ETVT parliament is effective at carrying out its various

Question 1

para 1: legislation (argument for)

Answer 1

parliament is effective at carrying out good quality legislation

1. 2020 agriculture act was debated upon for 96h in the lords and 32 hours in the commons
2. between 1997-2010, 44% of govt defeats have led to an alteration of legislation

public members bills
-2009, cheryl gillians autism act was passed PMB

This shows the parl are effective at their legislative function

Question 2

para 1- legislation (argument against)

Answer 2

a large majority can make the commmons useless at voting down govt bills, which means quality of leg is not ensured

1.blair had no defeats in the c0ommons until the 2005 terrorism act; he only faced 4 defeats total 1997-2005

2. all labour mps voted against the police, crimes sentencing and courts act BUT IT STILL PASSED because of majority

lords are constrained so they cant scrtinise leg effectively
1.parl act 1911+45 and the 1945 sailsbury convention limits what can be scrutinised
2.2004 hunting act, commons invoked the 1945 hoc act, same with rwanda

this shows there are flaws to the legislative process

Question 3

paragraph 2- representation/ effective composition (argument for)

Answer 3

2019 had the most diverse parl in history; 220 women, 65 ethnic minority, 46 lgbtq

recall of mps act ensures accountability of MPS (sucessful 4/5 times)

lords:
nor representative but effective composition
1. lord krebs, a zoologist, chairs the committe for the lords science and technology select committee
2. lord bird was homeless and now works with the big issue

Question 4

paragraph 2- representation/composition (against)

Answer 4

but because of FPTP, the winning party usually wins less than 50% of the vote
1. conservatives had 36% in 2015 43% in 2019
2. fptp overepresents large parties

lords: ‘male, pale and stale’
1. average age 71, only 6% BAME

commons: 27% privately educated
21% oxbridge
4/5 tories privately educated

shows that there are clear flaws in the composition of parliament

Question 5

para 3- scrutiny (for)

Answer 5

select comittees are an effective form of scrutiny
1. privelidges committee found johnson ‘in conempt’ of parliament
2. amber rudd resigned as home secretary because of a select comittee hearing on windrush scandal

PMQs
huge increase from 4 in 2007-8 to 307 in 2017-19

Question 6

para 3- against

Answer 6

ministers are not always held accountable
1. patel was fined 340k over bullying but DIDNT RESIGN
2. there were no fixed penalties for partygate
3. all but 13 mps VOTED AGAINST SUSPENDING OWEN PATTERSON OVER THE LOBBYING SCANDAL

PMQs
1. cameron called it a ‘punch and judy show’; simply a theatrical exchange of insults e.g when cameron joked ed milliband was alex salmonds poodle in 2015, the tory mps started making BARKING NOISES
2. govt make up 50% so there are planted questions

overall, the scrutiny of parliament is ineffective