Parliament

Question 1

How are members of the House of commons gained?

Answer 1

Elected as a constituency representative through a general election

Question 2

MPS????

Answer 2

650 MPS, elected through the first past the post voting system, members of the political parties,
normally conservative or labor
MPS are backbenchers - no role in government
Government prime ministers

Question 3

Office holders?

Answer 3

A person who holds a position of authority within the government

Question 4

Speaker?

Answer 4

A party neutral officer elected by the Commons to lead the debates and ruling on Parliamentary rules, in the middle of the house

Question 5

Leader of the opposition?

Answer 5

Leader of the largest opposition party responsibility for leading scrutiny of and opposition to the Government.

Question 6

Whips

Answer 6

Party members responsible for enforcing discipline, particularly on backbenchers, ensuring that they vote in accordance with their party line

Question 7

Line system

Answer 7

If a reading/voting of a bill is underlined three times, the MP must vote according to the party line.

Question 8

House of Lords

Answer 8

Appointments Commission can also propose life peers
Larger than the Commons- there are around 800 members.

Question 9

THE LORDS ACT 1999

Answer 9

reduced the number of hereditary peers to 92. The vast majority of the Lords is now therefore made up of Life peers, chosen by the prime minister

Question 10

Hereditary peers

Answer 10

Hold their seats until death

Question 11

Life peers`???

Answer 11

showing loyalty to a particular party
had a long political career
Special achievement in their field or profession, or to represent the views and interests of particular groups in society

Question 12

LIFES PEERS
26 Lords Spiritual- these are high-ranking members of the Church of England.

Answer 12

26 Lords Spiritual- these are high-ranking members of the Church of England.

Question 13

Monarchy

Answer 13

Technically part of Parliament, as they are the head of state.
role is to officially appoint a government by choosing a Prime Minister.
Deliver the Queen’s speech, which sets out the governments legislative programme for the coming year.
Monarch reads the speech, it is written by the Prime Minister and their advisors.
Gives Royal Assent to all bills, with is the final stage of a bill becoming a law.

Question 14

Making laws: Parliament fulfils this function because:

Answer 14

Make and unmake any law it want
Parliament is superior to other institutions such as devolved bodies
Unmodified constitution restricting Parliament

Question 15

Making laws:Not be that good at fulfilling this function because:

Answer 15

P thinks that the Government-made bills, rather than private members’ bills, it is government, rather than Parliament, which is legislating.
Government has majority in the Commons, so the passing of their laws is often an obvious conclusion.
The Lords rarely proposed its own legislation and usually just ‘cleans up’ government bills that pass through the Commons

Question 16

Represent the people: Parliament fulfils this function because:

Answer 16

The House of Commons is elected and is superior to the Lords
In theory, each MP acts on behalf of their constituents.

Question 17

Parliament may not be that good at fulfilling this function because:

Answer 17

The House of Lords remains entirely unelected.
he voting system, the make-up of the Commons often does not reflect how the population voted.
Argued that MPs and peers come from a narrow background, so Parliament does not reflect the percentage of females, ethnic minority groups and so on in society

Question 18

Scrutinise the government: Parliament fulfils this function because:

Answer 18

The PM and government ministers must explain their actions
Select committees are used to scrutinise government department policy, and public bill committees examine proposed legislation.
Debates can be held discussing the merits of government actions.
opposition party is given time to challenge the government

Question 19

Parliament may not be that good at fulfilling this function because:

Answer 19

The government usually has a majority of MPs in the Commons, so most MPs tend to be supportive of the government.
The government has a majority on select committees, and these committees have limited powers to change policy

Question 20

Parliament may not be that good at fulfilling this function because:

Answer 20

Ministers only come from the pool of MPs of the largest Commons party, so there are not many people to choose from.
The skills learned in Parliament may be more debating and speaking rather than managing and organising.
Ministers increasingly have no experience of a career outside politics (the ‘Westminster bubble’), so may lack perspective or understanding of the implications of their actions.

Question 21

Promote legitimacy: Parliament fulfils this function because:

Answer 21

Being elected, the Commons has the approval of the people, so its actions are legitimate
Government actions are scrutinised and challenged by Parliament, making those actions better

Question 22

Parliament may not be that good at fulfilling this function because:

Answer 22

The Lords is not elected, so it is not democratically legitimate, yet it still plays a part in creating legislation
A number of scandals (for example, MP’s expenses, ‘cash for questions’) have undermined public faith and trust in Parliament