Houses of Parliament

Question 1

Parliament

Answer 1

Bicameral system of parliament meaning it’s made up of two chambers: HoL and HoL. Parliament is the legiskature and has the role of making laws

Question 2

House of Commons Selection

Answer 2

Lower house in bicameral system, MP’s sit who are elected at a general election

Question 3

House of Commons membership

Answer 3

Most mebers are backbenchers (MPs that do not sit on the two front benches, all parties have them)

MP’s who sit on the front benches are members of government (cabinet ministers, members of shadow cabinet and the opposition party’s leadership team)

Speaker manages and chairs debates, elected by other MP’s

Question 4

House of Lords

Answer 4

Upper house in the bicameral system in the UK, members are known as peers

Question 5

Peers in the HoL

Answer 5

Life peers, hereditary peers, archbishops and bishops. Peers known as ‘Lord Temporal’

Most members are life peers, meaning they are a Lord for lifetime but cannot pass onto children (676 as of 2018)

Members of HoL used to all be hereditary but the HoL ACt 1999 reduced it to 92

Question 6

Lords Spiritiual in the HoL

Answer 6

Bishops and Archbishops are known as ‘Lord Spiritual’. There are 26 and come from the Church of England

Question 7

House of Lords selection

Answer 7

HoL appointments committee can appoint members who are not aligned with any party.

Any member of public can nominate a person to be reviewed for membership selection by the commitee

Question 8

House of Lords selection 2

Answer 8

PM can appoint members through the power of patronage. Examples Include…
Gordon Brown appointed Lord Sugar in 2009
David Cameron appointed Ed Llewellyn, his former chief of staff, 2016

Question 9

Functions of the House of Commons: Scrutiny

Answer 9

When the party in government is held to account for their actions

MPs can question dovernment ministers and have the power to remove them and the government fro power

Question 10

Functions of the House of Commons: Debate

Answer 10

MPs debate major issues of importance to voters and the country

Question 11

Functions of the House of Commons: Providing Ministers

Answer 11

Majority are MP’s (PM aswell), ministers make up the cabinet, shadown ministers in the opposition make up the shadow cabinet

Question 12

Functions of the House of Commons: Representation

Answer 12

MPs must protect needs and interests of their constituency in Parliament

MPs speak on behalf of them at debates and make voting decisions on laws which appeal to constituents

Question 13

Legitimation

Answer 13

It must approve all bills which become laws and has the power to support or question the government in the action it takes

Question 14

HoC Functions of the House of Commons: Law Making

Answer 14

Make legeislation that are binding to all UK citizens.

Under parliamentary sovereignty, parliament is the ‘supreme’ law-making authority in the UK

Question 15

HoC Functions Fulfilled: Representation

Answer 15

Represents all geographical regions, 650 Mps represent an average of 75,000 voters

Mps represent their constituents interests in debates and votes…
MP Ken Clarke voted to give Parliament a vote on any Brexit deal reached, as his constituents voted to remain, going against Conservative policy

Question 16

HoC Functions Fulfilled: Law making

Answer 16

Number of stages and laws are hevaily debated

Government bills are often successfully passed by parliament…
The Data Protection Act 2018 is an example, which increased regulation of personal data

Question 17

HoC Function Fulfilled: Private members bills (law-making)

Answer 17

Introduced by MPs and if passed become laws…
The City of London Corporation Act 2018 is an example which allowed the City of London Corperation to have a greater management of open spaces in London

Question 18

HoC Function Fulfilled: Legitimation

Answer 18

Has used its legitimacy function to stop, change and question government action…
2013 the HoC voted against military intervention in Syria whcih was proposed by the government

Question 19

HoC Function Fulfilled: Scrutiny (PMQs)

Answer 19

Question times where ministers have to provide answers for government action.

PMQs every wednesday where the PM is questioned by the Leader of the opposition and other members of parliament

Question 20

HoC Function Fulfilled: Scrutiny (Select Committees)

Answer 20

Scrutinise government department work and ministers, ask more in depth questions than in Question Times. Examples include…
Nick Hurd (Home Office Minister) was questioned by the Housing Communities and Local Government Commitee on the support provided by the Grenfell Tower Fire

Question 21

HoC Function Fulfilled: Scrutiny (Individual Ministerial Responsibility)

Answer 21

This convention holds all ministers in government accountable for the actions of themselves and their department. Examples include…
Amber Rudd resigned as Home Sercretary after she misled the HoC over her department’s targets for removing illegal immigrants fro the UK

Question 22

HoC Functions Not Fulfilled: Representation

Answer 22

HoC fails to represent Uk, despite becoming more diverse…
Age: 2017 52% aged 50+ and 2% under 30
Ethnicity: 2017 8% of MPs were from ethnic minorities compared to 14% in the UK
Education: 23% of MPs went to Oxford or Cambridge
Gender: 2023 225 femle MPs, highest number to date, but only 35%

Question 23

Hoc Functions not Fulfilled: Law Making

Answer 23

Timely as has to pass through a number of stages such as The Assualts on Emergency Workers Act 2018 took over a year to pass.

Private members bills often fail. Only 2 have passed into law since the 2017 GE

Question 24

HoC Functions not Fulfilled: Law Making (Party Whips)

Answer 24

MPs can not always freley debate as told to follow party line. Gov can use party whips who are MPs apinted by the party to force bills through Parliament…
A three-line whip is an instrunction for MPs to vote in a party-approved way
This was used by the conservatives to order their MPs to vot for triggering Article 50, to begin leaving the EU process

Question 25

HoC Functions not Fulfilled: Legitimation

Answer 25

HoC has legitimated gov action which was not in the interests of the people in the UK…
War in Iraq was legitimated depte lots of public opposition. Over 750,000 protested in London on a single day in Feb 2003 against the war

Question 26

HoC Functions not Fulfilled: Scrutiny

Answer 26

Some see Question Time and PMQ’s as lacking power to properly scutinise gov…
Ministers often avoid answeirng questions directly
Members of Parliament often ask planted questions at PMQs to make the gov and party leaders appear strong to the public
PMQs labelled ‘Punch and Judy’ as is more a shouting match than scrutiny

Question 27

HoC Functions not Fulfilled: Scrutiny (select committees)

Answer 27

Can also be innefective when holding gov account as ministers are unhelpful in providing evidence when questioned…
2016 Boris Johnso, foreign secretary at the time, was accussed of “waffling” by the foreign affairs select committe during questioning

Question 28

Functions of the House of Lords: Law Making

Answer 28

Scurtinises the bill through the use of commitees.

HoL proposes amendments to bills during which are considered by HoC

Can delay passage of bill if they do not agree

The lords can defeat secondary legislation, and can defeat government by not passing a bill anfd sending it back to parliament

Question 29

Functions of the House of Lords: Government Scrutiny

Answer 29

Takes place in the form of written and spoken questions put to government and through debates over policy

Question 30

Functions of the House of Lords: Investigating public policy

Answer 30

Investigates debates important publuc policy issues

Select committees in the HoL conduct investigations into policy areas, by hearing evidece from a range of people including experts

2016-2017, the HoL produced 41 reports on policy areas including Brexit

Question 31

Functions of the House of Lords: Representation

Answer 31

Contins peers who represent less well represented people in public life

Represents expertise from across society and different professional backgrounds

HoL also represents different political views…
Conservatives = 250 peers
Labour = 187 peers
Lib dems = 98 peers

185 crossbenchers who do not align themselves with any party

Question 32

HoL Functions Fulfilled: Law Making

Answer 32

Contains experts who can provide input into debates and committee reviews of bills. Examples include…

Lord Krebs (zoologist and expert in science) was former president of the British Science Association

Lord Mandelson has past political expertise and had governent roles for the Labour Party

Question 33

HoL Functions Fulfilled: Scrutiny

Answer 33

Each government department has a member of HoL linked to it that will face questions during question time from other lords
- Questioning of the government happens for 30 minutes each day from Monday to Thursday

HoL submits written questions to the government
- Between 2016-17, over 7000 written and spoken questions were put to the gov

Question 34

HoL Functions Fulfilled: Scrutiny 2

Answer 34

No single party controls HoL, increasing non-partisanship in the chamber

Life peerages mean that Lords dont have to worry about losing their position if they disobey a whip

Lords dont have constituencies, so can spend more time in parliament scrutinising the government

Question 35

HoL Functions Fulfilled: House of Lords Interventions

Answer 35

2015 HoL voted to delay cuts to tax credits
- In response, the proposed cutes were dlayed and modified in the Autumn statemnt the next month

EU Withdrawal bill had been defeated in the Lords a total of 17 times by October 2018
- HoL forced legislation changes such as making sure that EU environamental law is still applied after Brexit

Question 36

HoL Functions Fulfilled: Representation

Answer 36

Reduced number of hereditary peers

Members of the House of Lords represent and advocate for diverse grops in Parliament
-Baron Bird advocates for homeless

Question 37

HoL Functions not Fulfilled: Law Making

Answer 37

HoL able to stop legislation it disagrees with, it can only delay and propose amendments.
- 2017 HoC rejected two amendments to a bill enabling the UK to start negotiations to leave the EU
- 1911 and 1949 The Parliaments Act means HoL which prevents them from stopping government spending or taxation bills

Salisbury convention means HoL is unable to oppose policies in the manifesto of the elected gov

Question 38

HoL Functions not Fulfilled: Scrutiny

Answer 38

Some peers odnt fulfil role and only turn up to receive their expenses
- Large amounts were claimed by 277 peers eventhough they spoke five times or less between 2016-17

Has difficulties when posing written and spoken questions to the government

Question 39

HoL Functions not Fulfilled: Representation

Answer 39

Members not elected by teh public and doesnt represent citizens

Still 92 hereditary peers wo inherited their titles may not deserve it

Over half of members are over 70 therefore not representative of population

Church of England bishops are in HoL but no other religions