Parliament

Question 1

What does Parliament consist of ?

Answer 1

House of Commons and the House of Lords

Question 2

Who must approve a bill to become an Act of Parliament?

Answer 2

HOL and HOC

Question 3

Under what act states that there must be a General Election every 5 years?

Answer 3

under the Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011

Question 4

At the end of 2010, who did the HOL consist of?

Answer 4

• 90 hereditary peers
• c650 life peers
• the most senior bishops in the Church of England

Question 5

How many Peers are there in the HOL?

Answer 5

c800 , c170 women

Question 6

Pre-2009 how many judges sat in the House of Lords?

Answer 6

12 judges

Question 7

Who nominates life peers?

Answer 7

the Prime Minister

Question 8

Who awards titles of life peers?

Answer 8

the Monarch (but in reality the PM, leader of the opposition and the appointments commission)

Question 9

Who were most life peerages given to?

Answer 9

former politicians who retired from the HOC

Question 10

Infamously , who was made a life peer after retirement in 1980’s?

Answer 10

Margaret Thatcher

Question 11

Before 1999, how many members of the HOL were there, how many hereditary ?

Answer 11

1,100 members, 750 of whom who were hereditary peers

Question 12

To decide exactly what reforms should be made, what was set up to consider how many members of the HOL should be selected?

Answer 12

the Royal Commission (known as Wakeham Commission)

Question 13

After the HOL Act 1999, how many peers were left hereditary?

Answer 13

92

Question 14

What did the Wakeham Commission report in 2000 and recommend? (2)

Answer 14

• that one third of the House should be elected
• there should be a limit on the system of political patronage whereby the PM nominates peers
• that an independent HOL Appointments Commission should be able to reject poorly qualified nominees and appoint ‘peoples peers’

Question 15

What did the Wakeham Commission Report 2000 recommend about an Independent HOL Appointments Commission ?

Answer 15

That they should be able to reject poorly qualified nominees and appoint ‘peoples peers’

Question 16

When was the House of Lords Appointments Commission set up?

Answer 16

2001

Question 17

When were the first ‘peoples peers’ appointed to the HOL?

Answer 17

When the HOL Appointments Commission was set up in 2001

Question 18

Who were ‘peoples peers’ supposed to be ?

Answer 18

ordinary people who had been recommended by other ordinary people

Question 19

What was the problem with the ‘peoples peers’?

Answer 19

that the list was mainly of already famous people rather than ‘McJoe Public’

Question 20

What was the HOL 1999 supposed to be ?

Answer 20

supposed to be a temporary solution while the Government consulted on the final makeup of the HOL

Question 21

What does the Government announce at the start of each parliamentary session?

Answer 21

the Government announces what particular law it intends to introduce during that session in the Queen’s Speech

Question 22

Why is European Union law passed in the UK?

Answer 22

In order to bring UK law in line with the European law

Question 23

Give an example of when a specific event has led to formulating the law?

Answer 23

Dunblane massacre in March 1996 16 young children and their teacher killed. Led to an inquiry on gun ownership

Question 24

What was the result of the Dunblane massacre in March 1996 where 16 children and their teacher were killed?

Answer 24

By March 1997 , passed the Firearms (amendment ) Act 1997 banning private ownership of most handguns

Question 25

Give an example of when a terrorist incident led to formulating law?

Answer 25

terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre New York September 2001 , UK Parliament passed the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001

Question 26

What is an example of when pressure groups have led to Governments bowing to public opinion?

Answer 26

the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 giving disabled people certain rights in relation to employment , shops, hotels and other services

Question 27

What did the Hunting Act 2004 ban due to pressure group the ‘League against Cruel Sports’ ?

Answer 27

hunting foxes with dogs

Question 28

What did the pressure group ASH do along with public and medical opinion?

Answer 28

enforced strict laws in 2007 against smoking in public places