Chapter 5 - Parliment

Question 1

What is the House of Commons?

Answer 1

I democratically elected chamber in Parliament.

Question 2

Out of the two chamber what one is it?

Answer 2

The lower one

Question 3

What is the membership of the commons like?

Answer 3

650 MP’s, elected in each constituency (a geographic area of roughly 70,000 voters) by FPTP

Question 4

What does the largest party in the commons following a general election form?

Answer 4

Government or is the leading partner in a coalition government

Question 5

What are leading figures in government or the shadow cabinet known as?

Answer 5

Frontbenchers

Question 6

What are other regular MP’s in the Commons known as?

Answer 6

Backbenchers

Question 7

What do departmental and other select committees do?

Answer 7

Scrutinise government departments, question civil servants and other public figures, and write wide-ranging reports.

Question 8

What are public bill committees?

Answer 8

Legislative committees that review and amend legislation during its passage through parliament.

Question 9

What do whips within main parties ensure party MP’s are aware of?

Answer 9

Votes taking place, seeking to maintain party discipline when they do

Question 10

What happens when and MP dies or resigns?

Answer 10

It triggers a by-election to find a replacement

Question 11

What is an MP’s salary and why is it this?

Answer 11

£75,000, to cover costs of running an office and employing staff, plus accommodation in and travel in London

Question 12

What happened in the 2009 MP’s expenses scandal?

Answer 12

Hundreds of MP’s had to pay back expenses claimed, 4 of them were jailed- shouldn’t face persecution due to parliamentary privelidge

Question 13

Elements of parliamentary privilege: freedom of speech?

Answer 13

Members of both houses are free to raise any issue in parliament without persecution eg revealing information subject to court injunctions

Question 14

Parliamentary privilege: exclusive cognisance?

Answer 14

Right of each house to regulate its own internal affairs without interference from outside bodies eg the courts

Question 15

MP’s who are imprisoned, or suspended from the House for at least 21 days may be what by voters?

Answer 15

Dismissed by voters under the Recall of the MP’s Act 2015 eg Labour MP from Peterborough Fiona Onasanya speeding case

Question 16

How is a by election scheduled?

Answer 16

If after 8 weeks 10% of eligible electors have signed the recall petition, their seat is declared vacant and a by-election is scheduled

Question 17

What are the three main provisions of the whip?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What does the speaker do in the House of Commons?

Answer 18

Presided over debates , selecting MP’s to speak and maintaining order

Question 19

What does the speaker have the power to do for those who break parliamentary rules?

Answer 19

Temporarily suspend them

Question 20

How is the speaker elected?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What should the speakers views be and their voting behaviour?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

How was Michael Martin controversial?

Answer 22

He was the first speaker forced from office in 2009 in 174 years due to the way he handled the MP’s expenses scandal

Question 23

What was controversial about John bercow?

Answer 23

He was thought to be impartial after blocking vote on Johnson’s Brexit deal

Question 24

In 2015-16 how many urgent questions did bercow allow?

Answer 24

77

Question 25

What did bercow do to make the commons fairer for its members?

Answer 25

He called more backbench MP’s to speak in debates and supported measures to increase the number of women MP’s

Question 26

What is the House of Lords?

Answer 26

The unelected chamber within the UK’s bicameral Parliament

Question 27

What are members of the House of Lords like?

Answer 27

They are known as peers, some are hereditary and others are appointed , some are affiliated with a party and some are non-partisan

Question 28

Who is the house chaired by?

Answer 28

lord speaker who is elected by peers and is politically neutral eg Lord Fowler, former conservative cabinet minister became Lord speaker in 2016

Question 29

Although restricted by the Acts of 1911 and 1949 what does the Lords use its powers to delay?

Answer 29

Extract important legislative concessions, especially in safeguarding civil liberties in recent years

Question 30

Who are lords temporal?

Answer 30

Numbering around 700 and knows as “life peers” and now make up the vast majority of the members of the House of Lords

Question 31

What happened following the life peerages act (1958)?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

What did an increase in life peers create in the House of Lords?

Answer 32

Diversity and professionalism

Question 33

What are hereditary peers?

Answer 33

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

Question 34

What did the peerages act entail in 1963?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

What did the act also also?

Answer 35

Women to sit in the House of Lords