Chapter 6 - 2/7 - The Commons and the Lords (NOT FINAL) Flashcards
What sort of Parliament is the UK’s?
Bicameral
What is a one-chamber legislature called?
Unicameral
What is the reason for a bicameral legislature?
It creates a form of check and balance, preventing one chamber having too much power.
How many members does the House of Lords have?
Approximately 800
How many hereditary peers are there?
92
How many bishops sit in the House of Lords?
26
How many MPs are there?
650
Who are frontbench MPs?
Members of the governing and opposition parties that hold senior roles, given to them by their party leaders.
Who are backbench MPs?
These members hold no government post or are not senior members of the opposition. They are the majority of the Commons, accounting for about 500 of the total MPs.
Who are party whips?
Officials appointed by party leaders to maintain discipline and loyalty, inform MPs about parliamentary business, and to act as communication between backbenchers and leadership.
What does the Speaker of the Commons do when elected?
Renounce their party allegiance and act impartially.
What is the Speaker of the Commons expected to do?
- Organise parliamentary business with party leaderships.
- Maintain order and discipline in debates.
- Decide who gets to speak.
- Settle disputes about Parliament’s work.
What are the majority of Lords called?
Life peers
Who nominates life peers?
- Leaders of the main political parties, meaning most are political appointments.
- Members of the public can also too.
Which body assesses nominations to the Lords?
House of Lords Appointments Commission.
What does the House of Lords Appointments Commission do?
Decides which people shall be appointed; it can veto unsuitable nominees by party leaders.
Why can there not be a government majority in the Lords?
There are so many crossbenchers that the government does not have an overall majority.
Who are crossbenchers?
Members of the Lords that do not have a party affiliation.
How many Lords were there as of February 2022?
767
How many Conservatives peers were there as of February 2022, the largest party in the Chamber?
256
What is the Lord’s equivalent of the House of Commons Speaker?
Lord Speaker
Who makes laws?
Government, not Parliament.
What is Parliament’s most important constitutional function?
Legitimising proposed legislation, whereby giving the consent of the people MPs’ are there to represent.
What is the name of the legislation backbench MPs can propose?
Private members’ bill
What is the most important political function of Parliament?
Holding government to account.
In what ways can Parliament hold government to account?
- Questioning ministers (PMQs).
- Departmental select committee hearings and investigations.
- Refusing to pass legislation.
- Passing a vote of no confidence.
What are all MPs required to do?
Serve on Public Bill Committees where proposed legislation is scrutinised line by line.
Can committees reject legislation?
No, only the Commons can do that.
Why can Public Bill Committees be considered ineffective?
The government dominates committees and amendments rarely occur without government approval.
What is meant by redress of grievances?
When an MP pursues a grievance that a constituent has against a public body; they may lobby ministers or raise the matter on the floor of the Commons.
Give 2 examples of recent great debates that transcended party politics.
- 2003 - UK’s involvement in an attack on Iraq (approved).
- 2013 - military intervention in Syria (refused).
What is the Salisbury Convention?
The convention that the Lords will not obstruct any proposal contained in the government’s election manifesto.
When did the Salisbury Convention develop?
1940s
What must happen to all amendments the Lords propose?
They must be approved by the Commons because of the Lords’ democratic illegitimacy.
What did the first Parliament Act do?
The House of Lords has no control over the financial business of the government.
When was the first Parliament Act passed?
1911
When was the second Parliament Act passed?
1949
What did the second Parliament Act do?
The Lords can only refuse to pass legislation once; they can delay, but not veto, legislation.
When does the Lords scrutinise legislation?
Mainly through a ‘committee stage’ in which any members can take part and propose amendments; this is the key role of the House of Lords.
What does the committee stage of the House of Lords often do?
- Adds clause to protect minorities.
- Clarify meaning.
- Remove sections that will not operate effectively.
- Generally improve legislation.
When the Lords delay a piece of legislation, what are they saying?
‘Think again. We cannot stop this but we want you to reconsider.’
When was the last time the Lords had to be bypassed for refusing to pass legislation?
2004 - The Hunting Act. This Act banned fox hunting.
What is secondary legislation?
Changes to the law being made mostly by government ministers. They do not require the full procedure of going through Parliament because they have been delegated the power previously by a parliamentary statute; they pass through automatically or ‘on the nod’.
Who scrutinises secondary legislation?
The House of Lords devotes much more time to this than the Commons; the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee considers all secondary legislation.
when was the house of lords appointments commission formed?
2000
