House of Lords. Flashcards
what is the life peerage act and what year
1958
allowed the monarch to appoint member to the house of lords for their life but their title would not pass on to their children
What is the house of lords act 1999
all but 92 of the Hereditary Peers
were removed and now Peers are appointed for life.
Changed the nature of house lords
how did the house of lords act of 1999 change the party makeup of the lords
the conservatives which had 471 peers to 179 peers
now their are 258 conservatives to 168 labour
what are crossbenchers
– Crossbenchers are members of the House of Lords who do not claim any particular party allegiance
who is the current lord spiritual
including the archbishop of caterbury who is currently justin welby
Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits
why is their less party unity in the house of lords
- security of tenure, members of the house of lords are their for life and so are less reliant on party advancement
- less whips, the whipping system is far less strong in the house of lords so were whips are appointed they are less influential
-different role, lords role is scrutinise and check the commons.
how representative is the lords
28% is women
Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) 6%
LGBTQ 3%
Privately educated 57%
Oxbridge Educated 38%
avg age 71 yrs old
what is the impact the House of Lords Appointment commission
Commission recommends individuals for the appointment as non-party-political life
peers. It also vets the nominations of political parties, to ensure the suitability of members
give an example of controversy’s that have surrounded a PM from appointing their close advisors to the lords
David Cameron named a number of his closest advisors
and staff as nominees for the House of Lords. These include Lizz Sugg and Ed Llewellyn, his former Chief of Staff. was criticised appeared that Cameron was attempting to use the Resignation Honours List to favour political allies,
not to further the operation of the House of Lords.
Bojo also did this appointing such people
appointed Ian botham who was a prominent leave supporter but has only spoken twice in lords but has voted in 66 divisions as of dec 2021
and appointed Peter Cruddas who was a prominent financial donor to conservative party, this was even specifically not recommended due to his relationship with conservative party
Why might peers be appointed
-bring people outside parliament into government eg Lord Frost, was a senior diplomat when he was foreign secretary and boris wanted to make him memebr of gov in 2020
-getting rid of troublesome backbenchers
- reward of polical service
- to bring particular expertise into the lords eg carys davina grey thompson bringing expertise of dissabilities
what are the 4 key roles of the house of lords
To make laws (with a particular focus on amending bills sent from the House of Commons)
▪ To scrutinise the executive and hold it to account.
▪ To offer Government Ministers where required.
▪ To provide a source of specialist knowledge and expertise.
what are the advantages that the lords can offer when it comes to legislation
-time, traditionally lords can spend far more time considering legislation, bill is examined line by line eg 2020 agriculture act where commons spent 32 hours lords spent 96 hours
-expertise, proffesional experts in their fields
-independence, from party discplince, whips are less powerful and do not have to rely on public for support as a re not voted
what is an example when the lords have blocked government legislation
26th oct 2021 - A defeat by a majority of 143 on a clause in the Environment Bill added by the Lords that insisted sewage companies reduce harms from the untreated dumping of sewage. In total the Government suffered 13 defeats on the Environment Bill.
what is the convention that government ministers have to have a level of accountability
the Great offices of state is the convention that all the senior ministers must be filled from commons so are asequatley account by the peoples elected representative.
However this has been breached by david cameron who was made a lord to sist a foreign secretary in 2023
how does the lords scrutinise the executive
questions, in private notice questions
debates
select commitees
legislative scrutiny
how does the lords use specialist knowledge to have a range of expertise
members eg. tanni grey thomspson former paralympian to challenge gov on dissability rights for instance challenging ‘bedroom tax’ whcih would have removed benefits from family who have a spare room but are using it for their childs dissability
▪ Lords’ committees have many members with relevant knowledge and expertise.
what reforms did the labour make to the house of lord
n 2001, following a report called the Wakeham
Commission (2000), a Labour White Paper called for a House of Lords that was 20% elected. In 2003 this, among other
Labour Proposals were rejected. In 2005, Labour pledged a fully elected House of Lords, with staggered elections. A
vote in the House of Commons for a fully elected House of Lords passed by 113 votes. However, predictably, it was
rejected by the House of Lords.
what was the Wakeham commissions and what year
described as a blueprint for “radical evolutionary change” of the House of Lords for better government
inc. memeber of lords be reduced to 550
all rest of hereditary peers removed
relgious representation should extend beyond the church of england
how effective is the house of lords
they have special expertise to enable them to hold gov to account
security of tenure, are life peers so are not threatened to fear their position enablig them to speak openly
weakness of pary discpline, less power of whips and hold of political parties
what is an example of a lord exploiting their ‘benefits’
Between 2018 and 2019 Lord Bookman claimed £50,000 in expenses but did not speak once. 46 peers
did not vote a single time.
why is there a lack of legitmacy in the lords
- unelected
- furthered by mistrust over the appointments process. The fact that the Lords is not seen as fully legitimate can lead members not to risk upsetting the public. This was a point made during the debate over Brexit.
how is the lords scrutiny of the government restricted
By conventions such as the salsbury conventionthe Parliament Acts mean the House of Lords often give into the House of Commons when there is a conflict.
what are some pros for a compete abolition of the lords
New Zealand, Denmark and other countries function without a second chamber, so why can’t we?
o We would save money by having only one chamber.
o Scrutiny could be carried out in different ways such as through a strengthened committee system.
what are the cons for copletley abolitioning the commons
The standard of scrutiny of legislation would drop in a unicameral system.
o The House of Commons would have too much power without a revising second chamber.
o The bicameral system is ingrained in British political culture and has, historically, worked well
what are the advnatges of the lords being fully appointed
- It will help maintain the current broad range of membership of the House of Lords rather than creating more professional politicians.
o It doesn’t threaten the democratic supremacy of the House of Commons.
o Appointment is more cost effective than election.
what are the cons of the lords being fully appointed
It is undemocratic to have unelected Members of the Lords involved in drafting and passing legislation.
o The UK is one of only two countries, the other being Canada, that has an unelected second chamber.
o A more democratic system is worth investing in.
what are the pros of having a fully elected lords
- It fully addresses the current democratic deficit, giving the House of Lords a full mandate to initiate and amend
legislation.
o More people will be given the opportunity to stand for Parliament giving a greater range of representation.
o More young people will sit in the House of Lords.
what are the cons of having a fully elected upper chamber
It causes more problems than it solves: with two elected chambers, the House of Commons would no longer be
supreme.
o The chamber would be full of career politicians rather than attracting individuals with a wealth of knowledge and
experience in a vast range of fields.
o It isn’t clear how often elections should be and additional elections would cause additional costs.
