P2 - UK Parliament Flashcards
what are the three branches of power
the legislature, executive and judiciary
why is the UK unusual
the legislature and executive are fused
what is meant by parliamentary sovereignty?
there is no higher authority in the UK than parliament
what is the role of the speaker?
the chair of the commons or lords who runs its proceedings
who are the whips
people responsible for ensuring that backbenchers vote with their party
What are the functions of parliament
legislating, debating and representation
what is the legislating function
where both houses review the laws of government wish to pass and, after debating and scrutinising them, Parliament is generally expected to pass them
what is the debating function
debates are the way in which parliament holds the executive to account
what is an example of emergency debates
post the phone-hacking scandal
how many times was the May government defeated between April and June 2018 and what was it over
14 times over the EU withdrawal bill
how big was May’s slender ‘working majority’ and what did it mean
it was just 13, and it meant that she had to work to ensure that her MPs backed her
What did the 2015 Cameron government suffer its first defeat over
the rules surrounding the EU referendum
what per cent of MPs rebelled during the 2010-15 coalition
they rebelled in 35% of votes
who was defeated in 2005 by backbenchers and what was it over
Tony Blair over his plans to extend the detention of terrorist suspects to 90 days
however, how is legislating limited by powerful majorities
they are rarely defeated. Blair did not lose a vote in the Commons from 1997 to 2005
how many times was the colation defeated in the commons over legislation
twice
what is the drawback of backbenchers
they vote with their party because their career prospects
why do MPs have more control over the parliamentary agenda
use of the Backbench Business Committee due to the implementation of the Wright recommendations
what were some important backbencher led debates over
the wars in Syria and Iraq, as well as the London Riots of 2011
who does the PM rely on to instigate military action
parliament
what is an example of a PM being reliant on parliament to instigate military action
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
what happened in 2015 over the issue of Syria
parliament debated over the issue of airstrikes in Syria. MPs voted to approve airstrikes after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons.
what are the drawbacks of debating in parliament
there is limited time for genuine debate and the whips control and curtail the independence of MPs
how is parliament democratically representative
each MP in the commons represents an area in the UK
what is the issue with FPTP
it distorts the representation of parties, so MPs are often elected by less than half their constituents
what is the issue with the House of Lords
it is unelected and is unrepresentative
why does parliament appear to be unrepresentative
white, middle-class men dominate Parliament, with 442 out of 650 MPs being men.
how many MPs came from an ethnic minority in 2017
52 MPs
what are the three ways in which an MP can represent
the Burkean idea of representation, the delegate model, the doctrine of the mandate
what is the Burkean idea of representation
MPs decide what they think is best for constituents and they trust them to do so
what is the delegate model
MPs are essentially the ‘mouthpiece’ of their constituents
what is the doctrine of the mandate
MPs represent their party, which was elected with a mandate to carry out their mandate
what is the issue with elections in terms of representation
they are focused on parties, not candidates. Voters rarely notice the name of the candidates, voting for the party they prefer
What did the coalition force MPs to do
support policies that their constituents may have voted against
why did many Lib Dems end their membership of the party
after it supported rises in tuition fees
how does social media influence MPs
it pressures MPs to respond to their constituents, making the relationship more direct.
what did MP - social media occur over
gay marriage legislation in 2013 and airstrikes on Syria in 2016
what do free votes allow
MPs have the ability to have more ability to listen to the views of constituents
What is an example of free votes
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
how many MPs in the House of Commons
650
how many members of the House of Lords in 2018
791
who are the members of the House of Lords
life peers, hereditary peers and lords spiritual
what was the social representation of the House of Commons in 2018
442 men, 208 women, 522 ethnic minorities
what was the social representation of the House of Lords
585 men, 206 women, 48 ethnic minorities
How long can the House of Lords delay legislation for
a year
what is the Salisbury convention
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
What do the Lords have no jurisdiction over
financial matters
what was removed from the Lords in 1999
most of the hereditary peers
Why is the Lords more independent
party discipline is weaker
how many times did the Lords defeat the EU withdrawal bill
14 times in 2018
how many times did the Lords defeat the European Union Bill (Article 50)
twice in 2017
what did the Lords defeat in 2016
the dubs agreement on child refugees
what did the Lords defeat in 2012
they voted against a £26,000 benefit cap
How many times did Lords defeat the coalition
48 times between 2010 and 2012, whilst the Commons did not defeat the executive on any proposed legislation
What do the Lords spend most of their time doing
scrutinising legislation
What did the Lords vote against between 2010 and 2015 showing scrutiny
reforms to constituency boundaries, the NHS, the House of Lords, the Alternative Reform referendum and caps on welfare payments
which pieces of controversial legislation have been effectively dealt with in the Lords
tax credits, NHS reform, welfare reform
2012 - welfare reform act
2013 - plans to cut legal aid
how does experience help the Lords’ scrutiny
Lords are appointed off of expertise. For example, Lord Walton, the former president of the BMA and Lord Hogan-Howe, the ex-police chief
when were the two parliament acts
1911 and 1949
what did the Lords force a delay over in 2004
the fox hunting act 2004
how many times does a Lord amendment have to be rejected to become ineffective
three times
what is an example of Lords amendments being rejected
in 2012, the Lords returned the welfare reform act to the Commons with seven amendments; all the amendments were defeated
when did the Salisbury convention emerge
during the 1945-51 government
why can the Lords be seen as illegitimate
they are unelected, so lack a mandate
What is an example of select committees scrutinising government
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
what is it called when bills go back and forth between the two houses for up to a year before it becomes law
ping pong
