Parliament Flashcards
Give three functions of Parliament.
Functions of Parliament:
- Scrutiny
- Representation
- Legislate
- Legitimacy
- Deliberation
- Recruitment of ministers
Give an example of parliament deliberating.
- Spent over 700 hours debating fox hunting before the Hunting Act 2004.
Give a scrutiny measure used by parliament.
Parliamentary Scrutiny Measures:
- Select committees
- Vote of no confidence - e.g. James Callaghan in1979.
- Other organisations e.g. National Audit Office - highlighted a £2.9 billion shortfall in the Trident nuclear submarine fleet ⚓ in 2018.
- Opposition days e.g. 2015 - Labour chose to discuss NHS spending and EU.
- The opposition
- House of Lords
- PMQs
- E-Petitions - sugar tax 2015
Is Parliament representative?
No, average age of MPs is 50-59 / Only 65 BAME MPs (2019) / 220/650 Female MPs.
Define parliamentary privilege.
MPs cannot be sued for anything they say in parliament.
When did Parliamentary privilege fail?
2009 expenses scandal - 4 MPs jailed.
What did the House of Lords Reform Act 1999 do?
Reduce hereditary peers to 92.
Is the HoL representative?
No, 72% male / 28% female. 150 are over the age of 70.
Which house is superior?
House of Commons.
What did the Parliament Act 1949 do?
Reduced the length of time the HoL can block a bill for to 1 year.
Give an argument in favour of the HoL.
In Favour:
✔ Constitutional safeguard against majoritarian rule - apolitical.
✔ Life peers are experts in their field - meritocracy.
✔ Scrutinise bills - e.g. health bills receive medical expert scrutiny.
Give an argument against the HoL.
Against:
❌ Unrepresentative (age/gender/BAME).
❌ Unaccountable
❌ ‘Loans for peerages’ scandal 2006 - PM can appoint anyone regardless of merit.
❌ Oligarchy - 92 hereditaries still remain.
Give a strength of select committees.
Strengths:
✔ Elected by the whole house - opposition can be chairs - e.g. Yvette Cooper - Home Affairs committee.
✔ On average 40% of proposals are acknowledged by the gov. (Constitution Unit).
✔ Draw attention to issues - e.g. Work and Pensions Committee published report on the collapse of BHS in 2016 - owners of company were reported to the Pensions Regulator.
✔ Expert testimony - 2015/16 session HoL committees examined 43 bills line-by-line.
Give a limitation of select committees.
Limitations:
❌ Limited powers of subpoena - Zuckerberg refused to appear before committee - gave evidence to US committee in same year.
❌ Often ignored - The Brown gov. made cannabis a class B drug regardless of expert testimony.
❌ Make up of commons is replicated - biased decisions. e.g. education committee 7/4 split con/lab.
Give three types of Parliamentary committees.
Parliamentary committees:
- Select committees
- Domestic committees.
- House of Lords Committees.
- Departmental select committees
Give an example of a domestic committee.
- Liaison committee - hears evidence from PM regarding public policy - 2016 questioned T. May regarding parliament’s role in Brexit negotiations.
Give an example of a House of Lords committee.
- Scrutinise bills and gov. activity.
- 2015/16 session scrutinised 43 bills line-by-line.
Give an example of a select committee.
Home affairs committee - chaired by Yvette Cooper - ‘standoff’ with immigration secretary Caroline Nokes regarding immigration figures.
Damaging to Nokes’ career - now chair of the Women and Equality Committee & MP for Romsey (extremely safe seat).
Give three theories of parliamentary representation.
- Burkean trustee model.
- Delegate model
- Mandate theory.
Give an example of the delegate model.
- Zac Goldsmith stepped down as CON MP for Richmond in 2016.
- Stood as an independent in the next by-election but was defeated.
- Voters may not respect adherence to MPs to the delegate model.
Define the mandate theory.
- MPs are elected to carry out their manifesto promises.
- Voted for an MP are primarily party allegiance rather than personality.
What is the trustee model?
Voters trust MPs to make the decision with their best interests in mind.
