Parliament Flashcards
Main roles of parliament
- recruitment of ministers of gov
- scrutinise the gov
- to represent
- to debate
- to legitimise the executive
- to legislate
define a bicameral parliament
parliament with 2 chambers- HOC (elected) and HOL (unelected)
adv and dis of bicameral parliament
adv
- HOL provides checks and balances= provide increased scrutiny and revision of legislation
- represent wider interests
dis
- institutional conflict between houses= produce legislative gridlock
- indirectly HOL may frustrate will of democratically elected HOC
how many members in HOC
650 MPs elected under FPTP
why does FPTP lead to single party majority in HOC
- winners bonus= no 1 party’s % seats is higher than % votes
- tactical voting= favours 2 major parties
- wasted votes= smaller parties like UKIP voters know won’t win= lead to tactical voting
compare seats in HOC and HOL
HOC
- single tory majority 364 (2019)
- more parties= 11 lib dems and 47 SNP= increase diversity and wider representation
HOL
- tory majority= 248= always be tory majority due to HP tradition
- more lib dems= 83
- 183 crossbenchers
- no majority= all under 50%
- no SNP or green etc
exceptions of non single party majority
2010 tory and lib dem coalition= 5 years long
2017-2019 Theresa May won with minority
describe hereditary peers
- before 1999 were more than 750 HPs
- peerages act 1963 permits women peeresses and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the HOL and allows newly inherited hereditary peers to be disclaimed
describe life peers
LPs act 1958= PM right to appoint members to HOL for life
= not inherited= largest current HOL category
= 2016- 674 LPs= increase diversity and expertise
describe Lords Spiritual
2 archbishops and 24 senior bishops of church of england
describe crossbenchers
non-party political peers, by tradition sit on benches that cross chamber of HOL
= can be HPs or LPs= currently 183
describe PMQs
Prime Minister’s Questions in Commons Chamber is a ticketed event = every Wednesday at 12 noon
Tickets are free of charge and available only to UK residents
adv and dis PMQs
adv
- address recent topics, give PM a voice, allow political scrutiny, reach wider audience, put leaders under pressure
dis
- cause political apathy= not taken seriously, misguide from main issues, superficial discussions, become personality focused and point scoring
roles of parliamentary whips
- ensure MPs attend votes and approve MPs absence when their vote isn’t required
- give MPs instructions every week
= debates w votes underlined, ‘3 line whip’ strict instruction to attend and vote to party line, if not face disciplinary action - enforce discipline within party= rebellious MPs can be expelled from party and become independent MP
- persuade MPs to votes their party by providing assurances and making offers or threats
why is whipping system weaker in HOL than HOC
- HOL members have life membership= less reliant on good will of party membership= can’t be removed from HOL
- crossbenchers are independent= no whip to control them
- less likely to be recruited into executive than MPs= less need to be a ‘team player’
describe frontbenchers
MP or HOL member either ministers or shadow ministers (chosen by the Prime Minister for actions of success)
- eg Lord Cameron and Keir Starmer
describe backbenchers
members of parliament wo ministerial position
= less ability to influence gov but hold opinions of constituents
= can impact policy making= introduce Members Bills like 1967 Abortion Act
= potential to overthrow piece of legislation
- eg Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt
role of the speaker (elected by MPs in a secret ballot)
- presides over the House’s debates, determining which members may speak and which amendments are selected for consideration - -
-responsible for maintaining order during debate, and may punish members who break the rules of the House
how did the speaker Bercow increase parliament scrutiny
granted more than 670 requests for urgent questions to HOC
= called more backbench MPs to speak in debates and support measures to increase female MPs
describe parliamentary privilege
legal immunity of members of parliament
- freedom of speech= both houses raise issues wo fear of prosecution
- exclusive cognisance= house’s right to regulate internal affairs wo outside body interference
recent expenses issues with parliamentary privilege
2009- 3 Labour MPs and a Tory peer charged with theft over expenses claims= trying to keep cases out of the criminal courts by attempting to invoke a 320-year-old law protecting them under parliamentary privilege
describe public bill
bill concerning general issue of public policy= introduced by a gov minister
25-35 public bills per year
describe private members’ bills
bills sponsored by a backbench MP
eg murder act 1965 and abortion act 1967
7 bills became law= 2019-2021
ways private member bills introduced
- ballot= 20 MPs in favour of bill drawn and allocated time to represent
- 10 minute rule bill= MPs make short speech introducing a bill= few bills pass hurdle but draws attention to issue
- presentation= MP presents bill on floor of house
