Comparative powers of the lords and commons

Question 1

List three exclusive powers that make the commons the dominant chamber

Answer 1

• The lords should give way to the commons when there is a dispute over legislation
• The lords cannot delay or amend money bills (financial privilege)
• The commons can force the government to resign through a vote of no confidence

Question 2

What two things underpin the primacy of the commons?

Answer 2

Legislation and constitutional conventions

Question 3

What two pieces of legislation underpin the primacy of the commons?

Answer 3

The parliament acts of 1911 and 1949

Question 4

List the main three conventions undermining the primacy of the commons

Answer 4

• Bills implementing manifesto commitments are not blocked by the lords under the salisbury convention
• The lords should consider government business within a reasonable time
• The lords does not usually block secondary legislation

Question 5

How do conventions operate?

Answer 5

They do not have the force of law and a shared understanding of them is required for a smooth application

Question 6

What did a 2006 parliamentary joint committee on conventions find?

Answer 6

It supported the primacy of the commons and the principles underpinning these conventions

Question 7

What did the 1911 Parliament Act do?

Answer 7

Limited the time the lords could veto legislation to 2 years, as they used to be able to do this indefinitely

Question 8

What did the 1949 Parliament Act do?

Answer 8

Reduced the time the lords could delay legislation from 2 years to 1

Question 9

How did the Parliament Acts transform the House of Lords?

Answer 9

From a vetoing chamber into a revising chamber. The lords can propose amendments to bills passed in the commons

Question 10

What can the commons do with amendments proposed by the lords?

Answer 10

Accept them, reject them or come up with amendments of their own

Question 11

List the 4 occasions when the Parliament Act has been used

Answer 11

• 1991 War Crimes Act
• 1999 European Elections Act
• 2004 Hunting Act
• 2000 Sexual Offences Act

Question 12

What kind of bills are the lords unable to amend?

Answer 12

Supply bills; bills concerned with national taxation, loans or public money. The lords have one month to pass the bill unamended or it will receive royal assent without their consent under the 1911 Parliament Act

Question 13

When did the coalition invoke financial privilege?

Answer 13

During the final stages of their 2012 welfare reform bill

Question 14

What two things does the government require from the commons to remain in post?

Answer 14

Confidence and supply

Question 15

Define confidence and supply

Answer 15

The requirement for the government to command a majority of votes on matters of confidence and supply (the budget).

Question 16

What are the two ways the commons can remove the government?

Answer 16

By defeating it in a motion of no confidence or a confidence motion

Question 17

What is a motion of no confidence?

Answer 17

A parliamentary censure motion initiated by the opposition which, if passed, requires the resignation of the government.

Question 18

What is a confidence motion?

Answer 18

A motion of confidence in the government. May be initiated by the government as a threat of dissolution, or used to approve the formulation of a new government under the 2011 fixed terms parliaments act

Question 19

How many votes of no confidence have there been since 1945?

Answer 19

23

Question 20

How many votes of confidence have there been since 1945?

Answer 20

3

Question 21

What was the last government defeat in a motion of no confidence?

Answer 21

In 1979, when Jim Callaghan’s Labour government lost by 1 vote

Question 22

What happens if a motion of no confidence is passed?

Answer 22

If no government is formed withn 14 days then parliament will be dissolved and a GE will be called

Question 23

What is the Salisbury Convention based upon?

Answer 23

The idea that the unelected lords should not frustrate the will of the elected commons

Question 24

How did the Salisbury Convention come under strain in 2006?

Answer 24

Peers voted against ID cards even though it was a part of Labour’s 2005 manifesto, saying that Labour had not won sufficient support to have a mandate for this

Question 25

Why do some lords argue that the Salisbury Convention is outdated?

Answer 25

Because it was created at a time when the lords had an inbuilt conservative majority

Question 26

Why did the coalition put the Salisbury Convention under question?

Answer 26

Because the Coalition Agreement had not been put before voters

Question 27

What does secondary legislation do?

Answer 27

Brings into force or amends parts of an act

Question 28

What proportion of lords defeats were substantially accepted by the Blair and Brown governments?

Answer 28

40%

Question 29

Explain the 4 main contributors to the increased effectiveness of the lords

Answer 29

• No party has an overall majority so the government needs cross party support
• Lords reform has made them more confident of their legitimacy
• Peers have questioned whether the Salisbury Convention should apply when there is a coalition government or when the governing party has the support of less than a third of the electorate
• MPs, particularly backbenchers from the governing party, are likely to support amendments from the lords

Question 30

Why do these two bodies have different levels of power?

Answer 30

Because they have different functions and legitimacy. The commons has primacy because it has democratic legitimacy

Question 31

Define input legitimacy

Answer 31

Concerns the composition of an institution and its responsiveness to citizens’ concerns as a result of representation of and participation by the people

Question 32

Define output legitimacy

Answer 32

Concerns the quality and effectiveness of an institutions performance and its outcomes for the people

Question 33

How do the lords and commons offer different types of legitimacy?

Answer 33

The commons offers input legitimacy through its composition making it directly elected and accountable to voters and the lords provides output legitmacy by providing revision and scrutiny to improve the quality of legislation

Question 34

List some of the powers and functions exclusive to the commons

Answer 34

• Examining and approving the financial affairs of the government
• Complete veto of legislation
• Dismissal of government
• Select committee examination of the work of government departments
• Final approval of legislative amendments

Question 35

List some of the shared powers of the two chambers

Answer 35

• Debating and voting on legislation
• Tabling legislative amendments
• Calling the government and individual ministers to account
• Debating key contemporary issues
• Private members can introduce their own legislation

Question 36

List some of the powers and functions that are largely performed by the lords

Answer 36

• Examining secondary legislation and recommending further consideration
• Delaying primary legislation for up to one year