#Exam 2-Parliamentary Law Making

Question 1

who are all involved with making laws

Answer 1

house of commons
house of lords
the crown

Question 2

who sit in the house of commons

Answer 2

MPs elected through the first past the post electoral system

Question 3

how often are general elections

Answer 3

every 5 years

Question 4

what is a by-election

Answer 4

elections in a constituency where a MP has died or retired

Question 5

who are in the house of lords

Answer 5

a non-elected body consisting of 92 hereditary peers, 640 life peers and 26 most senior bishops in church of England

Question 6

the 12 most supreme judges used to sit in the house of lords but now they sit where

Answer 6

in the supreme court

Question 7

who started the reform of the HoL

Answer 7

the 1997 labour government

Question 8

what are the 4 influences on parliament

Answer 8

political influence
public opinion/ media
pressure groups
lobbyists

Question 9

what are political influences

Answer 9

each political party drafts a manifesto before a general election, when elected to government these will be a major influence on the laws it introduces to parliament

Question 10

what is the medias influence on parliamentary law making

Answer 10

strong public opinion or media reports can lead to a change in the law

Question 11

how do pressure groups influence PLM

Answer 11

groups with a particular interest can bring issues to the attention to the general public or law makers

Question 12

an example of a pressure groups influence on law is

Answer 12

when the British Medical Association influenced the 2007 laws to ban smoking indoors

Question 13

how do lobbyists influence PLM

Answer 13

people meet with MPs in the lobbies of parliament to try and persuade them to support their cause- often through asking a question in parliament

Question 14

advantages of the political influence to PLM

Answer 14

each political party has its proposals known before a general election
the government who wins the majority means most of its laws are passed

Question 15

what are the disadvantages of the political influence to PLM

Answer 15

New governments may repeal or alter laws made by previous governments
coalition governments

Question 16

what are the advantages of Public opinion/ media influence in PLM

Answer 16

Public opinion and the media raise awareness of key social concerns
e.g. the Dunblane massacre mean’t handguns were banned
the UK also has free press so it means they can criticise the government directly

Question 17

what are the disadvantages of PO/ media influence in PLM

Answer 17

responding too quickly to high profile incidents may lead to a poorly drafted law
media can be accused of manipulating the news to create public opinion

Question 18

what are advantages of pressure groups influencing PLM

Answer 18

raise an important issue

wide range of issues drawn to parliament’s attention

Question 19

what are the disadvantages of pressure groups influencing PLM

Answer 19

Trying to impose their will on the majority

pressure groups may have conflicting interests

Question 20

what are the advantages of lobbyists influencing PLM

Answer 20

Brings issues to Parliament’s attention

anyone is able to lobby their MP

Question 21

what are the disadvantages of lobbyists influencing PLM

Answer 21

big businesses use professional lobbyists, giving them more influence then general public
led to the cash for questions affair

Question 22

what is the order of making a bill a law

Answer 22

pre legislative process
first reading 
second reading
committee stage 
report stage 
third reading 
same procedure in HoL where it ping pongs between houses 
Royal Assent

Question 23

what is involved in the pre-legislative process

Answer 23

green paper

white paper

Question 24

what is the green paper

Answer 24

document suggesting proposals for law reform

Question 25

what is the white paper

Answer 25

decisions on how it will reform the law

Question 26

what happens in the first reading

Answer 26

main aim of the bill is read out

Question 27

what happens in the second reading

Answer 27

main debate on the bill is taken, must be a majority for the bill to continue any further

Question 28

what happens in the committee stage

Answer 28

committee of between 16-50 MPs who are specialised or have interest on the bill are on this committee
a full house will sit on finance bills

Question 29

what happens in the report stage

Answer 29

committees findings reported back to HoC to make amendments, amendments will be debated and sometimes a bill may go straight to the third reading

Question 30

what happens in the third reading

Answer 30

final vote on the bill, more of a formality as it is so unlikely to fail at this point

Question 31

what happens when the other house is involved

Answer 31

this is when to goes through first 5 stages above, the lords suggest amendments and it goes through a ping pong stage until both houses are happy

Question 32

what happens in royal assent

Answer 32

the monarch gives assent to the bill officially making it an act of parliament, the last refusal was in 1707 by queen Anne

Question 33

what are the 5 types of bill

Answer 33

government bill 
private members bill
public bill
private 
hybrid

Question 34

what is a government bill

Answer 34

a bill which is introduced by the government

Question 35

what is a private members bill

Answer 35

a bill introduced by a private MP; typically this will be a public bill

Question 36

what is a public bill

Answer 36

a bill which involves matters of public policy which affect the general public

Question 37

what is a private bill

Answer 37

a bill which affects a particular organisation, person or place

Question 38

what is a hybrid bill

Answer 38

introduced by the government but likely to affect a single organisation, person or place

Question 39

what are the two ways a private members bill will likely be introduced

Answer 39

by ballot

ten minute rule

Question 40

what is a ballot

Answer 40

a short explanation and a debate on a bill

Question 41

What is the most famous law to have been passed through a private member ballot

Answer 41

the abortion act 1967

Question 42

what is the ten minute rule

Answer 42

any MP can make a speech for the maximum of ten minutes supporting introduction of new legislation.

Question 43

what are the advantages of the legislative process

Answer 43

democratic- made by elected representatives
full reform-reform whole areas of law, abolish all old acts and bring under new simpler one ( think JP)
broad policy-can set broad policies and the power is given to others, allows for greater detail
consultation-discussed in both houses,and law can only changed through future acts of Parliament

Question 44

what are the disadvantages of the legislative process

Answer 44

Long process
Limited parliamentary time may stop some laws from being reformed- OAPA
Government control- very few pm bills get through even if they raise a moral issue
Complexity- even modern laws need interpretation and can be confusing to understand