parliament

Question 1

number of female MPs?

Answer 1

208 (32%)

Question 2

number of BAME MPs?

Answer 2

52 (8%)

Question 3

number of LGBT MPs?

Answer 3

45

Question 4

how representative is parliament geographically?

Answer 4

each constituency has a local MP to represent interest s,

the lords are less representative as they do not represent an area

Question 5

how politically representative is parliament?

Answer 5

not very in the commons e.g in 2015 UKIP won 12.6% of vote which equalled 1 seat

Question 6

What examples have there been of the Lords delaying legislation?

Answer 6

• The Hunting Act 2004, in which Fox hunting was banned.

* Sexual Offences Amendment Act 2001, in which the age of consent for gay men was lowered to 16.

Question 7

What percentage of Select Committee decisions are accepted by Government?

Answer 7

Only 40% of Select Committee decisions are actually accepted by Governmment.

Question 8

What successes have the Public Accounts Committee had in holding the government to account?

Answer 8

2010- found BBC was poor value for money and had lack of accountability, recommended govt found ways of improving this
2020: Launched enquiry into the allocation of money from the Towns Fund, aiming to boost prosperity in failing towns. Had been alleged that some of this allocation was politically motivated.

Question 9

What successes have Departmental Select Committees had in holding the government to account?

Answer 9

2020 - Home Affairs Select Committee scrutinised provision of army barracks for asylum seeker housing during pandemic.

Question 10

What successes have the Backbench Business Committee had in holding government to account?

Answer 10

• 2011- response to an e-petition to publicise all documents relating to Hillsborough disaster, related in new inquest
• Recently held debates over the Human Rights situation against Muslim minorities in China, which led to government sanctions, as well as on the online abuse of elected Female Representatives such as MPs.

Question 11

how are the actions of the lords restricted?

Answer 11

Parliament Acts, which allowed lords to only delay a bill for 1 year
Salisbury convention, lords cannot block nay legislation stated in govt manifesto

Question 12

How many government defeats by the Lords happened between 2019 and 2020?

Answer 12

Between 2019 and 2020, the Government was defeated 53 times by the Lords.

Question 13

What is confidence and supply? When did this happen before?

Answer 13

Confidence and Supply is an informal type of coalition, where a party agrees to support a minority government on a vote by vote basis based on deals made.
This happened in 2017, when Theresa May’s minority government was supported by the DUP in order to legislate.

Question 14

How many hereditary peers are there left?

Answer 14

92

Question 15

why is the lords undemocratic?

Answer 15

they are unelected and play a role in drafting legislation making them less accountable

Question 16

What criticisms are there of PMQs?

Answer 16

PMQs is often seen as a media event only, with the atmosphere giving more information about the personality of the PM or the Leader of the Opposition rather than informing about government/opposition policy. Can also be scripted and pre-planned in terms of questions.

Question 17

How can ministerial questioning be seen as more effective than PMQs?

Answer 17

Ministerial questioning can be seen as more effective as questions can be submitted prior to the session, meaning detailed answers can be given to questions and better answers given about government policy. Also, reduced media focus increases quality of the debate.

Question 18

What failures are there of MPs fulfilling their roles?

Answer 18

MPs often tend to vote on Party Lines and rarely defy whips, struggle to create legislation if on the backbenches, MPs frequently neglect attending debates, some neglect the views of their constituents.

Question 19

what is a private member’s bill?

Answer 19

Private Members’ Bills are bills proposed by MPs and Peers which are chosen by ballot (about 7 a year). They have little chance of passing without government support. An example is the Abortion Act 1967, passed by David Steel, a liberal.

Question 20

What are Public Bills?

Answer 20

Public Bills are bills put forward by the government, preceded by a White Paper. This includes the Internal Market Bill and the EU Notification of Withdrawal Bill.

Question 21

What are Private Bills and how do they pass?

Answer 21

Private Bills are Bills proposed by private interests which require government approval for change to be made. These are considered by committees rather than Parliament as a whole, and can involve the building of new roads, railways or changing land use.

Question 22

What example is there of a current Public Bill?

Answer 22

The Nationality and Borders Bill gives the power to the government to withdraw British citizenship from dual nationals, as well as making unofficial immigration a criminal offence.

Question 23

What example is there of a current Private Members’ Bill?

Answer 23

The Electorate Candidates (Age) Bill, which aims to allow any person who is 18 or older on the day of an election to stand as a candidate. Came before the House in February 2020.

Question 24

What processes must a Bill go through in order to become an Act of Parliament?

Answer 24

A Bill must pass through a First Reading, Second Reading, Committee Stage, Report Stage, Third Reading and Royal Assent.

Question 25

How have the powers of Backbenchers been limited?

Answer 25

The powers of Backbenchers have been limited due to the increased power of party whips, securing loyalty at votes. This has reduced Backbench rebellions. Furthermore, fear of having the whip removed has done this. Public Bill Committees are also whipped

Question 26

How has the importance of Select Committees been limited?

Answer 26

Many members of Committees are drawn from the governing party meaning they have a reduced incentive for scrutiny. They cover a small range of topics and avoid long term investigations. Members also don’t regularly attend.

Question 27

How are Opposition Parties able to control the debate in the Commons?

Answer 27

Opposition Parties are granted 20 days of debate in the Commons every year, with 17 of these days at the disposal of the Official Opposition.

Question 28

Why are Opposition Debates limited in their effectiveness and scrutiny of governments?

Answer 28

Opposition Debates have little significance as any votes are symbolic, with no legally binding status on Government. They do not lead to legislative change.

Question 29

What is the role of the Liason Committee?

Answer 29

The Liason Committee is where the heads of all 19 DSCs form a committee, which has the opportunity twice a year to scrutinise the actions of the Prime Minister and of the government.

Question 30

What success was there of the Liason Committee regarding Syria?

Answer 30

The Liason Committee was able to heavily scrutinise the government in 2016 over their use of drone strikes in Syria.

Question 31

When did the largest defeat of a sitting government take place?

Answer 31

The largest defeat of a sitting government took place in January 2019, with a defeat of 230 votes for the May Government over her Brexit deal.

Question 32

what did parliament refuse David Cameron in 2013?

Answer 32

they refused military intervention in Syria, showed blow to authority