Comparative Powers and Lords Reform Flashcards
What powers exclusively exist to the House of Commons? - Legislation
Approval of money Bills (which do not go through the Lords), dismissal of government by vote of no confidence, final approval of amendments, examination of select committee work.
What powers exclusively exist to the House of Lords? - Legislation
Examining secondary legislation and recommend further considerations, delaying legislation for up to a year.
What powers exist between the two houses? - Legislation
Debating and voting on legislation, proposing amendments to legislation, calling ministers and departments to account, debating key issues, creating legislation through Private Members’ Bills.
Which House is the senior of the two? What confirmed this? - Legislation
The House of Commons was established as the senior House over the Lords first in 1911 and then in 1949 due to the Parliament Acts, which meant that the Lords could not veto legislation, only able to delay legislation by up to a year if passed by the Commons.
How else are the actions of the Lords restricted aside from the Parliament Acts? - Legislation
The Lords’ actions are restricted by the Salisbury Convention, which prevents the Lords from voting against any legislation mentioned in the government’s victorious election manifesto.
Why are the powers of the Lords capped by measures such as the Parliament Acts and the Salisbury Convention? - Legislation
The powers of the Lords are capped by various measures as the Lords as a body lacks democratic legitimacy. It is an appointed body rather than being elected by the people, and therefore is unaccountable to the Public.
How many government defeats by the Lords happened between 1979 and 1997? (Between Thatcher and HoL reform) - Legislation
Between 1979 and 1997, the Lords defeated the Government 241 times.
How many government defeats by the Lords happened between 2019 and 2020? - Legislation
Between 2019 and 2020, the Government was defeated 53 times by the Lords.
When was the heaviest Lords defeat of Boris Johnson’s government? By what margin? Over what issue? - Legislation
Boris Johnson’s government was defeated by 407 votes to 148 over the Internal Market Bill in November 2020, with many Conservative Peers including Lord Howard voting against the Bill.
How many times were the Parliament Acts used by Tony Blair’s government between 1997 and 2007? What issues were these concerning? - Legislation
Tony Blair’s government used the Parliament Acts 3 times when in government, concerning lowering the age of consent for gay men to 16, banning fox hunting and changing voting procedures for EU elections.
What is confidence and supply? When did this happen before? - Legislation
Confidence and Supply is an informal type of coalition, where a party agrees to support a minority government on a vote by vote basis based on deals made.
This happened in 2017, when Theresa May’s minority government was supported by the DUP in order to legislate.
Why is there little support for an increase in the powers of the Lords? - Lords Reform
Any increase in the powers of the Lords could make legislating difficult and complex as is seen in America. It may also duplicate the work of the Commons.
Why is there little support for a decrease in the powers of the Lords? - Lords Reform
If the Lords’ powers were diminished, the chamber as a whole would have little relevance to UK Politics as it would have such little power as an institution.
What are the main current criticisms of the Lords? - Lords Reform
The Lords is unelected and undemocratic, with unaccountable members. It lacks democratic legitimacy in its blocking of Commons action. Appointments to the Lords can be abused by Party Leaders to reward their close allies. Many Peers are inactive.
What would the strengths be of a wholly appointed Lords Chamber? - Lords Reform
People with expertise in various areas can be recruited into the legislative process, with a non-majority legislative chamber able to counteract a government majority.
