Parliament Flashcards
Three functions of parliament
- Scrutiny
- Representation
- Legislating
House of commons
650 MPs
Three types of peers in the House of Lords
Hereditary peers
Life peers
Lords spiritual
Hereditary peers
House of lords Act 1999 ended the right for all but 92 if these peers to sit in the house.
These peers are made up of elected peers by ballots, two are aoppointed by royalty.
Life peers
PM has the right to appoint members to the HoL for life, their title and right to sit in the lords cannot be inherited.
695 as of Novemnber 2016
Lords spiritual
Two archbishops and 24 senior bishops of the curch of england
Exclusive powers of the commons
- Right to insist on legislation, in case of conflict over legislation the Lords should ultimately gve way to the commons.
- Financial privilege, lords cannot delay or amend money bills
- The power to dismiss the executive, if a government is defeated on a motion of no confidence it must resign.
The parliament act 1911
The house of lords does not have a veto over legislation approved by the Commons, it can only delay bills passed in the Commons for up to 1 year.
- Because of this the lords is a revising chamber, it can propose amendments, if the Commons refuses to accept these the Lords has the option of delaying the bill by 1 year.
EXAMPLE - Hunting ACT 2004
The Salisbury Convention
States that the house should not vote against a bill that seeks to enact a manifesto commitment of the governing party on second or third readings.
Exclusive powers of the commons - Financial privilage
Conservative-liberal democrat coalition government invoked financial privilege during the final stages of the Welfare Reform Bill in 2012, the Lords were forced to back down.
Exclusive powers of the commons - Power to dismiss the executive
The government may only operate if they have the ‘confidence’ of the commons.
March 1979 the Labour government was defeated on a motion of no confidence, where James Callaghans labour lost by one vote.
Signficance of party balance in the Lords?
- No party has a majority in the Lords, so governments must win cross-party support for their legislation. For example the votes of liberal democrat peers proved to be crucial under labour and conservative governments in recent years.
This results in a increase in effectiveness in checking the power of the executive and forcing changes to legislative proposals.
Signifcance of enhanced legitimacy in the Lords?
The reformed lords has less hereditary peers and inherited peers, more elected by ballot members and members chosen by party leaders with a mandate. More willing to flex its muscles and provide a check on the executive/commons.
A more assertive Lords
Since the removal of most of the hereditary peers in 1999 the Lords have become more effective and more assertive, government defeats in the Lords have become more frequent.
E.G Blocked the Hunting Act 2004 and the Sexual Offences Act 2000
ESSAY E.G
The Blair and Brown labour governments were blocked more than 400 times in the House of Lords.
What is the significance of expertise present in the lords?
The Lords is filled with members who have considerable levels of expertise in other fields, this means they can sctutinise bills effectively on issues surrounding their field
ESSAY E.G
Lord Walton is a former president of the British Medical Accosiation
The Commons holds more power
- Lords can only delay bills, and suggest amendments, which can then be overturned by the Commons. ESSAY E.G in 2017 the Lords attempted to add amendments onto the passing of the Article 50 bill to trigger the exit from the EU which guaranteed EU citizens’ rights for those already living in the UK. This was swiftly overturned by the Commons.
- Commons can actually vote down legislation, unlike the Lords
- Commons has vote of no confidence option, unlike the Lords
- MPs are more independently-minded than in the past, so are less likely to toe the party line- this makes the Commons more assertive against the government
- Commons is democratically legitimate- they have more of a right to challenge government
- Committees and PMQs are used to scrutinise government- the Prime Minister does not appear before the Lords to be challenged.
The Lords holds more power
- Party control is much weaker as Lords don’t need to be re-elected, so the government can’t rely even on their own party peers backing them
- More political balance in the Lords- no one party dominates
- More expertise/specialist knowledge- this means bills are potentially more carefully and effectively scrutinised
- Peers are from a range of backgrounds, so represent different groups and interests in society- this gives them some legitimacy
- Measures in the Commons such as PMQs are ineffective at properly challenging the government
- Government tends to dominate Commons, usually having a majority, meaning bills can be passed fairly easily
The legislative process in the commons
- First reading
- Second reading
- Committee stage
- Report stage
- Third reading
- House of lords
The legislative process in the commons - first reading
The formal presentation of the title of the bill on the floor of the house by a minister from the responsible department, there is no debate or vote at this stage.
The legislative process in the commons - Second reading
The main debate on the bill, the government minister explains and justifies the objectives of the bill, the shadow minister resonds and backbenchers contribute to the debate.
The legislative process in the commons - Committee stage
Bills are sent a public bill comittee, where detailed scrutiny of each clause and amendment takes place. These comittees reflect the party strength of the commons and is dissolved afterwards
The legislative process in the commons - Report stage
Amendments made in the previous stage are considered by the rest of the commons. MPs not on the public comittee may have the oppurtunity to table amendments.
The legislative process in the commons - Third reading
A debate on the amended bill on the floor of the House, no further amendments are permitted.
The legislative process in the commons - House of lords
The bill is sent to the house of lords where these stages are repeated, amendments can be made and the commons have the oppurtunity to agree to them.
A bill may go back and forth between the two houses known as ‘parliamentary ping-pong’
Finally the Bill is sent for royal assent to be signed into law
