Parliament Flashcards
The Speaker of the House of Commons
The Speaker is the chief officer and highest authority in the House of Commons and, by
convention, politically neutral. Although they remain a Member of Parliament, they resign from their political party on taking office. The Speaker is elected by the House of Commons. The Speaker’s role is to preside over Parliamentary debates, determining which MPs may speak
and maintaining (or attempting to maintain) order during debates. They also have a disciplinary function and may punish MPs who do not respect parliamentary rules.
These include:
* Directing an MP to withdraw abusive or denigrating remarks
* Suspending the sitting of the House due to serious disorder (very rarely used)
* Suspending MPs who are deliberately disobedient (‘naming’)
* Ordering MPs to be quiet so others can be heard The Speaker does not normally vote in Parliament, nor ever participate in debates.
The Speaker’s power in debates
The Speaker influences but does not fully control what is debated in Parliament. They do, however, control how long debates last.
MPs do not have an automatic right to speak during debates and the Speaker must balance MPs’ participation with ensuring the smooth running of parliamentary business. In deciding who to call to speak, the Speaker will consider:
* The standard practice of calling the official spokespeople from the Government and the Opposition to start and finish a debate
* Whether some MPs have a specific interest in the topic being debated (such as a direct constituency link or policy expertise)
* An MP’s seniority and whether they have previously contributed to the debate
* The time available for the debate
* The need to protect the rights of parliamentary minorities. Whether minorities have had a chance to contribute can be an important consideration in deciding whether to bring a debate to an end.
Amendments to proposed legislation
The Speaker also has control over which amendments to bills (legislation proposed by the government) can be debated and voted upon. Exercise of this power can lead to accusations that the Speaker is acting politically. The Speaker can also decide to allow urgent questions or emergency debates.
The Speaker will try to maintain impartiality by applying the following principles when deciding which amendments can be debated:
* The need to protect parliamentary minorities. (The Speaker will often allow backbench opposition MPs to table – ie propose for debate – amendments to government bills.)
* Amendments which are ‘out of order’ will not be debated (eg if they are vague, not properly related to the bill, or submitted late).
* Several amendments which relate to the same issue may be debated together, so that parliamentary time is not wasted.
Upholding Parliamentary rules
In addition to controlling the behaviour of unruly MPs, the Speaker is responsible for ensuring the correct application of parliamentary rules. These rules are called ‘Standing Orders’.
The Speaker can also make definitive interpretations of parliamentary rules and procedures through ‘Speaker’s rulings.’ He or she will draw on advice from the Clerk of the House and the Deputy Speakers, but the Speaker makes the ultimate decision.
The Speaker’s role is exercised and governed almost entirely by convention. MPs can criticise the Speaker by putting down a substantive motion for debate. If MPs voted to criticise (or ‘censure’) the Speaker’s behaviour, the Speaker would come under pressure to resign but is not
automatically dismissed from their post.
The Speaker and political controversy
The role of the Speaker attracted little public attention, certainly outside the United Kingdom, until the Parliamentary debates relating to the Brexit political crisis.
John Bercow MP, Speaker from 2009 until 31 October 2019, became a familiar figure in the news and attracted both praise and criticism for his conduct of the role. Some of his decisions had a very significant impact on the progress of withdrawal from the EU.
In September 2019, the Speaker allowed an emergency debate to go ahead which paved the way for backbench MPs to take control of the Parliamentary timetable, passing legislation requiring the government to seek a time extension for leaving the EU in order to avoid a ‘no deal Brexit’. This was a controversial and unprecedented use of the emergency debate procedure.
The Deputy Speaker
The House of Commons elects three Deputy Speakers.
The principal Deputy Speaker is called the ‘Chairman of Ways and Means’. They are elected from the opposite side of the House of Commons to the Speaker. The principal Deputy Speaker has four roles which are distinct from that of the Speaker:
* Supervision of arrangements for sittings in Westminster Hall
* General oversight of matters connected with private bills
* Chair of the Panel of Chairs with general responsibility for the work of general committees.
* Presiding over the annual Budget debate (by convention)
The other two Deputy Speakers are known as the First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means and the Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. Unlike the Speaker, deputy speakers do not resign from their parties, but they do withdraw from any active political role.
The Leader of the House
The Leader of the House of Commons is a government minister whose main responsibility is to
organise government business in the House. This consists principally of:
* Scheduling business (eg bills for debate)
* Chairing the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee
* Deputising for the Prime Minister in some circumstances, if the Deputy Prime Minister or First Secretary of State is unable to do so (or there is no one operating in that role)
The Leader of the House works closely with the Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury). Whips are MPs or Lords appointed by each party in Parliament to manage their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. One of the whips’ key responsibilities is making sure the maximum number of their party members participate in voting, in support of their party, and in enforcing party discipline generally.
The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet and is responsible for working with the Leader of the House in arranging Commons’
business. Through the Shadow Leader, the opposition can hold the government to account in how it manages the business of the House of Commons.
Whips
In addition to shaping their party’s contribution to the business of both Houses of Parliament, whips are responsible for:
* Counting votes
* Arranging the business of Parliament (in this capacity they are often referred to as the ‘usual channels’)
Every week, whips send out a circular (called ‘The Whip’) to their MPs or Lords detailing upcoming parliamentary business. Special attention is paid to divisions (where MPs vote on debates).
Important divisions are underlined three times - a ‘three-line whip‘.
Defying a three-line whip is a serious transgression and has sometimes resulted in the whip being ‘withdrawn’ from an MP or Lord. This means that the Member is expelled from their political party
(but keeps their seat in their constituency) and must sit as an independent MP until the whip is restored.
Prominent figures in the House of Lords
The House of Lords has broadly equivalent figures to those in the House of Commons:
* The Lord Speaker chairs daily business in the House of Lords and gives procedural advice and assistance.
* The Senior Deputy Speaker deputises for the Lord Speaker.
* The Leader of the House of Lords is a Minister (and member of the Cabinet) and is the most senior representative of the government in the Lords. The Leader leads a team of around 25 ministers and whips in the Lords.
‘Black Rod’ is a senior officer in the House of Lords, responsible for maintaining order in the House and its precincts. Black Rod plays a prominent role in the state opening of Parliament. This official is sent from the Lords to summon the Commons to hear the King’s speech; the doors of the Chamber are traditionally slammed in his face, to symbolise the independence of the Commons. He knocks on the door three times, after which it is opened, and MPs follow to the Lords to hear the King.
‘Erskine May’
Erskine May’s Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament is the leading source of guidance on the workings of the House of Commons – note that this represents
guidance and not rules.
A full, searchable edition is now available online at www.parliament.uk.
The publication is updated as parliamentary procedure and conventions evolve. It now contains, for example:
* Recall of MPs Act 2015: allows for a constituency to recall an MP for misconduct in office.
* E-petitions: started by the government in 2011 and moved to the Parliament website in 2015, these allow for ordinary citizens to raise topics for debate in Parliament. At 10,000 signatures the government responds; at 100,000 the petition is considered for debate in Parliament.
Presumption in favour of government business
One key presumption is that government business takes precedence in the parliamentary timetable. This is reflected in ‘Standing Order 14’ which states (at SO 14.1) that: ‘Save as provided in this order, government business shall have precedence at every sitting.’
This does not have legal force but is the means by which the government of the day is able to control the business of the Commons. This is effectively by consent, but the Commons can vote to disapply SO 14, as occurred on 25 March 2019 during the protracted ‘Brexit’ debates.
Resolving procedural disputes
Resolving disputes about parliamentary procedure is one of the Speaker’s most important roles.
The Speaker might intervene, if, for example:
* Whips from opposing parties cannot reach agreement on procedure
* Backbenchers feel their concerns are not getting enough parliamentary time
Remember that the Speaker is an elected and politically neutral member of the House of Commons. This office has generally been alternated between members of the two main political parties in recent times.
The daily business of Parliament
By custom, sittings in both Houses of Parliament begin with the saying of prayers. Attendance by MPs is voluntary. Other regular events include the following.
Question Time
This takes place on Mondays to Thursdays, for one hour. A government minister answers questions put to their department by MPs. At least three days’ notice of questions must be given; the questions are then printed in the Order Paper for that day. Questions may also be put to Ministers
in writing and answered in writing.
This takes place in the House of Commons every Wednesday when Parliament is sitting, between 12 and 12.30 pm. The subject matter of questions do not need to be notified in advance. By convention, MPs ‘table’ (ie give notification of) a question about the PM’s engagements (this will
not be the real subject matter of the question!). The PM therefore does not know exactly what questions will be asked.
Urgent questions
If an MP wants to ask a Minister about an important matter requiring a quick response, they may make a request to the Speaker for an Urgent Question to be put.
* The Speaker will grant the application if satisfied that the question is indeed urgent, and of public importance.
* The government minister concerned must come to the Commons to explain the government’s position on the issue in question.
* The House of Commons’ Twitter feed provides frequent updates on all Questions asked in the Commons.
Ministerial statements
If there is something urgent and important that the government needs to bring to the attention of the House of Commons, the relevant Minister may make an oral statement to the House. This process is used after, for example, a major public incident.
Ministerial statements are made after Oral Questions and any Urgent Questions. MPs then have the opportunity to ask the Minister questions. These are not tabled in advance; the order of questions is determined by the Speaker.
Ministerial statements to Parliament may also be made in writing. These address more prosaic aspects of government business, for example the publication of reports by government agencies, and detailed financial information.
