Chapter 5- Psrliament Flashcards
What is a frontbencher?
An MP or member of the house of Lords who holds a ministerial or shadow ministerial position
What is a backbencher?
An MP or member of the house of Lords who does not hold a ministerial or shadow ministerial position
How many members are in the House of Commons?
650
What is the annual salary of an MP?
how is set?
£84,144
Increases are set by the independent parliamentary salaries authority
The two most important elements of parliamentary privilege are?
- Freedom of speech, Members are free to raise any issues in parliament without fear of prosecution
- Exclusive cognisance, Right of each house to regulate its internal affairs without interference from outside bodies e.g the courts
What are the three main roles of the Whips?
- Ensuring MPs attend parliamentary divisions and approving the absence of MPs
- Issuing instructions on how an MP should vote. A ‘three-line whip’ is a strict instruction to attend and vote along party lines or face disciplinary action
- Enforcing discipline within the parliamentary party, whips seek to persuade wavering MPs to vote with their party by providing assurance and issuing threats
What does the speaker do?
What is the process of their election?
- presides over debates, electing MPs to speak and maintaining order, may temporarily suspend MPs who break parliamentary rules
- Elected by MPs in a secret ballot once chosen then speaker must give up their party affiliation
What are the House of Lords different categories of members?
- Hereditary peers
- Life peers
- Lords spiritual
What did the House of Lords act 1999 do?
Ended the right of all but 92 hereditary peers right to sit and vote previously was 750
What did the life peerages act 1958 do?
Gave the Prime minister the right to appoint members to the upper house for life
How many life peers are there?
How are they appointed?
Jan 2022 657 life peers -211 Conservative, 164 Labour, 81 Lib Dem, 151 cross bench
-Independent house of lords appointment commission recommends individuals for appointment
What are the exclusive powers of the House of Commons?
- The right to insist on legislation
- Financial privilege
- The power to dismiss the executive
What are the main conventions covering the relationship between the two chambers?
- Salisbury Doctrine, Bills implementing manifesto commitments are not opposed by the Lords
- Reasonable Time, Lords should consider gov business within a reasonable time
- Secondary legislation, Lords does not normally object
What peices of legislation have the Hous of Lords delayed?
War Crimes Act 1991
Sexual offences (amendment) act 2000
Hunting act 2004
What is confidence and supply?
The requirement that the government must be able to command a majority in the House of Commons on votes of confidence and of supply( e.g the budget)
Also used to refer to an agreement between the governing party and a smaller party in which the latter agrees to the support the government on key votes in return for policy concessions
What is a confidence motion?
A motion on confidence in the government. It may be initiated by the government as a threat of dissolution or used to approve the formation of a new government under the fixed-term Parliament act 2011
What is a motion of no confidence?
A parliamentary censure motion initiated by the opposition which if passed requires the resignation of government
Why has there been increased effectiveness of the House of Lords in checking the powers of the executive and forcing changes to legislative proposals?
- Party balance, no party has a majority so the government must wiwinnt cross-party support for their legislation
- Enhanced legitimacy, reformed lords more confident more willing to flex their muscle on legal and constitutional issues
- Government mandate, Whether the Salisbury doctrine should apply when the gov does not have a strong electoral mandate or are in a coalition
- Support from MPs, backbenchers supporting amendments makes them more effective
What type of legitimacy does each house have?
LOrds have output legitimacy due to their role in scrutinising and revision produce
Commons have input legitimacy because of its compisition
What are the functions parliament provides?
Legislation Scrutiny and accountability debate recruitment of ministers representation
What is a bill?
A proposal for new law or change to a current law that has yet to complete the parliamentary legislative process
How many bills does the government generally introduce each session?
between 25 and 35
What is a green paper?
A government document setting out various options for legislation and inviting comment
What is white paper?
A government document setting out a detailed proposal for legislation
What are the stages in the legislative process for a bill introduced into the House of Commons?
-First reading
-second reading
-committee stage
- report stage
-third reading
House of lord stages
What happens in the First reading?
The formal presentation of the title of the bill on the floor of the house by a minister from the responsible department. There is no debate or vote at this stage
What happens in the Second reading?
The main debate is on the principle of the bill. The government minister explains and justifies the objective of the bill and the shadow minister responds and backbenchers contribute to the debate.
If the bill is contested a vote is taken
What happens at the committee stage?
Bills are sent to the public bill committee where detailed scrutiny of each clause takes place and amendments can be made
A new public bill committee is established for each bill
They may take evidence from outside experts
What is an exception to the committee stage?
Finance bills and bills of constitutional significance are scrutinised on the floor of the commons, in a committee of the Whole house
What happens at the report stage?
Amendments made in committee are considered by the full house of commons . It may accept,reject or alter them
What happens at the third reading?
A debate on the amended bill on the floor of the House. No further amendments are permitted
What happens in the House of Lords stages?
These stages are repeated as the bill is sent to the House of Lords
If amendments are made in the lords the commons can aggree to them, reject them or alter them.
A bill may go back between the commons and the lords in what is known as parliamentary ping pong
What are Private member bills?
A bill sponsered by a backbench MP
What three routes can Private member bills take?
- Ballot
- Ten minute rule bill
- Presentaion
What is the ballot route?
20 Names of MPs who wish to introduce a bill are drawn in a ballot, these ballot bills are allocated time on 13 fridays in the session but some fall victime to fillibustering
Some MPs seek heelp from lobbyists others take a bill handed out by government, which gov supports but does not wish to pursue in the parliamentary timetable
What is the ten minute rule bill?
Mps have ten minutes to make a speech to introduce a bill or to talk about an aspect of an exsisting piece of legislation
used as a route of drawing attention the the issue
What is a presentation route?
Can introduce the name of the bill
what were two landmark bills that originated as private member bills?
Abortion act 1967
Murder9 abolition of death penalty) act 1965
A recent example of acts that originated as private member bills?
House of lords reform act 2014
Gangmasters (licensing) act
What committee scrutinises secondary legislation?
The statutory instruments committee
What are the threefold classifications of legislatures?
- Policy-making legislatures, these amend or reject legislative proposals made by executie and can put forward alternative bills
- Policy influencing legislatures, These can modify or reject legislative proposals from the executive but are unable to develop extensive legislative proposals of its own
- Legislatures with little or no policy influence, these are unable to modify or veto legislative proposals from the executive and cannot formulate meaningful alternative policy proposals of their own
What classification of legislature is the UK?
A policy-influencing legislature
What evidence supports the uk as a policy-influencing legislature?
- government bills, most bills originate from government. PMB little chance of success without government backing
- Parliamentary timetable, Executive controls much of the legislative timetable and can use guillotine motions to curtail time available for debate and scrutiny
- They payroll vote, Ministers and parliamentary secretaries are required to vote with government or resign
- Party discipline, whip system ensures that government proposals are rarely defeated
What does the convention of individual ministerial responsibility state?
ministers are accountable to parliament
they must explain and justify their policies and actions and those of their department in parliament
What is parliamentary scrutiny?
The role of parliament in examining the policies and work of the executive and holding it to account
What is question time?
Parliamentary time, including Prime Minister’s question time in which backbenchers and oppositon frontbenchers ask oral questions to government ministers?
When does question time take place?
Wesdnesday at noon
What undermines question time?
Backbenchers ask questions drafted by the whips which are intended to flatter no probe the government.
Question time provides parliamentary theatre
Most parliamentary questions take the form of?
written questions
How many questions odes the leader of the opposition ask at PMQs?
usually asks 6 questions
what special privileges does the leader of the opposition have?
An additional salary
right to respond first to the prime minister on major statements
right to ask 6 questions at Prime ministers question time
only mp permitted to respond to the PM with further questions
appoint shadow cabinet
What two major tasks it the opposition expected to perform?
It should oppose many of the governments legislative proposals and harry the government by tabling amendments and forcing votes
Should try to appear as an alternative government-in-waiting, it will need to develop its own policies and may support government measures it agrees on
When may the opposition be most effective?
When the government has a small majority it may be able to force policy retreats
What are some limitations of the opposition?
- Limited state funding know as ‘short money’
- Limited opportunities to set the agenda in parliament are permitted to choose the topic of debate for only 20 days of the parliamentary year 17 of which are elected to the official opposition
What is a select committee?
A committee responsible for scrutinising the work of a government notably of a particular government department
What are the core ten tasks of departmental select committees?
- Strategy
- Policy
- Expenditure and performance
- Draft bills
- Bills and delegated legislation
- post legislative scrutiny
- European scrutiny
- appointments
- support for the house
- Public engagement
What is the strategy task of departmental select committees?
To examine strategy of the government epartment including its key objectives and priorities
What is the policy task of departmental select committees?
To examine policy and make proposals
What is the expenditure and performance task of departmental select committees?
To examine departmental spending and delivery
What is the draft task of departmental select committees?
To scurtinise draft bills
What is the bills and delegated legislation task of departmental select committees?
To help the commons consider bills and legislation
What is the post legislative scrutiny task of departmental select committees?
to examine the implementation of legislation
What is the appointments task of departmental select committees?
to consider departmental appointments and hold pre- appointment hearings if necessary
What is the support for the house task of departmental select committees?
to produce reports for debate in the HoC
What is the public engagement task of departmental select committees?
To help Commons to make their work accessible to the public
How are MPs elected to be committee chairs?
Elected by all MPs in a secret ballot using the alternative vote system
What advantages do select committees have?
- New system of elections have enhanced the autonomy and profile of select committees
- since a uanimous select committee report is likely to carry maximum weight, members aim to strike compromise across party lines
- over time committee members become more expert
What powers do select committees have?
wide powers to summon witnesses and ti examine restricted documents
- spend their time questioningministers, officials and outside experts
Some examples of recent high-profile select committee inquiries?
Culture, Media and sport select committee inquiry (2011-12) into phone hacking at News International heard evidence from Rupert and James Murdorch
–Foreign affairs committee inquiry (2016) into UK intervention in Libya concluded that the UKs 2011 actions in Libya were ill concieved and that other political options should have been attempted, stated David Cameron was ultimately responsible for the failure to develop a coherent startegy
A study by the constitution unit 2011 found that the government accepts what percentage of Select committee recommendations?
40%
What are the other important non-departmental select committees in the Commons include:
Liaison committee
Public accounts Committee
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs committee
What is the Liason committee?
This consists of chairs of all select committees its most significant meetings are the twice-yearly sessions in which the PM is questioned on public policy
What is the Public accounts Committee/
This examines government expenditure to check that value for money is achieved. It does not consider the merits of government policy. It is chaired by a senior opposition MP
What is the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs committee?
This examines constitutional issues and the role of the civil service
What are Half hour adjournment debates?
Debates held at the end of each day give MPs a chance to raise a particular issue
What has the creation of the backbench business committee meant for debate?
Has given MPs greater opportunity to shape the parliamentary agenda
It decides the topic for debate on the floor of the commons for roughly 1 day of the week
Why has Parliament’s effectiveness in the recruitment and development of future government ministers become questionable?
- Communication skills, Tv is now the main arena for them to display
- Experience, one in five MPs worked in politics before entering parliament
- Conformity, Loyal MPs have better prospects than rebels
What are the competing perspectives on representation?
- Delegate model
- trustee model
- constitutional representation
- party representation
- descriptive or functional representation
What is the delegate model?
An individual authorised to act on behalf of others but who is bound by clear instructions
What is the Trustee model?
Once elected MPs are free to decide how to vote on their own independent judgement of the merits of the issue
what is constituency representation?
MPs are expected to protect and advance the collective interests of the constituency they represent
What is party representation?
All successful general election candidates are not elected because of their personal beliefs and qualities but because they represent a particular political party
What is descriptive representation?
When a legislature mirrors the society it represents
What methods have been used to increase the number of women candidates at general elections?
- All women’s shortlists, used by Labour these gender quotas require some constituency parties to select their parliamentary candidate from a list consisting of women
- Priority lists, David Cameron introduced the ‘A list’, constituency associations were required to draw up shortlists at least half the aspirant candidates were women
What are the other areas of under-representation in the House of Commons?
Ethnic diversity Age Sexual orientation Education social class
How important is the size of the government majority?
A gov with a large majority is in a commanding position to push its legislation through parliament by using the whip system and controlling the timetable
What were the four postwar minority governments?
Wilson gov Callaghan gov Conservative gov 1996-67 John majors Theresa may conservative gov 2017
The rate of rebellions has increased since the 1990s…
Major government-conservative rebellions on the Maastricht treaty say major calla confidence motion to force the treaty through the commons
- Blair and Brown- rebellion by 139 labour MPs on the 2003 vote on the invasion of the Iraq war was the largest in a governing party
- coalition gov- coalition MPs rebelled on 35% of votes in the commons most rebellious parliament in postwar era
- conserv gov 2015,lost votes on EVEL, conduct of EU referendum and changes to to sunday trading laws
