Parliament Flashcards
1Evaluate if backbench MPs are ineffective
- The creation of the Backbench Business Committee in 2010, which is allowed to choose the topic for debate on 35 days in each parliamentary session.Since the Wright Reforms, 40% of select committee recommendations accepted
2018 Amber Rudd resigned as Home Secretary as there were concerns over the Windrush Scandal. She was deporting illegal immigrants and a letter leaked out to deport a further 10%
2.Role of backbenchers have amplified because of unstable governments such as the 2010 coalition and the 2017 minority government
For example, the Environmental Audits Committee’s report on the environmental damage caused by microbeads led them to be banned in 2018 under the Microbead-free Waters Act. - MPs can represent interests and advocate for change, in 2020 MP Rosena allin Khan brang attention and used her position to advocate for more support for frontline healthcare workers during covid. She advised better support such as providing PPE, providing mental health support. She put pressure on the government to solve these issues.
against
1. The executive can block witnesses in meetings. Eg Theresa May stopped the Head of the MI5 Andrew Parker from being interviewed in 2013
In 2019, 21 Conservative MPs rebelled against Johnson to delay the Brexit bill. - EVALUATION: Johnson expelled them
2.Government majorities in select committees and loyal ministers chosen which allows for less scrutiny. For example, defence committees has 5 conservative ministers and the foreign affairs committee has 6 conservative ministers
3. MPs still remain in party and party beliefs so they might prioritise their party over constituents interests. The party whip ensures they follow party durastrictions and they may lose their seat to represent the party in the next elections. Government majorities in select committees and loyal ministers chosen which allows for less scrutiny.2019 there was a decline in backbencher activity. This is because Boris Johnson had won a majority and had expelled ministers who were ‘remain’ Government hold majorities in select committees-less scrutiny.
Private members bills very rarely get approved in parliament e.g. between 2019-2021 there were only 7 PMBs approved
99 Tories rebelled against Covid passports in 2021
Evaluate the view that the parliament is not a representative institution
1.The House of commons is made up mostly by the government and the government is elected through an unrepresentative system(FPTP). In 2019, the conservatives held 43.9% of votes, they gained extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% and 56% of votes left unanswered. The green party, lib dems, brexit party received 16% of the votes(5.2 million) between them and yet they only shared 2% of the seats. Lib Dems were also more disadvantaged; they lost a seat despite increasing the overall share vote of 4%. The conservatives gained 365 seats and this is above 50% of the seats in parliament.
2.House of lords are unelected and they can influence decisions and can change decisions made by the house of commons. During the Brexit legislation in 2017-2018, most observers didn’t think that the house of lords could play a crucial role. Conservatives and labour implemented for leaving the EU. however at the end of the process the government had been defeated by the house of lords 15 times in lords votes. It shows that the house of lords are still vital in parliament.
3. Commons is still not truly representative of society as a whole. 29% of MPs elected in May 2015 were female – an increase on the 2010 figure, which was 22 % – compared to 51% of the UK population. BAME representation in the Commons is still lacking. Currently, 8% of MPs are BAME - the highest level since records began - but according to census data, 19.5% of the population comes from an ethnic minority.
against
1.reduce extremist parties from interfering, still can get their objectives through. UKIP, one seat in 2015 with 12.6% of votes. still got Brexit done.
2.house of lords lacks limited power because of their unelected nature.The Salisbury convention is commonly understood to mean the House of Lords does not block government bills that seek to implement manifesto commitments.
3.Between 1918 and 2024, a total of 564 women have been elected as Members of the House of Commons. As of February 2024 there are 225 women in the House of Commons, the highest ever. This remains an all-time high at 35% and is the first time that female representation in the House of Commons is at more than a third.[2] The previous number was 208, set in 2017, which accounted for 32% of members elected or re-elected that year.[3] Additionally, at the 2019 general election more female than male Labour MPs were elected or re-elected (104 women out of 202 MPs in total) – the first time in Labour’s history that this has happened.[
“House of Lords Reform”
1.Lack of diversity in the HoL- 72.1% of Lords are men and 27.9% are women
A 2019 report, external suggested that about 6% of members in the House of Lords came from a minority ethnic background.
This compared with 13% of the UK population, based on the 2011 census, external.
2.provides effective scrutiny to the government.in 17th januray 2022 the house of lords defeated the government 14 times in a day. During the Brexit legislation in 2017-2018, most observers didn’t think that the house of lords could play a crucial role. Conservatives and labour implemented for leaving the EU. however at the end of the process the government had been defeated by the house of lords 15 times in lords votes. It shows that the house of lords are still vital in parliament.
3.Provides experts who advise MPs and parties. Eg Lord Adonis advises both Conservatives and Labour on economics and the economy
The House of Lords helps prevent unwanted bills. Eg the HoL stopped a cut in £30 a week in benefits for those ill and deemed unfit for work
against
1. However, the ethnic diversity of the House of Lords has grown in the last 20 years, up from an estimated 2.6% minority ethnic membership in 2001. By comparison, 8% of MPs are minority ethnic, which itself was up from 2% in 2001. 28% of House of Lords members are women
2. lords become overly powerful. In 2017, the minority Conservative government argued the Salisbury convention should apply to its manifesto pledges. Other parties in the Lords were not convinced of this argument but acknowledged the Lords would be mindful of the balance of power between the two Houses. During the 2017–19 parliament, Brexit supporters claimed that Lords amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and the Data Protection Bill were ‘wrecking amendments’ that violated the Salisbury convention. However, others argued that in making these amendments the Lords was fulfilling its constitutional role by asking the Commons to think again.
BUT
Cronyism e.g. Boris Johnson. He granted a peerage to Peter Cruddas who was a former Conservative Treasurer who donated £3.5m to the party
3.
Should be abolished as it challenged the elected authority of the gov and is obstacle to effective legislation.
Campaigner such as pressure groups like elector reform society argue it is i democratic that unelected peers should have such sway in politics.
Critics of HoLs argue it is a place of patronage where unelected and unaccountable individuals hold a disproportionate amount of influence and power which can be used to frustrate elected representatives of the people.
In particular, upper house criticism from brexiteers recently, after series of defeats for the gov EU withdrawal bill - resulted in petition to hold referendum on scrapping HoLs > reached more that 150,000 signatures, was debated in commons in 2018.
But, abolishing HoLs would give commons too much power, commons power should be kept as it is.
Most democratic states are bi-camerial as provides a check in the main house.
HoLs can delay legislation for a year and force gov to reconsider legislation e.g. 2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act, HoLs managed to get gov to agree to review legislation after significant opposition in the lords.
This shows that lords can play important part in protecting citizens rights - upper house have shows great check on commons power.
Evaluate the view that the house of commons can only provide an effective oversight of an executive with a small parliamentary majority
1.Role of backbenchers have amplified because of unstable governments such as the 2010 coalition and the 2017 minority government
For example, the Environmental Audits Committee’s report on the environmental damage caused by microbeads led them to be banned in 2018 under the Microbead-free Waters Act.
2.In June 2017, despite having made little progress with Brexit plans, May had a snap election to get a higher majority from 13 to 100. This would give her more power to push Brexit, but it made her look power hungry. The opposition party labour took advantage, labour seemed more pro europe option and Corbyn seemed more human like. After a fire in Grenfell tower in London, 72 people died. May was criticised, she visited the site but not any survivors. Mays woes were compounded by images of Corbyn hugging survivors and even the queen put on a better show.
3.Prime ministers with little or no majority in the House of Commons are more likely to come under pressure from rebellious MPs and will have to work much harder at securing the passage of legislation. Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair suffered only four defeats in House of Commons votes in their respective 11 and 10 years as Prime Minister, in contrast to the 34 defeats of Jim Callaghan’s minority government from 1976−79 and Theresa May’s 33 defeats (and withdrawal of other key votes to avoid defeat) in her 3 years. With a large majority, prime ministers can find themselves relatively free from parliamentary constraints and can appear to act presidentially.
1.Small government majorities are heavily reliant on parliament to pass on legislation. From July to December 2019 the conservative government had a very small majority meaning Boris faced over 6 legislative defeats in 5 months in 2019. The power completely shifted to parliament due to their small government majority.
Salisbury Convention can be bypassed when there is a minority government eg 2017 May Govt, or where there is a coalition eg 2010-15 Conservatives and Lib Dems
Evaluate the view that the PMQs are overly theatrical spectacle and spent hold the executive to account
- PMQs tends to reveal more about their respective personalities than it does about the details 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 interrupting 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
2.In 20th october 2022, Lizz truss and her situation with Kwasi Kwarteng led the country into an economic crisis due to their failing economic policies and their decisions. It was huge and both of them had been scrutinised on television by a lot of MPs in parliament on how they would turn things around and why we should listen and trust their intuition. Things weren’t looking great as the county was still at a low economical point with the cost of living crisis, they faced even more scrutiny and this led to the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng. Soon after that Lizz truss faced too much scrutiny that she resigned.
3.MPs still remain in party and party beliefs so they might prioritise their party over constituents interests. The party whip ensures they follow party durastrictions and they may lose their seat to represent the party in the next elections. Government majorities in select committees and loyal ministers chosen which allows for less scrutiny.2019 there was a decline in backbencher activity. This is because Boris Johnson had won a majority and had expelled ministers who were ‘remain’ Government hold majorities in select committees-less scrutiny
against
1.The creation of the Backbench Business Committee in 2010, which is allowed to choose the topic for debate on 35 days in each parliamentary session.Since the Wright Reforms, 40% of select committee recommendations accepted
2018 Amber Rudd resigned as Home Secretary as there were concerns over the Windrush Scandal. She was deporting illegal immigrants and a letter leaked out to deport a further 10%
2.Pms can ignore backbench MPs, Lizz truss sometimes didn’t turn up to PMQs, so they couldn’t scrutinise her, with Boris a more dominant Pm he chose to avoid listening to select committees within a year, showing they can disregard committees of their work
3.
is the House of Lords more powerful than the House of Commons
1
PM has prerogative powers - commander in chief. PM has more power over foreign policy. Rishi Sunak used his prerogative powers in April 2024 to send RAF fighter sets to shoot down missiles from Iran targeting Israel.
Rishi Sunak also has lots of influence over government decision because of the patronage powers - Rishi Sunak appointed Jeremy hunt as chancellor of exchequer. they decide how much is spent on education, healthcare and tax.
however
lord Adams is an economic expert
is House of Lords more powerful than the House of Commons
1
PM use prerogative powers
Sunak used his prerogative powers in April 2024 to send RAF fighters jets to shoot down missiles from Iran targeting Israel - power over foreign policy
PM uses patronage powers also to influence government decisions - Sunak appointed Jeremy Hunt as chancellor of exchequer. they allocate funds to education, healthcare, taxes.
however
Lord Adonis is an economic expert who advises the government on the economy.
furthermore Sunak gave Cameron a peerage over foreign secretary. - can have influence over foreign policy.
P2
House of Lords - ping pong on a bill. major influence over legislation.
for example, the House of Lords helped remove clause II of the stop and search bill, which would allowed the police to stop people without suspicion. - protected peoples privacy.
House of Lords stopped a cut of 30 pounds in benefits for those who are ill and undimmed fit to work.
however
House of Lords cannot influence legislation if policy is part of manifesto - due to the salisbury convention
P3
House of Lords can challenge government decision -
on the 17th of January 2022 the government was defeated 14 times in a day.
in 2021- 2022 the government was defeated 128 times.
delayed Rwanda bill for nearly 6 months
however
PM still have more power - even when house of lord were against Rwanda bill it still went through
