dismissed by voters under the Recall of the MP’s Act 2015 eg Labour MP from Peterborough Fiona Onasanya speeding case
How is a by election scheduled?
If after 8 weeks 10% of eligible electors have signed the recall petition, their seat is declared vacant and a by-election is scheduled
What are the three main provisions of the whip?
Ensuring MP, attend parliamentary divisions( votes) , issuing instructions on how MP’s should vote and attendance (three line whip is urgent) and enforcer disclipline in the party
What does the speaker do in the House of Commons?
Presided over debates , selecting MP’s to speak and maintaining order
What does the speaker have the power to do for those who break parliamentary rules?
Temporarily suspend them
How is the speaker elected?
In a secret ballot- they must stand down from post at a general election but is normally re-elected at the start of next parliament
What should the speakers views be and their voting behaviour?
Once chosen, they give up those party affiliation, are non- partisan . The speaker doesn’t vote unless there’s a tie, in which case they get the casting vote
How was Michael Martin controversial?
He was the first speaker forced from office in 2009 in 174 years due to the way he handled the MP’s expenses scandal
What was controversial about John bercow?
He was thought to be impartial after blocking vote on Johnson’s Brexit deal
In 2015-16 how many urgent questions did bercow allow?
77
What did bercow do to make the commons fairer for its members?
He called more backbench MP’s to speak in debates and supported measures to increase the number of women MP’s
What is the House of Lords?
The unelected chamber within the UK’s bicameral Parliament
What are members of the House of Lords like?
They are known as peers, some are hereditary and others are appointed , some are affiliated with a party and some are non-partisan
Who is the house chaired by?
lord speaker who is elected by peers and is politically neutral eg Lord Fowler, former conservative cabinet minister became Lord speaker in 2016
Although restricted by the Acts of 1911 and 1949 what does the Lords use its powers to delay?
Extract important legislative concessions, especially in safeguarding civil liberties in recent years
Who are lords temporal?
Numbering around 700 and knows as “life peers” and now make up the vast majority of the members of the House of Lords
What happened following the life peerages act (1958)?
Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister and after being scrutinised by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Prime minister chose them
What did an increase in life peers create in the House of Lords?
Diversity and professionalism
What are hereditary peers?
Currently number 92, these are still permitted to sit in the chamber following a comprise that enabled the HofL act 1999 to pass- before there was 750
What did the peerages act entail in 1963?
Hereditary peers were allowed to renounce their titles eg Alec Douglas-Home to leave lords and win a by-election when he became Party leader and prime minister in 1963
What did the act also also?
Women to sit in the House of Lords
