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Politics > P2 - UK Parliament > Flashcards

P2 - UK Parliament Flashcards

1
Q

what are the three branches of power

A

the legislature, executive and judiciary

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2
Q

why is the UK unusual

A

the legislature and executive are fused

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3
Q

what is meant by parliamentary sovereignty?

A

there is no higher authority in the UK than parliament

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4
Q

what is the role of the speaker?

A

the chair of the commons or lords who runs its proceedings

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5
Q

who are the whips

A

people responsible for ensuring that backbenchers vote with their party

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6
Q

What are the functions of parliament

A

legislating, debating and representation

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7
Q

what is the legislating function

A

where both houses review the laws of government wish to pass and, after debating and scrutinising them, Parliament is generally expected to pass them

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8
Q

what is the debating function

A

debates are the way in which parliament holds the executive to account

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9
Q

what is an example of emergency debates

A

post the phone-hacking scandal

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10
Q

how many times was the May government defeated between April and June 2018 and what was it over

A

14 times over the EU withdrawal bill

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11
Q

how big was May’s slender ‘working majority’ and what did it mean

A

it was just 13, and it meant that she had to work to ensure that her MPs backed her

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12
Q

What did the 2015 Cameron government suffer its first defeat over

A

the rules surrounding the EU referendum

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13
Q

what per cent of MPs rebelled during the 2010-15 coalition

A

they rebelled in 35% of votes

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14
Q

who was defeated in 2005 by backbenchers and what was it over

A

Tony Blair over his plans to extend the detention of terrorist suspects to 90 days

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15
Q

however, how is legislating limited by powerful majorities

A

they are rarely defeated. Blair did not lose a vote in the Commons from 1997 to 2005

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16
Q

how many times was the colation defeated in the commons over legislation

A

twice

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17
Q

what is the drawback of backbenchers

A

they vote with their party because their career prospects

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18
Q

why do MPs have more control over the parliamentary agenda

A

use of the Backbench Business Committee due to the implementation of the Wright recommendations

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19
Q

what were some important backbencher led debates over

A

the wars in Syria and Iraq, as well as the London Riots of 2011

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20
Q

who does the PM rely on to instigate military action

A

parliament

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21
Q

what is an example of a PM being reliant on parliament to instigate military action

A

in 2013, Cameron wanted to order military action in Syria. Instead of giving the order, Parliament was given a chance to debate it, being defeated 285 - 272

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22
Q

what happened in 2015 over the issue of Syria

A

parliament debated over the issue of airstrikes in Syria. MPs voted to approve airstrikes after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons.

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23
Q

what are the drawbacks of debating in parliament

A

there is limited time for genuine debate and the whips control and curtail the independence of MPs

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24
Q

how is parliament democratically representative

A

each MP in the commons represents an area in the UK

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25
Q

what is the issue with FPTP

A

it distorts the representation of parties, so MPs are often elected by less than half their constituents

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26
Q

what is the issue with the House of Lords

A

it is unelected and is unrepresentative

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27
Q

why does parliament appear to be unrepresentative

A

white, middle-class men dominate Parliament, with 442 out of 650 MPs being men.

28
Q

how many MPs came from an ethnic minority in 2017

A

52 MPs

29
Q

what are the three ways in which an MP can represent

A

the Burkean idea of representation, the delegate model, the doctrine of the mandate

30
Q

what is the Burkean idea of representation

A

MPs decide what they think is best for constituents and they trust them to do so

31
Q

what is the delegate model

A

MPs are essentially the ‘mouthpiece’ of their constituents

32
Q

what is the doctrine of the mandate

A

MPs represent their party, which was elected with a mandate to carry out their mandate

33
Q

what is the issue with elections in terms of representation

A

they are focused on parties, not candidates. Voters rarely notice the name of the candidates, voting for the party they prefer

34
Q

What did the coalition force MPs to do

A

support policies that their constituents may have voted against

35
Q

why did many Lib Dems end their membership of the party

A

after it supported rises in tuition fees

36
Q

how does social media influence MPs

A

it pressures MPs to respond to their constituents, making the relationship more direct.

37
Q

what did MP - social media occur over

A

gay marriage legislation in 2013 and airstrikes on Syria in 2016

38
Q

what do free votes allow

A

MPs have the ability to have more ability to listen to the views of constituents

39
Q

What is an example of free votes

A

in 2013, the marriage (same-sex couples) act was passed, despite 136 conservatives voting against and 40 abstaining, perhaps due to personal views or constituency pressure

40
Q

how many MPs in the House of Commons

A

650

41
Q

how many members of the House of Lords in 2018

A

791

42
Q

who are the members of the House of Lords

A

life peers, hereditary peers and lords spiritual

43
Q

what was the social representation of the House of Commons in 2018

A

442 men, 208 women, 522 ethnic minorities

44
Q

what was the social representation of the House of Lords

A

585 men, 206 women, 48 ethnic minorities

45
Q

How long can the House of Lords delay legislation for

A

a year

46
Q

what is the Salisbury convention

A

the lords won’t vote against manifesto pledges. However, under the coalition, the Colaition Agreement (2010) was not a manifesto, so the Lords was more obstructive

47
Q

What do the Lords have no jurisdiction over

A

financial matters

48
Q

what was removed from the Lords in 1999

A

most of the hereditary peers

49
Q

Why is the Lords more independent

A

party discipline is weaker

50
Q

how many times did the Lords defeat the EU withdrawal bill

A

14 times in 2018

51
Q

how many times did the Lords defeat the European Union Bill (Article 50)

A

twice in 2017

52
Q

what did the Lords defeat in 2016

A

the dubs agreement on child refugees

53
Q

what did the Lords defeat in 2012

A

they voted against a £26,000 benefit cap

54
Q

How many times did Lords defeat the coalition

A

48 times between 2010 and 2012, whilst the Commons did not defeat the executive on any proposed legislation

55
Q

What do the Lords spend most of their time doing

A

scrutinising legislation

56
Q

What did the Lords vote against between 2010 and 2015 showing scrutiny

A

reforms to constituency boundaries, the NHS, the House of Lords, the Alternative Reform referendum and caps on welfare payments

57
Q

which pieces of controversial legislation have been effectively dealt with in the Lords

A

tax credits, NHS reform, welfare reform
2012 - welfare reform act
2013 - plans to cut legal aid

58
Q

how does experience help the Lords’ scrutiny

A

Lords are appointed off of expertise. For example, Lord Walton, the former president of the BMA and Lord Hogan-Howe, the ex-police chief

59
Q

when were the two parliament acts

A

1911 and 1949

60
Q

what did the Lords force a delay over in 2004

A

the fox hunting act 2004

61
Q

how many times does a Lord amendment have to be rejected to become ineffective

A

three times

62
Q

what is an example of Lords amendments being rejected

A

in 2012, the Lords returned the welfare reform act to the Commons with seven amendments; all the amendments were defeated

63
Q

when did the Salisbury convention emerge

A

during the 1945-51 government

64
Q

why can the Lords be seen as illegitimate

A

they are unelected, so lack a mandate

65
Q

What is an example of select committees scrutinising government

A

the health committee brought about changes to the coalition’s Health and Social care bill; Margaret Hodge, while chairing the Public Accounts Committee, called Starbucks to account for the amount of tax they pay

66
Q

what is it called when bills go back and forth between the two houses for up to a year before it becomes law

A

ping pong

Politics (56 decks)

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