Gov Held to Account Essay Flashcards
Intro
Many ways the government is held to account
Argued scrutiny in Commons chamber in form of PM’s Questions not fully effective
Scrutiny by committees most effective form of scrutiny & scrutiny by House of Lords effective to a certain extent
PM’s Questions - Point
One of the effective ways Parliamentary Representatives can hold gov to account is through actions in the debating chamber
PM’s Questions - Explain
In the chamber MPs can do a number of things to scrutinise the work of the government by participating in debates, voting & taking part in ministerial QT
MPs can submit questions to ministers as part of a debate or in a scheduled QT putting them under pressure to defend themselves & look competent
PMs Questions - Example
In 2021 Boris Johnson was forced to defend his actions in the “Cash for Curtains Scandal”
PMs Questions - Analysis
Effective as it gains media attention & puts pressure on government, fairly successful in government scrutiny
PMs Questions - Rebuttal Point
PMs QT only partially effective
PMs Questions - Rebuttal Explain
Many MPs belong to same political party as government so aren’t likely to ask difficult questions
Furthermore, not enough time for all MPs to ask questions
PMs Questions - Rebuttal Example
In 2021 while Boris Johnson was under pressure from opposition like Labour & SNP leaders, Cons asked Boris to thank vaccine volunteers despite electoral commission announcing its plan to investigate MP
PMs Questions - Rebuttal Analysis
Not effective time wasted by same party MPs asking simple questions
PMs Questions - Conclusion
Clear due to government having large number of supporters in parliament, QT not successful as supporters will try defend government
Committees - Point
Arguably committees are the most effective way of parliamentary scrutiny
Committees - Explain
MPs are able to work in small groups to discuss how well government is doing
These are public meaning minsters are under pressure not to make a mistake
Committees - Example
Yvette Cooper of Home Affairs committee exposed UK gov for not knowing how many people were entering UK with Covid-19
Committees - Rebuttal Point
Not effective as government can ignore work
Committees - Rebuttal Explain
Governments are able to control their work & ignore the advice of committees
Can delay reports until better suited
Committees - Rebuttal Example
UK gov avoided publishing report into R meddling in EU referendum until after 2019 election as it may’ve made them look bad
Committees -Conclusion
Can be effective as they are a longer period of time than QT but less effective as government can control when information is released
House of Lords - Point
House of Lords effective as they are independent
House of Lords - Explain
As they are a separate chamber, they are less likely to do will of government
More likely to be critical of government due to unelected, life-long position
House of Lords - Example
In first 12 months of 2019 parliament, government faced over 100 defeats in Lords meaning they had to change deals with countries committing genocide
House of Lords - Rebuttal Point
Less effective than could be
House of Lords - Rebuttal Explain
Many Lords elected by PM due to loyalty rather than expertise
Will also eventually leave & do will of government due to control of democratically elected House of Commons
House of Lords - Rebuttal Explain
In 2020, Boris Johnson appointed own brother to join 800 other members in House of Lords
House of Lords - Conclusion
Effective to a certain extent, due to bias less effective as less criticism given from those close to PM
Overall Conclusion
QT & HOL both effective in scrutinising gov as they are forced to answer questions & change plans however, role of committees more effective as they’re able to examine gov closely & put a high amount of pressure on gov due to large scale media attention
