Mr Stepney - Parliment

Question 1

Explain and analyse three ways in which the official opposition can challenge the government in the HOC - 9 marks

Answer 1

P1 - PMQ’s
- the leader of the opposition = special privileges
- including: right to respond the PM on major statements, can ask 6 questions at PMQ’s
- e.g December 2023 opposition leader - Starmer asks about homelessness at Christmas
- significant as it makes sure PM’s performance is of high standard

P2 - select committees
- can challenge govt ministers in terms of policy but submitting reports
- e.g. 2019 Lilian greenwood was chair of transport select committee (member of opposition)
- made a report on pavement parking - this is significant as it challenges govt policy and leads to improvements

P3 - opposition days can raise topics they was to publicise and expose govt failings
-e.g 17 out of the 20 opposition days are granted to opposition (2024 labour raised knife crime and ministerial service reform)
- despite the fact debates lead to votes on a motion = not legally binding they can impact policy e.g 2009 allowed Thurman’s to settle when 27 opposition rebelled.

Question 2

What are the 3 parts of parliament

Answer 2

• House of Commons
• House of lords
• Monarch

Question 3

What is the process of passing a bill

Answer 3

Green paper - white paper - bill - monarch

Question 4

The structure/role of HOC

Answer 4

• the lower house usually elected in a general election and tends to be the dominant chamber
  -upper house may be elected or indirectly elected or hybrid of both
• bicameralism is beneficial, the upper house provides checks and balances - provides for greater scrutiny and revision of legislation
• problems may be institutional gridlock and an indirectly elected upper house may frustrate a democratically elected lower house

Question 5

2 most important elements of parliamentary privilege are:

Answer 5

• freedom of speech - members of both houses are free to raise any issue in parliament
• exclusive cognisance - the right of each house to regulate its own internal affairs without interference

Question 6

The speaker

Answer 6

• presides over debates in the chamber
• may temporarily suspend mps who break parliamentary rules
• no bias allowed
• can only vote if their is a dead vote

Question 7

Party whips

Answer 7

• the party system in hoc is traditionally strong
• parties appoints a number of MPs to act as whips
• ensuring MPs attend parliamentary divisions and approving absence of mp when their vote isn’t required
• issuing instructions on how mps should vote
• enforcing discipline within the parliamentary party
• whips seek to persuade wavering MPs to vote with their party by providing assurances, making offers and issuing threats

Question 8

What was the House of Lords act 1999 do

Answer 8

Ended the right of all but 92 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the lords

Question 9

How was the HOL made up after the 1999 act

Answer 9

Significantly less hereditary peers 759-92. More Lib Dem peers (greater party representation) also fewer peers 1366-778

Question 10

How is the speaker chosen

Answer 10

They are elected but need the support of 12 MPs and 3 must be from different parties of their own

Question 11

Positions in the HOC

Answer 11

The right of the speaker is the governing party and the left is the opposition
Prime ministers sit on the front bench with government ministers
On the left the official opposition = front benchers all other opposition = bank benches

Question 12

The official opposition

Answer 12

It is the largest opposition party
The leader of the opposition is given a special salary
They appoint their own front bench team called the shadow cabinet

Question 13

What is the role of party whips

Answer 13

Responsible for enforcing discipline
They feedback views from the back bench MPs so front party members are aware of concerns
Carrots and sticks stand for offers and threats e.g. persuade MPs of governments view or tempt them with future promotion in return for loyalty or can threaten with loss of promotion or expel them from party

Question 14

What is the 1922 committee - pcp

Answer 14

Meets weekly to discuss forthcoming business the front bench conservatives MPs attend whereas with labours PLP they do not have an exclusive backbench committee so all meet weekly
- they are conservative back benchers

Question 15

Why do political parties have less influence in the lords than the commons - what are cross benchers

Answer 15

Cross benchers do not take collective positions on issues and don’t need whips but they elect a convenor to represent the group and keep people informed with parliament business

Question 16

Comparative powers of the HOL and hoc

Answer 16

Hoc is the more dominant chamber its exclusive powers are:
Right to insist on legislation (conflict over legislation hoc will win)
Financial privilege - lords can not delay or amend money bills
Power to dismiss executive (govt must resign in a vote/motion of no confidence)

Question 17

4 times the HOL have blocked a bill

Answer 17

War crimes act 1991
European parliamentary elections act 1999
Sexual offences amendment 2000
Hunting act 2004

Question 18

The Salisbury convention

Answer 18

States that the HOL should not vote against a bill that seeks to enact a manifesto commitment of the governing party
- the convention has come under strain - 2006 peers voted against identity cards despite being in labours 2005 manifesto however they claimed that labour did not win sufficient support to claim democratic mandate

Question 19

Legislative process

Answer 19

A bill is a draft legislative proposal that is debated on in parliament
When a bill completes the legislative process it’s known as an act of parliament
Most significant bills are public bills these concern general issues of public policy
Government generally introduce 25-35 public bills each session
The legislative programme is set out in the kings speech in the beginning of the session - for minority governments the votes at the end of the session may determine chances of survival
- green paper (setting out options for legislation)
- white paper (explaining the objectives of government policy)

Question 20

How can private member bills arise

Answer 20

Ballot = 20 MPs names are drawn in a ballot
The ballots are allocated times for 13 Fridays are the session - some are subject to filibustering

Ten minute rule bill = MPs have 10 mins to introduce a bill or talk about an aspect of existing legislation - few new bills get beyond this first hurdle so many mps use this to draw attention to a particular issue

Presentation = an mp presents a bill on the floor of the house by introducing the name of the bill - there is no debate

Question 21

Example of successful private member bills

Answer 21

Abolition of death penalty act -1965
Abortion act - 1967
These both had govt support

Question 22

Secondary legislation

Answer 22

Acts of parliament are primary
The authority to issue secondary legislation in specific policy areas is delegated by parliament to govt ministers

Question 23

Parliamentary stages

Answer 23

Preparatory stage
First reading
Second reading
Committee stage
Report stage
Third reading
The ‘other’ place - considering amendments
Royal assent

Question 24

What is the preparatory stage

Answer 24

Green and white paper

Question 25

First reading

Answer 25

Bill introduced by formal reading of the title and usually setting date for second reading

Question 26

Second reading

Answer 26

First substantive stage
Full debate that considers principles of bill
First stage where it can be defeated - really rare

Question 27

Committee stage

Answer 27

Details of bill considered line by line
Carried out by public bill committee (standing committee) consists of 18mps but may be considered by a committee of the whole house
Most amendments made here

Public bill committee - set up by hoc of consider details of bill

Question 28

Report stage

Answer 28

Committee report back to full hoc on any changes made
Hoc may amend or reverse changes at report stage

Question 29

Third reading

Answer 29

Replicates second reading
No amendments made
Very unusual to be defeated here

Question 30

The ‘other place’

Answer 30

major bills considered first by hoc but some may start in HOL
When passed in one chamber it then goes through the same process in the 2nd chamber then royal assent - ‘ping pong’
E.g terrorism act 2005 - 5 times by lords and 4 times by commons
With no compromise the hoc can use the parliament act to have the final say eg hunting act 2004

Question 31

What is the function of select committee

Answer 31

To scrutinise the government and various departments

Question 32

How are select committees made up

Answer 32

They have 11 members - represent party balance in hoc

Question 33

Evaluate select committees - 25 marks

Answer 33

Strengths:
Scrutinise policies and actions of govt - conducting detailed examinations of controversial issues
Election of chairs and members by MPs has enhanced the independence of SC
They question ministers, civil servants and outside experts - can request access to govt papers
Many recommendations made by select committees are accepted by govt.

Weaknesses:
Ministers and civil servants may not provide much info when question and access to documents may be denied
Have to power to propose policy and government may ignore recommendations
Some members do not attend regularly; some may be abrasive when questioning witnesses
Party with majority in hoc will also have majority in SC

Question 34

Role and significance of opposition

Answer 34

Leader of opposition has special privileges including an additional salary, the right to respond first to the pm on major statements, right to ask 6 questions a PMQ’s - also the only mp to respond to the pm with further questions

Question 35

Parliamentary privilege

Answer 35

Mps and peers are immune from slander and contempt of court when debating in parliament - only Westminster

Question 36

3 high drama debates in parliament

Answer 36

• debate on the German invasion of Norway
• 2003 invasion of Iraq
• 2013 bombing of Syria

Question 37

Back bench business committee (bbbc)

Answer 37

This gives MP’s greater opportunity to shape parliamentary agenda - it decides topic for debate on the floor of the commons and in Westminster hall for roughly one day per week

Question 38

Examples of bbbc having large impact

Answer 38

• debate on EU membership
• documents of the Hillsborough disaster

Question 39

Strengths/weakness of bbbc

Answer 39

Strength - gives back bench MPs more say over parliamentary timetable
Weakness - smaller parties are under represented- 7 bbbc members = Tory/labour/SNP

Question 40

Representation in parliament - delegate model

Answer 40

Individuals selected to act on behalf of others on the basis of clear instructions- they should not depart from these instructions in order to follow own judgement
However MPs are not expected to act as delegates and its difficult to work out what everyone wants

Question 41

Representation in parliament - trustee/burkean model

Answer 41

Edward Burke - 1792-97
Mps are responsible for representing the interests of their constituents in parliament
Once elected they’re free to vote based on their own judgement
Strong elitist undercurrent; mps know best

Question 42

Representation in parliament - mandate model

Answer 42

MPs are to represent and carry out party policies and manifesto pledges
It is about the party not the individual- the party got them elected - stay loyal
However limitation - if a policy that’s. Not in the manifesto for obvious reasons e.g war they can’t revert to the delegate/trustee model
E.g. 2003 Iraq invaision

Question 43

Parliament is ineffective in holding the government to account - 25 marks

Answer 43

P1 - minority governments
If the governing part has the majority of seats and ultimately control in the commons
However no party since 1935 has won a majority - the size of a majority is crucial
With a significant majority the hoc is difficult to defeat the govt.
E.g. - Blairs 1997 majority of 178 (this meant 90 labour MPs need to go against him to be defeated)
Govt = ineffective as minority govt will most likely be defeated in commons

P2 - coalition
Coalitions is when two or more parties form the government
They have to reach a formal agreement on proposing legislation
E.g. 2010 coalition with conservatives and Lib Dem’s
Lib Dem manifesto promised to abolish tuition fees but this did not happen as a coalition
Govt = ineffective as its going against its manifesto promise - lacking sovereignty

P3 - backbench mp’s
The strengthening of select committees and backbench business committees have given back bench MPs more opportunity to scrutinise govt
However high failure rate for high members bills suggests they have little impact on legislation
When rebellions occur it can easily be absorbed by a majority
E.g. 1950’s and 60’s the conservative government suffered no defeats in the hoc
Parliament is effective as any backbench committees rarely defeat or block bills by the governing party

Question 44

Despite their weaknesses selectively committees play an increasingly central role in British politics

Answer 44

• the composition of select committees in proportion to the party’s in government which can dilute committee and remove alternate options
  + it can give MPs a job opportunity if they do not wish to be the PM or a member of the HOL - give them a committee with specific interests to them
• cannot force through legislation limited scrutiny as govt don’t have to listen to recommendations
• interference of whips can limit scrutiny

Question 45

PMQ’s

Answer 45

Effective in its scrutiny for opposition - can ask 6 questions
Receives media coverage
Only 30 minutes
Can be seen as theatrical

Question 46

How effective is parliament in scrutinising the executive - for

Answer 46

Advantages

Second and Third Readings of bills provide exhaustive review of legislation.

Committees provide large opportunities for scrutiny of governmental actions as well as draft bills.

Ministerial questions provide an opportunity for flaws to be highlighted and justification of policy to be heard (In some cases, ministers have resigned because of mistakes in office eg. Amber Rudd’s resignation in 2018 over her handling of the windrush scandal)

Prime Minister’s questions on a Wednesday allow MPs to investigate any issues and written questions can develop a line of inquiry.

Debates- initiated by the Government/ Opposition/ Committees allow backbenchers to debate issues.

Select Committees are highly comprehensive, with a committee matching each government department. The committees are representative of the parties sitting in parliament and therefore allow questioning from a number of political opinions- generally seen as the most effective form of scrutiny

The second largest party is designated as the Official Opposition and front bench MPs (shadow cabinet) play a large role in criticising Government policy, it proposes motions and amendments to legislation, receives ‘Short money’ in order to effectively scrutinise government

Question 47

How effective is parliament in scrutinising executive- against

Answer 47

Disadvantages

Discussion in the commons is controlled by whips- defeats are rare. Almost all amendments come from govt itself.

The expertise of MPs is often overruled by government .
The party Whips decide who goes on a Public Bill Committee.

MPs involved in ministerial questioning cannot follow an oral line of questioning, only making a single statement. Ministers often resign as a result of media pressure as opposed to parliamentary pressure. The resources of ministers are extensive in comparison to MPs (they will always appear superior).

Prime minister’s questions has only become significant since televising the commons, often more of a ‘pantomime politics’ with political points and media moments being staged as opposed to legitimate scrutiny.

Debates are often on topics dividing parties and therefore become a set piece for party arguments.
The quality of investigation often depends on how well briefed MPs are and how skilled they are when it comes to questioning witnesses. The government has to reply to recommendations but does not have to implement them.

Select committees also tend to choose immediate problems rather than major future issues (suggesting they are more visual than real scrutiny).
There is a general imbalance between parliament and govt due to number of factors; party loyalty is strong, governments with large majorities can rely on MPs to back them.

Government does not require parliament’s approval under the legal principle of Royal Prerogative. Some areas of legislation so large, parliament does not have time to look at all of them. Imbalance in resources means MPs difficulty in investigation

Opposition will only win majority votes during a minority or weak majority government when opinion has turned against the government. The opposition doesn’t tend to disrupt government business because it accepts that the government won the previous election.

Question 48

Is the cabinet submissive to the PM - agree

Answer 48

• the PM can appoint his or her supporters to the cabinet and dismiss ministers who disagree with with their preferred policy
• the PM has significant control over the cabinet agenda, steering and summarising discussions as they see fit and without having to call a vote
• the PM’s office has expanded and plays a greater role in directing and coordinating policy across govt
• many decisions are taken outside of cabinet, often in bilateral meetings between pm and cabinet minister
• the pm can claim a personal mandate from the public and their party

Question 49

Is the cabinet submissive to the pm - disagree

Answer 49

• there are practical limits of the pm’s patronage powers: potential rivals may have strong claims for inclusion in the cabinet
• senior ministers who are popular with the public or their party may gain additional influence
• senior ministers can frustrate the pms policy preferences by working together to oppose them or by treating to resign
• sinister with concerns about decisions that affect their department can refer issues to the cabinet as a final court of appeal
  -govt. departments provide ministers with expertise and support

Question 50

Collective ministerial responsibility - CMR

Answer 50

MPs have an obligation to follow the party line as stated in the cabinet manual, all members of govt are bound by the convention of collective responsibility, except where it is explicitly set aside - some examples would be
- EU referendums
- Pallas to build 3rd runway at Heathrow
- AV ref 2011
Nevertheless ministers do break the convention e.g during his time in office as foreign secretary Johnson reported in the press his views that undermined govt policy

Question 51

examples of CMR resignations

Answer 51

• Iain Duncan smith = 2016 - work and pensions minister but resigned over opposing cuts to disability benefits in budget
• robin cook = 2003 - leader of HOC but resigned over opposed invasion of Iraq

Question 52

Individual ministerial responsibility- IMR

Answer 52

Should an mp be found guilty of personal misconduct, they are expected to resign - there are 7 qualities
1- selflessness
2- integrity
3- objectivity
4- accountability
5- openness
6- honesty
7- leadership
Should follow all of these in order to be successful

Question 53

IMR case study resignations

Answer 53

1954 - sir Thomas dugdale = minister of agriculture (bought land to use as a bombing range before ww2 and promise to sell back to the opener but went against this and let it out to another tenant)

David blunkett - 2004 home secretary ( resigned after emergence of requesting officials to fast trail a visa application for a nanny employed by his former lover) - layer featured in a phone hacking trial

Question 54

Is the role of the pm becoming more presidential - 6 limits on power of pm

Answer 54

1- political circumstances
- Blair’s 160+ seat majority meant he could ignore opposing factions
- Blair easily emboldened by Scottish and Welsh devolution refs in 1997 whereas Cameron was the opposite

2- primus inter pares
- means first among equals because of the nature of cabinet govt there will always be figures who are not natural allies to the pm
- examples of have action/behaviour of senior colleagues can limit their power:
- Geoffrey Howe, resignation led to thatchers departure

3- party
- need to keep back benchers happy is important
- resentment in the bb led to Anthony meyers leadership challenge in 1989 revealing how badly thatcher was thought of
- sustained bb criticism undermind brown in 2010 GE

4- parliment
-legislative defeats can undermind pm
- e.g Cameron losing on eu spending in October 2012 prompted a change of policy over Europe

5- people
- opinion polls, by elections, local elections
- EU referendum, mays 2017 GE

6- personal qualities
-john major struggled top convince tories and the public of his own leadership qualities, this led to the 1995 leadership challenge. The sun backed his opponent john redwood with a headline ‘redwood vs deadwood’

Question 55

Strain on collective responsibility

Answer 55

1- leaks - disgruntled ministers and their advisors may leak info on cabinet discussions to the media they may want dissatisfaction about the policy or conduct of the government air, but do not want to go public with their criticisms - books reveal this ‘balls and clegg’

2- dissent and non resignation- ‘wets’ (one nation tories) in thatchers first cabinet scarcely concealed their opposition to their economic policy - none resigned but were dismissed when her majority grew. Lib Dem’s were openly critical of some coalition policies but only Norman baker - junior minister resigned

3- pm dominance - some cabinet ministers in Blair’s and thatchers time claim their undermined collective responsibility by ignoring the cabinet. For Blair, Clare short and mo mowlam claimed to not be consulted enough

Question 56

Arguments for the pm becoming more presidential (unsure)

Answer 56

+ leadership in the executive has been personalised with the PM expected to impose his or her personality and agenda
( Cameron and Blair both moved their parties towards the centre of the political spectrum)

+ PMs increasingly rely on close circle of senior ministers and advisors
( may relied heavily on nick Timothy and Fiona hill before the 2017 GE - many argue hill was the architect of the party manifesto)

+ pms appeal to the public directly through the media and claim a personal Mandate from electorate
(Blair focused heavily on media communication tools e.g ‘samcam’)

+ pms have additional authority as party leaders, where they are elected by mps and members, and exercise personalised leadership
( leaders can set political agenda for their party - they can push this through with their mandate)

+ pms have created a strategic space between themselves and their govt distancing themselves from other actors in the executive
( under Cameron, Andy could on and Steve hill have mattered more to the PM than most of the cabinet - these tactics afford the pm more power)

Question 57

Arguments against the pm becoming more presidential

Answer 57

• the pm leads but cannot command the executive, partially in coalition and directs rather than controls agenda
  ( Cameron accused of running the cons party in a very presidential manner - but within the matrix of the con-lib coalition he could not enjoy that luxury as he needed agreement from lindems
• senior ministers have resources of their own , including support from govt departments
  ( cabinet ‘big beasts’ often have to be consulted when making major decisions)
• the pm needs the support of ministers and officials to achieve his or her objectives
  ( may had been unable to make any significant progress on her agenda because of her lack of majority)
• the pm’s position is strong only if he or she enjoy political success and popular approval and makes effective use of his or her own personal responsibilities
  ( brown lost popularity due to the economic crash because he had been chancellor for the previous 10 years)
• support from the party is not unconditional and unpopular leaders face concerted efforts to remove them
  ( Blair’s popularity and majorities fell after the invasion of Iraq)

Question 58

The uk cabinet remains an important part of the executive - 25 marks

Answer 58

For:

+ collective responsibility
( needs the cabinet to speak as one voice - provides strength and unity to govt e.g. eu referendum - boris and gouge undermind pms remain position and key to its failiure or 23-24 Sunak rewards bill has seen opposition from his own party - lee Anderson undermines sunaks authority

+ policy making
( can be shaped and brought to cabinet as authoritative proposals - cabinet would be reluctant to reject e.g. important during coalition - there’s a need to forge a consensus but their was a quad which decided on all matters of policy (inner cabinet))

+ power over PM
( even though the pm is first among equals the cabinet has the ability to overrule them e.g
Boris has 57 ministers resign on him so he resigned - weak majority means cabinet has lots of power over pm

Against

• collective responsibility
  ( sometimes cabinet is ignored e.g Blair and brown choosing not to join the euro currency before cabinet)
• policy making
  ( however pms have an increasingly marginalised cabinet - agreeing on policy outside of cabinet with external bodies e.g SPADS e.g nick Timothy and finished hill helping may with 2017 manifesto - these people don’t have same restraints as cabinet ministers)
• power over pm
  ( however cabinet is at the mercy of the pm they can be sacked or reshuffled e.g cabinet cannot sign treaties so Blair sidelined cabinet over the Iraq war)

Question 59

How is policy made

Answer 59

• fulfilling manifesto pledge e.g extending free child care 2017
• personal convictions of pm e.g privatisation and sales of council houses
• outcome of a referendum e.g brexit
• result of deals with minority/coalition e.g 2011 AV ref
• response to national crisis/emergancy e.g.covid lockdown
• mounting pressure from public e.g climate change policies
• changing cultural and social attitudes e.g decriminalisation of homosexuality

Question 60

Examples of more presidential

Answer 60

• growing use of spads instead of civil servants
• recent pms thatcher and Blair are accused of by passing cabinet and pursuing own interests
• rise of social media - personality over expertise
• pms have ore media appearances such as morning tv to speak directly to public

Question 61

Examples of less presidential

Answer 61

• no formal changes available to pm sunak has the same prerogative powers as early pms
• likes of thatcher and Blair need to be compared to those of limited power ( major, Cameron and may)

Question 62

Accountability of the executive to parliament

Answer 62

Yes:
-ministers are subject to regular grillings at pmqs - televised = more impactful
-all members must follow principles and standards (ministerial code)
-select committees where ministers must be honest
- pm must maintain party support - failure will lead to leadership struggles e.g thatcher

No:
- answers and question at pmqs are often style over substance
- principles can be vaugue and often a simple ‘I was unaware of this’ can avoid sacking
- select committees = little power and poor performance
- most of the time party loyalty in guaranteed- rare for bb to attack their executive