PARL: The Ways in Which Parliament Interacts with the Executive Flashcards
what is the role of select committees
They scrutinise government policy, shadowing the work of major government departments. They do this by carrying out inquiries, writing reports, carrying out question and answer sessions (through which they can call witnesses, including government ministers), and ask to see government papers. Reports are all made to make recommendations to the government to change things for the better
it is made up of backbenchers
what is the Public Accounts committee
The Public Accounts Committee examines the value for money of Government projects
- Drawing on the work of the National Audit Office the Committee holds government officials to account for the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending.
VERY POWERFUL, ESSENTIAL
what is a weakness of select committees x3
1 - they don’t have the power to enforce decisions or recommendations…they can only bring publicity to an issue to call the gov to account - this is done by hearings which are televised
2 - The government has a majority on the committees, reflecting their Commons majority, so can dominate them (although the chairs of select committees are elected by Parliament as a whole)
3 - Whips control individual appointments to the committees, meaning loyal MPs can be placed on them
what is a strength of select committees
- MPS tend to think more independently, not along party lines which means they don’t have to be loyal
- they are very thorough, therefore questioning of ministers can be very intense and prolonged because they aren’t on the house floor: they don’t accept weak answers
- the government MUST respond to every select committee report which brings further attention to the problem
example of when the the media, culture and sports select committee took action
RUPERT MURDOCH
The News International phone hacking scandal and police bribery scandal:
Called the LEVERSON INQUIRY
News of the World had snooped on the voicemails of a mobile phone belonging to Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old schoolgirl whose abduction and murder became front-page news in 2002.
Murdoch was called as a witness in which he said he didn’t know it was going on
do backbenchers play an important role in the HoC
YES X 3
1 - They can dismiss the executive by a vote of no confidence eg Callaghan losing by 1 vote, Theresa May surviving one
2 - work in select committees which scrutinises gov departments
3 - making visits to constituents to avoid becomming disconnected
do backbenchers play an important role in the HoC
NO X 2
1 - the gov can ignore select committees advice
2 - vote of no confidence can only be called in exceptional circumstances when the gov is c
vulnerable to defeat eg May had very small majority snd wasn’t getting a brexit deal through so corbyn saw no other option
3 - private members bills are unlikely to be successful eg in 2014-15 only 6% of PMBills were passed
Example of a Prime minister breaking parliamentary privilege
-Boris Johnson lying about party gate and trying to mislead parliament
-Sue Grey report!!!
-He initially denied knowing anything about the parties
-He said he followed the rules at his party at “all times” until photos emerged showing they definitely weren’t 2m apart
-A video of an MP joking about there ‘definitely not being a Christmas party’ came t light
-he was fined for two of the parties
Example of the Public Accounts Committe in action
- inquiry into covid 19 spending which will question senior officials at the HM treasury on the unprecedented levels of public spending
whats the recall of the MPs act 2015
introduced by nick clegg
- a recall petition to be triggered if a Member is sentenced to a prison term or is suspended from the House for at least 21 sitting days.
- A petition would then be open for signing for eight weeks. If at the end of that period at least 10 per cent of eligible electors had signed the petition, the seat would be declared vacant and a by-election would follow. The Member who was recalled could stand in the by-election.
what are early day motions
they are formal requests for a debate and for a show of support from fellow MPs for a particular issue. Many are proposed but few are ever debated
It is mostly used to attract media attention
what are PMQs
(Prime Minister’s Questions)- this takes place every Wednesday from 12-12.30pm
what are strengths of PMQs x 2
- forces the PM to answer questions from the HOC on topical issues… this highlights their understanding of current affairs… this can be a good indicator on what they deem important to them and how much they have looked into an issue
- gives the opposition leader opportunity to ask six questions which allows for a more developed examination of gov policy… this allows for a gov to be held accountable which satisfies the opposition public… they feel heard and gives the gov an opportunity to explain themselves
EG 2023 PMQs Kier Starmer asking Sunak to “take some responsibility for the crisis of the NHS under his watch” He read out examples of real families of people who have died waiting for an ambulance
what are weaknesses of PMQs x 2
- it is a superficial exercise in point scoring - punch and Judy politics (which David Cameron wished to put an end to but admitted he was just as bad) , with MPs jeering and shouting in a childish way… this can put people off watching it because they feel their representatives aren’t achieving anything to do with policies, just stabbing at each other… it creates more ‘noise than light’ which takes away the spotlight from the issue in the first place… this attracts media attention
EG speaker, John Bercow, saying to Michael Gove, he accused of shouting across the Commons chamber.”Mr Gove, you really are a very over-excitable individual. You need to write out a thousand times: ‘I will behave myself at Prime Minister’s Questions.’”
EG Boris apologising for holding parties during lockdown for ‘not knowing he was at a party’ which keir starmer said was ‘offensive’ because it was such a bad excuse
- PMs are allowed to sidestep a question by giving a very vague answer… its suspicious if a PM doesn’t want to answer which hints at having something to hide… the public therefore have less confidence… its a PMs duty to resolve queries but there aren’t any rules in place to make them do so
what are the main roles of the opposition x3
to force the gov to explain and justify its policies and decisions
to highlight the shortcomings of the way the gov is running the country
to make itself ready to be an alternative gov if the current gov is defeated at the next general election; make themselves appealing
