Parliament

Question 1

How many members are in the House of Commons

Answer 1

650

Question 2

How many peers are in the House of Lords

Answer 2

Around 800

Question 3

What is hereditary peers

Answer 3

Peers which inherit the title from their father and in most cases the title is handed down to the son, occasionally a female gets the title.

Question 4

How many hereditary peers are allowed to sit in the House of Lords?

Answer 4

92. There are thousands of hereditary peers around the UK like Viscounts and Earls however only a few are allowed to sit in the House of Lords.

Question 5

What are crossbench MPs

Answer 5

Peers (both life and hereditary) which don’t affiliate with any party and are fully independent

Question 6

What are front bench MPs

Answer 6

Government ministers, senior and junior, plus leading spokespersons from opposition parties (about 150)

Question 7

How many Back bench MPs are there?

Answer 7

Around 500

Question 8

What are party whips?

Answer 8

These are Senior MPs which seek to get back benchers from their party to vote the way their party leadership wants them to

Question 9

What are life peers?

Answer 9

These are people which have been elected to be a peer for life by party leaders and an appointments commission. They are a mixture of politicians and experts in various fields, however their title cannot be passed onto their children

Question 10

What is the role of the lord speaker

Answer 10

Has control over debates in the house of lords and maintains discipline

Question 11

Who else apart from hereditary and life peers are able to be members in the House of Lords?

Answer 11

Archbishops and bishops of the Church of England. There are 26 of them

Question 12

What is the role of the speaker in the House of Commons?

Answer 12

The speaker has control over disputes in the commons and takes decisions on parliamentary procedure

Question 13

What are select committees and how are they elected?

Answer 13

They are permanent committees of back bench MPs which’s main role is to scrutinise the work of the government. They are elected by all MPs

Question 14

What are the key stages in a legislative bill?

Answer 14

. First reading
. Second reading
. Committee stage 
. Report stage
. Third reading
. Passage to the other place (house of lords)
. Royal assent

Question 15

What is the first reading?

Answer 15

MPs are informed about the bill or proposed legislation

Question 16

What is the second reading?

Answer 16

The main debate on the bill is held, which is followed by a vote

Question 17

What is the committee stage?

Answer 17

The commons votes in favour of the bill at the second reading, a public bill committee is formed to consider it line by line. This committee may propose amendments

Question 18

What is the report stage?

Answer 18

The bill is debated again, with all passed amendments included

Question 19

What is the third reading?

Answer 19

There is a final debate and a last opportunity to block the legislation.

Question 20

What is the Passage ‘to other place’ (House of Lords)?

Answer 20

Generally bills are presented to the House of Commons first and then passed to the House of Lords (however they can start the other way round)

Question 21

What is Royal Assent?

Answer 21

The monarch signs the bill into the law, which signifies the formal passage of the bill into the law. It is now an act of Parliament

Question 22

What is a legislative bill?

Answer 22

A proposal presented to Parliament for legislation. Once passed in parliament, a bill becomes an act of parliament.

Question 23

What are the different types of legislation?

Answer 23

. Public bills
. Primary legislation 
. Secondary legislation 
. Private members bill 
. Private bils

Question 24

What are public bills?

Answer 24

Bills presented by the government, expected to pass successfully into law.

Question 25

What are Primary legislations?

Answer 25

Major pieces of legislation either changing the law or granting powers to subsidiary bodies and individuals to make secondary legislation

Question 26

What is secondary legislation (delegated legislation)?

Answer 26

Minor legislations made by ministers or other bodies on their own which are normally not debated in parliament but parliament can veto a legislation.

Question 27

What are private members bills?

Answer 27

Backbench MPs enter a ballot allowing 5 of them to present their own proposed piece of legislation, however they rarely become law unless there is government support.

Question 28

What are private bills?

Answer 28

These are bills presented by individuals or organisations outside the government. They apply to parliament for permission for certain actions which are currently not allowed (construction…)

Question 29

What do MPs represent?

Answer 29

A constituency

Question 30

What is parliamentary privilege?

Answer 30

MPs are free from outside interference and cannot be sued for saying anything in the House of Commons

Question 31

What are backbench MPs?

Answer 31

MPs who are not members of government or leadership of their party.

Question 32

How long are lords appointed for:

Answer 32

They can be a lord their whole life and they cannot be kicked out

Question 33

What house does primary legislation come from?

Answer 33

House of Commons

Question 34

Example of the media affecting parliament?

Answer 34

The animal sentience provision in the EU withdrawal bill

Question 35

What are the legislative stages of the house of common’s and House of Lords:

Answer 35

. First reading
. Second reading
. Committee stage
. Report stage
. Third reading
. The House of Lords
. The role of the queen