Houses Of Parliament Flashcards
What does Bicameral mean?
Made up of two chambers
What branch is parliament?
Parliament is the legislature
How many constituencies are there?
650
How are MPs selected?
Through a general election
What are backbenchers?
MPs that don’t sit in the two front benches in the House of Commons.
Who sits on the front two benches in the Houses of Parliament?
MPs who are cabinet ministers, shadow cabinet members and opposition party leadership team.
What does the speaker do?
Mp who chairs debates in the chamber.
What are most Lords titled as?
Life peers
How many life peers were there in 2018?
676
What are archbishops and bishops known as?
“Lords spiritual”
What are peers known as?
lords temporal
When was the House of Lords act?
1999
What did the House of Lords act do?
Reduced the number of hereditary peers to 92
How many bishops are there in the House of Lords?
26
Where do Lords spiritual come from?
The Church of England
Who appoints the Lords?
The House of Lords appointments committee.
What are the powers the PM has that can appoint Lords?
Patronage powers.
Who did Gordon Brown appoint to the lords and when?
lord sugar in 2009
Who did David Cameron appoint to the House of Lords and when?
Ed Llewelyn in 2016
What can political parties use to influence and try and appoint party members to the House of Lords?
Political lists- the members act in the party’s interests.
What is parliamentary privilege?
The legal immunity enjoyed by members of parliament, particularly their right to free speech in parliament
When was the expenses scandal?
2009
What 3 roles does the whip carry out?
- ensuring that MPs attend parliamentary divisions (votes)
- issuing instructions on how MPs should vote
- enforcing discipline within the parliamentary party.
How many MPs were imprisoned as a result of the expenses scandal?
4
Who was the first speaker to be forced from office in 174 years?
Micheal Martin in 2009 as a result of the expenses scandal
What exclusive powers does the House of Commons have?
- right to insist on legislation
- financial privilege (lords cannot delay or amend money bills)
- the power to dismiss the executive
What are the main conventions covering the relationship between the two chambers?
- Salisbury doctrine (manifesto commitments cannot be blocked by the lords)
- reasonable time
- secondary legislation (lords usually don’t object to secondary legislation)
What did the parliament act 1911 do?
Restricted veto power of the Lords to 2 parliamentary sessions this was then reduced to 1 in the 1949 parliament act
What does the government require from the House of Commons to remain in office?
Confidence and supply - the government must be able to command a majority in the House of Commons on votes of confidence and supply (budget)
How can the commons get rid of a government?
Through a vote of no confidence and a confidence motion.
What is the Salisbury doctrine?
The convention that the House of Lords does not block legislation that was promised in the manifesto of government
When did the Salisbury convention come under strain?
In 2006, peers voted against identity cards bill, despite it being in labours 2005 manifesto.
What acts has the House of Lords blocked?
Sexual offences (amendment) Act 2000 and the hunting act 2004
What issues were the Blair and brown government defeated in the House of Lords?
On judicial and constitutional matters (counter-terrorism)
How many defeats in the House of Lords did the coalition government have?
99 defeats
What has the effectiveness of the House of Lords checking powers come from?
- party balance
- enhanced legitimacy (no longer afraid to voice its opinions of constitutional matters)
- Government mandate
- Support from MPs
What are the arguments for the House of Lords being wholly elected?
- more democratic
- it would be more confident in scrutinising government bills
- it would challenge the dominance of the executive
- it would be more representative of the electorate
Arguments against the House of Lords being wholly elected?
- it would come into conflict with the House of Commons
- would produce legislative gridlock
- the problems with representation and party control in he House of Commons would be duplicated in an elected upper house
