Lords and Commons

Question 1

How many of the Lords are conservative?

Answer 1

249 are conservative out of 785 peers

This means that there can be less party discipline in the Lords compared with the commons

Question 2

How many times did the Lords defeat the government in 2018 over EU withdrawal?

Answer 2

14 times

Question 3

Between 2010 and 2012, how many times did the Lords defeat the coalition government?

Answer 3

48 times

Question 4

Between 2010 and 2012, how many times did the Commons defeat the coalition government?

Answer 4

0 times

Question 5

By how many votes was May’s Brexit bill defeated by in 2019?

Answer 5

230 votes (largest margin of defeat in history)

Question 6

Who can the Lords question?

Answer 6

Government spokespeople, not government ministers

Question 7

How can the Lords veto?

Answer 7

They can delay legislation for 1 year

Question 8

What is an example of a Lords Veto?

Answer 8

Labour’s Fox Hunting Act in 2004 was delayed for 1 year by the Lords then passed

Question 9

Who can the Government Liaison Committee summon?

Answer 9

They can summon the PM or government ministers

Question 10

Who asked the Urgent Question in the Windrush scandal?

Answer 10

MP David Lammy

Question 11

Shami Chakrabarti

Answer 11

Ex-Director of Liberty

Shows the kind of expertise that is present in the Lords

Question 12

How many ex-foreign secretaries are Lords?

Answer 12

3

Question 13

How many ex-home secretaries are on the Lords?

Answer 13

4

Question 14

How many ex-Chancellor of Exchequers are there on the Lords?

Answer 14

3

Question 15

How much of the Commons is LGBTQ?

Answer 15

7%

Question 16

How much of the Commons is women?

Answer 16

32%

Question 17

What professions are prominent in the Commons?

Answer 17

Teaching and law

Question 18

MPs are not always responsive to the desires of their constituents (eg)

Answer 18

MP Katy Hey of Vauxhall is a eurosceptic despite the wishes of her constituents

Question 19

MP being responsive to the needs of their constituents (eg)

Answer 19

MP Peter Bone defied a 3-line whip in order to vote so that he could vote for an EU referendum because of his anti-EU and pro-Brexit constituents