ETVT BBs have little impact in parliament

Question 1

1- legislative process, for

Answer 1

BBs contribute to legislation
1. may was defeated 33x between 2017-19
2. 99 backbench tory mps rebelled against boris johnson over his covid ‘plan b’- 1/3 of tories

however, is a strong an unfied govt, this is less evident

Question 2

1- legislative process- against

Answer 2

however, is a strong an unfied govt, this is less evident.
1. tony blair was only defeated 4x is his only prrmiership, the first time being thye 2005 terrorism bill
2. the whip means backbenchers rarely rebel against the govt; 21 tory mps were expelled in 2019 over brexit

in legislation like the rwanda bill, there was a 3 line whip

Question 3

2- scrutiny

Answer 3

BB groups like the european research group challenged theresa may over brexit

it was the covid recovery group behind the 99 rebellion

during pmqs, backbenchers have the opportunity to interrogate PMs over policy decisions e.g sunak was grilled to justify the safety of rwanda

Question 4

2- scrutiny against

Answer 4

however, the effectiveness of these forms of scrutiny are limited

e.g despite BB group covid recovery plan and their ‘99 rebellion’, covid ‘plan b’ still passed and johnson was able to pass all 34 of his intended policy areas that year

PMQs are theatrical, they are regarded as a ‘punch and judy show’ by cameron. e.g in 2015, tory mps barked in parliament over cameron calling miliband alex salmonds poodle. 2024 upropar over starmers stutter

50% of PMqs are from the govts side, allowing for planted questions and showing BBs arent actually making much of an impact here

Question 5

3- select committees for

Answer 5

BBs contribute in select committees which make significant policy change (40%)

1. 5p plastic bags at the recccomendation of the enviroment committeee
2. 30% sugar tax implmeted by osbourne after the reccomendations of the heath committee
3. privelidges committee found johnson ‘in contempt’ of parliament

Question 6

3- select committees against

Answer 6

the impact of select committes are limited
1, only 40% implemented 60% ignored
2. not legally binding; nobody recieved a fixed penalty for partygate and braverman did not have to resign after bullying reports

so BBs overall dont have much impact