Effectivness Of The HOL Flashcards
Arguments for effectiveness of the lords
More time to devote to scrutiny of legislation compared to the House of Commons.
Quality of debates within the Lords can be of a very high standard
Far less party discipline in the House of Lords compared to the Commons.
Due to the House of Lords Act in 1999, most hereditary peers departed and most in the chamber now have been chosen on their own Merits.
Working effectively due to major reforms made in the past.
More time to devote to scrutiny of legislation compared to the House of Commons.
There is an added sense of expertise in the Lords because of their varied backgrounds and presence of experts in certain fields meaning that new levels of expertise can be brought into the chamber.
The majority of Lords’s time is spent on legislation (approximately 60% legislation and 40% scrutiny) and they tend to focus on the details of the bill rather than the principle behind them.
A number of highly controversial pieces of legislation has been effectively dealt with and scrutinised in the House of Lords such as NHS Reform and Welfare Reform.
Due to the Salisbury Convention the Lords do not challenge any Bills that are included in the governments manifesto meaning that the democratic will of the people can be carried out without question.
Although Lords cannot force the Commons to amend its legislation, it can cause so many problems with proposed changes that the Government might be forced to reconsider its proposals. For example, they blocked the bill to introduce a closed PR system for European Elections five times.
Quality of debates within the Lords can be of a very high standard.
For example the debate about going to war with Iraq in 2003.
The Lords will debate all amendments tabled for a Bill unlike the House of Commons, where only a few will be debated.
There is no guillotine motion in The Lords so debates can last as long as necessary.
One day a week is given to allow general debates as suggested by peers. These debates are used to discuss issues in more detail and are exploratory and informative rather. This allows the house to work in a more efficient manner.
Peers will only turn up for debates that they have an area of expertise in, this builds the level of effectiveness in the House of Lords.
There is far less party discipline in the House of Lords compared to the Commons.
Although party discipline does remain to an extent, it is a lot weaker.
The Lords are willing to vote and scrutinise by principle rather than instruction from whips. No fear of whip being removed or losing party support
The House of Lords works as it proved to be one of Tony Blair’s only sources of scrutiny and holds the government to account on many issues. An example of this being human rights through the Joint Committee on human rights. This was established following the passage of the Humans Rights Act in 1998
House of Lords Act 1999
In the past, the chamber was seen to be “illegitimate” due to the presence of hereditary peers. These peers were not elected
The Lords can be seen as effective now, as due to the House of Lords Act in 1999, most hereditary peers departed and most in the chamber now have been chosen on their own Merits.
The political balance in the chamber has become more obviously fair as well as Labour and Conservative parties being more or less evenly matched.
As of the 21st of November 2024, the new Labour government have proposed a House of Lords Hereditary Peers Bill which wants the house to remove hereditary peers from the Lords all together. This could make the House of Lords even more effective.
major reforms made in the past
The first major reform being the Parliament Act of 1911 which limited the powers of the Lords by denying them the power of veto over public bills for two parliamentary sessions.
The next reform was The Parliament Act of 1949 which reduced the Lords delaying power to two years to one year.
A final major reform was the House of Lords Act 1999 which removed the right of most hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House. During the passage of this piece of legislation an amendment was accepted, enabling 92 hereditary peers to remain until further reform is adopted.
This further reform has been proposed as of the 21st of November 2024 with the Hereditary Peers Bill, which seeks to remove all hereditary peers.
These peers often do not have lots of knowledge on what is being discussed as they are just there by birthright. This removal could make the Lords even more effective
