parliament

Question 1

what is parliament

Answer 1

the British legislature (law-
making body), made up of
the House of Commons,
House of Lords and
monarch.

Question 2

house of commons

Answer 2

the primary chamber of
the UK legislature, directly
elected by voters.using the first-past-the-post electoral system. there are around 650 constituencies(average of 6 candidayes per constituency seeking election)

Question 3

house of lords

Answer 3

the second chamber of the
UK legislature, not directly
elected by voters.

Question 4

backbenchers

Answer 4

MPs who do not have a ministerial or shadow- ministerial position. They
occupy the benches in the
debating chamber behind
their leaders. Their main
role is to represent their
constituencies. They are
also expected to support
the leaders of their
respective parties.

Question 5

opposition

Answer 5

the official opposition is
usually the party with the
second-largest number
of seats in the Commons.
Its role is to criticise the
government and to oppose
many of its legislative
proposals. It also seeks
to present itself as an
alternative government.

Question 6

what is the fixed terms parliament act of 2011

Answer 6

general elections are supposed to be held at regular intervals, at the end of a fi xed fi ve-year parliamentary term.

Question 7

when can an early general election be held

Answer 7

if a government loses a vote of no confi dence and the prime minister cannot form another administration within 14 days;
example: vote of no confidence in the British Labour government, 1974–1979, of James Callaghan occurred on 28 March 1979. The vote was brought by the Official Opposition leader Margaret Thatcher

if two-thirds of MPs support a
motion calling for an early election. Theresa May called an early election for June 2017 with the
support of the necessary proportion of MPs.

Question 8

explain front benchers

Answer 8

sub-divided into members of
the government, and ‘shadow’ ministers, who are members of the opposition, occupying the front bench that faces the government.The Shadow Cabinet is headed by the leader of the opposition.

Since September 2015 this has been Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party.

Question 9

house of lords

Answer 9

The House of Lords does not have an upper limit on the size of its membership.
three main categories of peer: hereditary peers, life peers and 26 ‘Lords Spiritual’ (Anglican
archbishops and bishops) who sit in the Lords for historic reasons, as the Church of England is the
official church of the British state.

it is seen as undemocratic because members have not been elected

Question 10

what are functions of the commons and the lords

Answer 10

• passing legislation
• scrutiny of the executive (including debating)
• providing ministers.

Commons has the function of representing the electorate.

Question 11

how does parliament pass legislations

Answer 11

parliament has the authority to pass or amend laws on any subject.
- House of Commons (as elected chamber representing the public) has exclusive
power to give consent to taxation
-house of lords cannot interfere with money bills, house of lords can amend non financial legislation (Most legislation is initiated by the government and there is limited opportunity for backbench
and opposition MPs to propose measures of their own. )
-Parliament mostly reacts to measures put before it by the executive, rather than developing its own legislative proposals, and it is rarely able to defeat or significantly amend legislation. however there has been evidence of success in this, To succeed, this requires solid opposition from the opposition parties combined with rebels on the government side e.g :David Cameron’s defeat in March 2016 on plans to extend Sunday trading, when Labour and the SNP joined with Conservative dissidents.

• partywhips: responsible for ensuring that MPs attend parliamentary votes (known as ‘divisions’) and for granting leave of absence if their vote is not essential. They issue MPs with a written instruction to attend –
  also known as a ‘whip’ – which indicates how important it is for an MP to be present. they impose sanctions on those who do not accept the party line.
  Persistent rebels may have the whip withdrawn, meaning that they are effectively suspended from the party
  and have to sit as an independent. This can also happen in cases of misconduct where it is felt that an MP has damaged the party’s reputation. Smaller teams of whips operate in the Lords.

they use the argument of necessity to pass through laws as well e.g.2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act, which introduced control orders for individuals suspected of
terrorist offences, completed all its stages in just 18 days.

examples of bills thatg had been unworkable:1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, passed in response to a series of stories about dog attacks. Critics argued that, instead of prohibiting certain breeds of dog, it should have targeted irresponsible owners. A review by the RSPCA, 25 years later, showed that of 30 deaths caused in
that period by dogs, 21 involved breeds that were not specified in the act.

Question 12

how can parliament exercise scrutiny

Answer 12

Parliament has a responsibility to exercise oversight of the executive’s actions. The opposition seeks to hold the government to account and to expose its errors. Ministers have a duty to explain and defend their policies in parliament.

it is exercised through

questions to ministers, may call for oral or written answers.
Prime Minister’s Questions, a weekly question-and-answer session in the chamber of the Commons, has been criticised for being unduly theatrical and largely a point-scoring exercise dominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

• select committees, which shadow individual government departments in the Commons.
• debates, which can be set-piece events, such as the August 2013 House of Commons debate: the Cameron government was defeated on its proposal to undertake military action in Syria. Since 2010 the creation of the Backbench Business Committee has given MPs
  more power to shape the agenda by allowing them to choose the topic for debate on one day per week. Debates in the Lords are often given credit for their high quality, with participants commonly including recently retired individuals with expertise in a particular field, but they
  rarely influence the course of events.

Question 13

what is a select committee

Answer 13

consisting of backbench MPs, the composition of Commons select
committees reflects the
make-up of the Commons.
Select committees in the
Commons investigate and
report on the activities of
government departments.
Their counterparts in
the Lords (such as the
Constitution Committee
and the Science and
Technology Committee)
carry out topic-based
inquiries.

Question 14

how can parliament provide ministers

Answer 14

Parliament acts as a recruiting ground for future ministers, with the whips making
recommendations to the prime minister on suitable candidates for promotion. The prime minister possesses wide powers of patronage. (at any time, they may obtain the appointment, dismissal or nominal resignation of any other minister.)

e.g.following the 2008 financial crisis, Gordon Brown recalled Peter Mandelson from the European Commission, appointing him to the Lords so
that he could serve as business secretary.

Question 15

how does parliament represent the electorate

Answer 15

Commons has a representative function as the elected house.they use their judgement on how to vote, rather than
taking instructions from those who elect them. The first-past-the-post system means that there is a strong link between an MP and their constituency. MPs are expected to respond to issues raised by individual constituents and to stand up for local interests at Westminster.

for example, 44 MPs who voted against plans for the London to Birmingham High Speed Rail link (HS2) in March 2016 represented constituencies that would be aff ected by the planned route.
If an MP does not fulfi l the expectations of the local electorate, the voters have a right to choose a different representative at the next general election.

(The Lords is representative only in the sense that it contains people with a wide range of professional backgrounds, although this aspect is not organised systematically.does not reflect the composition of wider UK society. More than half of its members are over the age of 70, three quarters are male and only
around five per cent come from ethnic minorities.)

Question 16

how effectively does parliament perform its representative function

Answer 16

an MP’s loyalty to their party, may come into conflict with the need to represent a constituency.
skilful MPs are good at reconciling the two roles.
The ministerial code, which regulates the
conduct of ministers, advises them to take care to avoid conflicts of interest. But they are allowed to make representations to colleagues in government, as long as they make it clear that they are acting as their constituents’ representative and not as a minister. e.g in 2006 Hazel Blears, a member of Tony Blair’s Cabinet, supported protests against a planned closure of
part of a hospital in her Salford constituency.

Question 17

arguments against parliament effectively being a representative function

Answer 17

29 per cent of MPs elected in May
2015 were female

ethnic minority MPs make up 6 per cent of the Commons, compared to 13 per cent of the population.

Question 18

explain exclusive powers of the house of commons

Answer 18

to give consent to
taxation and public expenditure. Since the Commons represents the taxpayer, there is a tradition that although the Lords debates money bills, it cannot interfere with them. For this reason the chancellor of the exchequer is obliged to sit in the Commons, where the annual budget is always
presented.

can exercise power is the situation known as confidence and supply. This can occur in the event of a minority government, where the governing party does not join a formal coalition, but relies on a limited agreement with another party (or parties) to keep
itself in office. example- Conservative Party’s arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party following general election in June 2017, Conservatives were eight seats short of a majority, was
a confidence and supply agreement. This means that the supporting party will provide backing on a vote of no confidence, and will vote through the government’s budget (the ‘supply’ part of the
arrangement). In return the smaller party will receive certain concessions. It is an agreement that is more flexible (and thus less stable) than a full coalition.
example- James Callaghan’s minority
Labour government concluded the ‘Lib–Lab Pact’ with the smaller Liberal Party. There was talk of the SNP supporting a minority Labour government on these terms, had the 2015 election resulted
in a hung parliament.

Question 19

how does the house of lords lack power

Answer 19

definitely less powerful than the Commons, as suggested by one of its informal
alternative names, the ‘second chamber’.

its powers have been limited by both law and convention.

it lacks the democratic legitimacy of an elected chamber.

the Lords had no right to delay money bills
* its power to veto non-financial bills was to be replaced by a power of delay lasting two
parliamentary sessions (equivalent to two years).

power of the Lords is also constrained by the 1945 Salisbury convention: stated that the Lords would not oppose a bill that gave effect to a commitment contained in the manifesto of the winning party at a
general election. (house of lords cannot oppose any second or third readings)

Question 20

how does the house of lords have power

Answer 20

It acts mainly as a revising chamber, proposing amendments to government legislation, which it is up to the government to decide whether to accept or reject.
* It can delay non-financial legislation for one year.
* The only scenario in which the Lords retains its veto is an extremely unlikely one: if a government were to attempt to prolong the life of parliament beyond its legal maximum term of five years, the Lords is legally empowered to force it to hold a general election.

Question 21

how has the sense of legitimacy been improved in the house of lords

Answer 21

removal of most hereditary peers from the Lords in 1999 meant that the upper house was now dominated by life peers, who had mostly been appointed for service in different walks of life.

Life peers were also more likely to play a regular part in the work of the House, whereas many hereditary peers rarely appeared at Westminster.

most hereditary peers was that the traditional dominance of the House by the Conservative Party came to an end. No party now has overall
control of the Lords and so careful management of the House has become more important for
governments.

example:Liberal Democrat peers demonstrated growing independence during the period of the New Labour government. For example, after the 2005 general election, they opposed
Tony Blair’s proposals for identity cards, even though this policy had been announced by the Labour Party in advance.

Cross-bench peers also began to play a more important role in holding the government to account.
As neutral figures, they are more likely to assess a bill on its merits and to decide accordingly whether to support or oppose the government. For example, the cross-bench peer Lord Owen, a
former doctor, played a leading role in opposing the coalition government’s controversial Health
and Social Care Bill. The measure was passed in March 2012 after the government accepted all the
amendments proposed in the Lords.

Question 22

how does the house of commons maintain its supremacy

Answer 22

A bill can go back and forth between the two houses in a process known as ‘parliamentary ping
pong’. An extreme example of this was the debate between the two houses on the 2005 Prevention
of Terrorism Bill, which introduced control orders.

In February 2012, for
example, the coalition government rejected seven amendments to its Welfare Reform and Work Bill, arguing that only the Commons was entitled to take decisions with large financial implications.

In the end it is up to the government
to decide whether to accept or reject any changes proposed by the Lords.

If the upper house maintains its opposition to the Commons, as a last resort the government can
use the Parliament Act to force a bill through. e.g.

Changing the voting system for European parliament elections (1999).
Equalising the age of consent for gay and heterosexual people (2000).
Banning hunting with dogs (2004).

Question 23

Case study: the Lords’ defeat of the Cameron government’s plans for cuts to tax
credits, October 2015

Answer 23

House of Lords attracted publicity in the autumn of 2015 by voting to delay planned cuts to tax credits and to compensate those who were affected. This was an emotional
issue because the purpose of tax credits was to support low-income working people.

supporters of the government argued that because this was a financial measure, the Lords should not have become involved.

strictly speaking, the
peers were within their rights because the tax credit changes were incorporated in a ‘statutory instrument’ (or secondary legislation) rather than in primary legislation.

this basis of power enabled it to make changes to the law, rather than bringing forward a new bill. The Lords was allowed to reject a statutory instrument. (secondary legislation)

this highlighted the limits of the Lords’ power. Peers showed restraint
in choosing not to support a more controversial Liberal Democrat motion to block the changes
completely.

Question 24

what are legislative bills

Answer 24

proposed laws passing
through parliament.
a proposal for a new law, or a change to an existing law, which is brought
before parliament. A bill can be introduced in either the Commons or the Lords.

Question 25

what is an act of parliament

Answer 25

a bill that has completed all its stages in parliament and has become law.

Question 26

explain government/ public bills

Answer 26

The most important type of
proposal that can be debated
in parliament. These are
brought forward by
government ministers to
change public policy, for
example the reorganisation of
the NHS which was brought
about by the 2012 Health and
Social Care Act.

Question 27

explain private bills

Answer 27

less common. It is
sponsored by an organisation
such as a company or a local
authority, with the intention of
changing the law as it affects
that organisation. A group
affected by such a bill has the
right to petition parliament
against it. An example is the
2013 London Local Authorities
and Transport for London Act,
which introduced new powers
for dealing with obstructions caused by builders and road users in the capital

Question 28

explain hybrid bill

Answer 28

Has characteristics of both a
public and a private bill. It
proposes changes to the law
which would affect the general
public, but certain groups or
areas in particular. The bill to
build the HS2 rail link from
London to Birmingham (and
then to Manchester and Leeds)
is an example.

Question 29

explain private members bill

Answer 29

Affects the whole population,
introduced by an individual
backbench MP or a member of
the Lords. These are much less
likely than a government bill to
become law, as they depend on
time being found for them to
complete all their stages in
parliament. In the Commons, at
the start of each session the
names of MPs applying to
introduce a private member’s
bill are drawn in a ballot. An
alternative is for a member to
make a proposal using the ‘ten
minute rule’, but this allows for
little more than the airing of an
issue in a speech which must
last no more than ten minutes.

Some landmark bills have,
however, originated as private
member’s bills. An example of
such a measure is the imposition
of a duty on councils and NHS
services to look after people
with autism, passed in 2009,
which was initiated by Cheryl
Gillan MP.

Question 30

explain steps of the legislative process

Answer 30

first reading
second reading
committee stage
report stage
third reading

Question 31

what is the origin

Answer 31

A bill may originate as a Green Paper (a document setting out options for legislation
and inviting consultation) and/or a White Paper (a more detailed statement of the government’s
intentions) – but this whole stage is not compulsory.

Question 32

what is the first reading

Answer 32

First compulsory stage. The bill is made available
to MPs but is not debated or voted on at this stage.

Question 33

what is the second reading

Answer 33

Principle of the bill is debated and a vote may be taken if it is contested.

Question 34

what is the committee stage

Answer 34

Bill is scrutinised in detail by a public bill committee, formerly known as a
standing committee, whose membership reflects the strength of the parties in the Commons.
Amendments may be made at this stage if the government is prepared to accept them.

Question 35

what is a public bill committee

Answer 35

committees responsible for
looking at bills in detail.

Question 36

what is a report stage

Answer 36

Whole House considers amendments made at the committee stage and may accept
or reject them.

Question 37

what is a third reading

Answer 37

Amended bill is debated and voted on by the whole House.

Question 38

explain the house of lord stages in the legislative process

Answer 38

Bill goes through the same stages in the Lords, with the exception of the
committee stage, which is carried out by the whole House. The Lords can propose amendments.
The Commons has to decide whether to accept, reject or further amend these. The bill can go back
and forth between the two Houses for up to a year before it becomes law, in a process popularly
known as ‘parliamentary ping pong’.

Question 39

explain the stage of royal assent

Answer 39

Monarch signs the bill, making it law. This stage is a formality as the sovereign is a
constitutional monarch, who would not get involved in politics by refusing to sign a bill.

Question 40

explain the role and significance of backbenchers

Answer 40

they play an important role in
scrutinising government activity and holding the executive to
account.

creation of the Backbench Business Committee in 2010, which is allowed to choose the topic for debate on 35 days in each parliamentary session. Some of these subjects are chosen in response to e-petitions signed by members of the public; 100,000 signatures are required
to qualify. This has led to the holding of debates on some subjects that might not otherwise have been chosen.
e.g. in 2015 that led to the introduction of Harvey’s law, which obligesthe Highways Agency to notify the owners of pets who are killed on the roads.

A rise in the number of backbench rebellions against government measures, even if the average number of MPs involved in particular rebellions has declined.
Political scientists Philip Cowley
and Mark Stuart have calculated that coalition MPs rebelled in 35 per cent of divisions during the 2010–15 parliament;

urgent questions
– a device that, subject to the approval of the
Speaker of the House, allows an MP to raise an important matter requiring an immediate answer
from a government minister. A study conducted during the coalition government found that
Speaker John Bercow allowed a total of 3547 urgent questions in 2009–13,

example is the summoning of Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green in February 2017. He was summoned
to answer an urgent question put by Labour MP Stephen Timms regarding changes to Personal Independence Payment, a benefit paid to disabled people.

Question 41

how is the influence of backbenchers limited

Answer 41

the 10-minute rule.- This allows MPs to speak for 10 minutes on their chosen subject before the beginning of official
business on certain days. However, in both cases, the only result is likely to be an airing of the
MP’s concern in debate.

• Public bill committees give MPs an opportunity to propose amendments to legislation, and each
  clause of a bill is scrutinised. However, the government has a majority on these committees and
  often it will use its position of strength to introduce its own amendments, rather than listening
  to proposals from opposition MPs.
• The power of patronage and ties of party loyalty, reinforced by the party whips, remain
  important factors in the Commons.

Question 42

explain the work of committees

Answer 42

There is a select
committee to scrutinise the policy, administration and spending of each government department.

The Public Accounts Committee examines government expenditure, seeking to ensure that value
for money is being obtained.
* The Liaison Committee, which consists of the chairs of all the select committees, questions the
prime minister twice a year across the whole field of government policy.
* The Committee on Standards oversees the work of the parliamentary commissioner on
standards, an official who is in charge of regulating MPs’ conduct, including their financial affairs.

Question 43

explain the makeup of select committees

Answer 43

consists of a minimum of 11 backbench MPs. Their
composition reflects the balance of party strength in the House of Commons. For example, the
Education Select Committee was chaired by Conservative MP Neil Carmichael following the 2015
general election. Of the ten other members, a further five were Conservatives, four were Labour
and one was a member of the SNP.

members of a select committee decide on the areas that they will investigate. They have the
power to gather written and oral evidence and to summon witnesses, including ministers, civil
servants, experts and members of the public with a relevant interest. Select committees may
appoint specialist advisers – possibly an academic in the field they are investigating – to assist
them in their work. They produce a report, to which the government is expected to respond within
two months.

Question 44

explain why select committees are important

Answer 44

work is respected because it is evidence-based. Their hearings are televised and reported
in the media, which increases their influence. They air issues of public interest. The Transport
Select Committee, for example, held Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to account for the
controversy over the West Coast Main Line rail franchise in 2012.

scope of the committees’ work has widened in recent years to include the scrutiny of
legislation. They also hold pre-appointment hearings, in which they interview candidates
for some public roles. The Treasury Select Committee, for example, has the right to veto the
chancellor of the exchequer’s choice for the head of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Long-serving members can accumulate more knowledge of a particular policy area than
a minister, who may stay in a government department for only two or three years. Some
experienced chairs of select committees have become considerable public figures, and this role
is now recognised as an alternative career path to the ministerial ladder. An example is Margaret
Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Select Committee from 2010 to 2015, who has said that she
had more influence in this role than as a government minister earlier in her career.

can have a direct influence on government policy. For example, in 2014 the
Home Office took the Passport Office back under ministerial control, following a critical report
by the Home Affairs Select Committee. The chief executive of the Passport Office, organised as
an executive agency at the time, had been criticised for a large backlog in applications that had
caused considerable public anger during the summer.

Question 45

how is the power of select committees limited

Answer 45

the committees can cover only a limited range
of topics in depth and there is a tendency to avoid investigations into more long-term, strategic
issues.
* There is still a high turnover rate for membership of committees, and some MPs do not
attend regularly.
* The government accepts an estimated 40 per cent of select-committee recommendations, but
these rarely involve major changes of policy.
* Committees’ power to summon witnesses is considerable but not unlimited. For example,
in 2013, as home secretary, Theresa May blocked the Home Affairs Select Committee from
interviewing the head of MI5, Andrew Parker.

Question 46

how are the select committees in the house of lords different

Answer 46

They
do not shadow government departments, but instead scrutinise legislation and investigate
particular issues.

An example is the Constitution Committee, which examines public bills for
their constitutional implications and investigates broad constitutional issues. Lords committees
deliberately seek to avoid duplicating the work of their counterparts in the Commons. Thus a
Treasury Select Committee is to be found in the Commons, which examines the work of the
Treasury and HMRC.

Lords has an Economic Affairs Committee, which looks at wider issues,
such as the economic case for the HS2 rail link. Lords committees can draw on the services of a
range of well-qualified experts in different fields. For example, former Chancellor Lord (Nigel)
Lawson was a member of the Economic Affairs Committee.

Question 47

explain the role and significance of the opposition

Answer 47

Opposition leaders may choose instead to concentrate on attacking the government
through the media, where they reach a larger audience. They have a constant dilemma in that
they need to criticise ministers, while also projecting themselves in a statesmanlike light as a
government in waiting. The leader of the opposition does, however, have certain opportunities
to hold the government to account. They take the leading role in responding to the government
programme, as set out in the annual Queen’s speech, and replies to the chancellor of the
exchequer’s budget speech.
Opposition parties are not in a strong position to hold the government to account in parliament
unless its majority is small.

Assistance is available to help opposition parties carry out their parliamentary business, in the
form of ‘Short money’. The fund also provides help with the running costs of the leader of the
opposition’s office. The purpose of Short money is to compensate for the fact that, unlike the
government, opposition parties do not have access to support from the civil service. It is supposed
to be spent on policy research and the salaries of staff who work for the opposition in parliament,
rather than in their party headquarters. The Conservative government cut the amount available
after the 2015 general election, on the grounds that opposition parties should make sacrifices at a
time when Whitehall departments’ funding was being reduced.

Question 48

explain prime ministers questions

Answer 48

It is held once a week, at 12 p.m. for half an hour each Wednesday when the Commons is sitting.
It attracts considerable attention in press and television reporting. Its defenders argue that it
obliges the prime minister to engage with the opposition on a range of topics, and the intensive
preparation that goes on inside Number 10 suggests that it is a significant event.

the encounter between the prime minister and
the leader of the opposition, which tends to reveal more about their respective personalities than
it does about the detail of government policy. Clashes between David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn, for example, were notorious for their displays of prime ministerial scorn, with Cameron on one occasion attacking his opposite number’s choice of suit. There is considerable stage management,
with MPs on the government side deliberately asking ‘planted’ questions to present the prime minister in a good light. In 2012, for example, it was revealed that Cameron’s parliamentary private
secretary, Desmond Swayne, had orchestrated heckling of the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, and had
asked Conservative MPs to create a ‘protective wall of sound’ around the prime minister when he
faced opposition criticism.

Question 49

explain ministerial questions in which ministers answer questions about their own department

Answer 49

entails more detailed questioning and
ministers are given notice of oral questions so that they can prepare with the assistance of civil
servants. MPs can also submit written questions that are answered by civil servants. This allows
opposition MPs to inform themselves about government policy, and individual members can raise
issues of interest to their constituents. This is, of course, much less well-known than the highly
theatrical verbal duels between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.