House of lords Flashcards
Where does it originate from
The Norman Court of king, the king would summon the leading aristocracy of his kingdom, and when they died they will summon there sons- creating a hereditary system
Why does a lack of representaion lessen the authority of the House of Lords
They do not have the mandate of the people
So lack legitimacy
Describe the composition of the House of Lords before the 1950s
it was made entirely of hereditary peers who were only there by accident of privilege birth
It was declared moribund with plummeting attendance rates and negligible legitimacy
Name the act that made provisions for people to be made members of the House of Lords
The life peerages act 1958
What effect do u think the introduction of life peers made
ook there jobs seriously
From all walks of life
Increases diversity in the Lords
What are the Lords spiritual
The 24 senior bishops of the Church of England who are entitled to sit and vote in the lords
What did the House of Lords act 1999 mean
The removal of all but 92 hereditary peers
Supposed to be the first stage of reform however a lack of cross party consensus proved difficult to decide on any more reform
How many cross benchers in the House of Lords
What is there job
200
The are independent peers without any party affiliation
How many members in the house of lord
Approx 778
About what percentage Of Lords are women
23%
What is some of the roles of House of Lords
1) considering and revision of bills from House of Commons- they scrutinise and recommend any amendments before ping ponging it back to commons
2) the power of delay
3) holding general debates
4) scrutinising European legislation
What are some of the advantages of the House of Lords
expertise: industry professionals help contribute to scrunitse law and make ammendments so improving quality of legislation
good at accountability- Lords do not need to show loyalty to any parties so scrunitse properly
stability- add stability and continuity to the law making process
What are some disadvantages of the House of Lords
Unelected- whilst they do not have to appease anyone, they may vote selfishly and not think about what’s best for everyone.
Representations - far from representative, whilst reforms are being made they are not being made very quick, Lords is still dominated by the old male pale and stale
What does the House of Lords reform act 2014 allow
Members to resign or retire
what is the parliament act of 1911
this stops the House of Lords from being able to VETO bills
