Evaluate the extent to which Parliament may be considered an ineffective institution.

Question 1

Introduction - Themes

Answer 1

• Legislative
• Representative
• Oversight

Question 2

Introduction - Arguments

Answer 2

The UK Parliament is not perfect; however, it would be harsh to consider it ineffective - for the most part Parliament is an effective institution in its three main roles

Question 3

Ineffective - Legislative - Point

Answer 3

The UK Parliament has several problems which make legislating in the UK ineffective. Private Members’ Bills have an incredibly low success rate despite being about important issues, and the HOL has very few legislative powers

Question 4

Ineffective - Legislative - Examples

Answer 4

• In March 2018, Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse introduced a PMB entitled ‘The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill’ which would have banned upskirting. Despite having partisan support, the objection at the second reading by Christopher Chope meant the bill could not pass
• The Parliament Act 1949 reduced their delaying powers to 1 year and the Salisbury Convention means they have to pass anything in the Party’s manifesto

Question 5

Effective - Legislative - Point

Answer 5

Public Bills tend to be passed with ease, and if a government has a large majority there is little they cannot do, meaning it is effective

Question 6

Effective - Legislative - Examples

Answer 6

• The Police, Crime and Sentencing Act that passed in April 2022 was massively controversial with pressure group ‘Kill the Bill’ staging protests against it. But due to the Conservatives 80 seat majority the bill was able to pass
• The reduction of the powers of the HOL has made the legislative process more efficient as they have the ability to bypass their hold up as they did with the Fox Hunting Act 2004

Question 7

Ineffective - Representation - Point

Answer 7

It can be said that the UK Parliament fails in another vital role, representation. Both houses are unrepresentative of the country, but the HOL is significantly worse

Question 8

Ineffective - Representation - Examples

Answer 8

• The HOL is incredibly socially unrepresentative of the UK as a whole - more than 50% of the peers are over 70 and 62% of them were privately educated
• The Commons struggles with fair party representation, due to FPTP there is a massive ‘winners bonus’ for the government. In 2019, the Lib Dems won 11% of the vote, but only 1.7% of the seats

Question 9

Effective - Representation - Point

Answer 9

There are different types of representation, and the two chambers complement each other in how they represent the UK

Question 10

Effective - Representation - Examples

Answer 10

• The HOL may have awful social representation, but the HOC is the most socially diverse Parliament elected in history. The HOC is younger, more equally split male to female and has more ethnic and LGBTQ+ members than ever before
• As the HOL is appointed they have experts to represent marginalised groups - Baroness Tani Grey-Thompson, a former paraolympian, has made speeches on disability issues

Question 11

Ineffective - Oversight - Point

Answer 11

Another one of Parliament’s important functions is to check the actions of the government. Despite there being many methods to do this, many are inadequate at properly holding the government to account

Question 12

Ineffective - Oversight - Examples

Answer 12

• The Liason Committee’s main function is to call the PM to account, however, Boris Johnson cancelled several appearances
• Many methods are often bias as they are set up by the government - when looking into David Cameron using his connections to lobby, the government set up a committee headed by Nigel Boardman who is a Conservative Party donor

Question 13

Effective - Oversight - Point

Answer 13

There are also some very prominent select committees within Parliament which have the ability to check the government and perform their oversight role effectively

Question 14

Effective - Oversight - Examples

Answer 14

• The Priviledges Committee is investigating whether Boris Johnson did in fact mislead Parliament during the Partygate scandal. The outcome of this will determine his political career
• Votes of No Confidence are incredibly powerful. Although not successful since the 1970s, the vote itself puts pressure on the PM to resign. Both Johnson and May resigned within 6 months of their votes