parliament Flashcards
1
Q
parliament overview
A
- the centre of UK political system, the sovereign body of the UK
- all laws must have parliaments approval
- all power stems from parliament, it can grant and remove powers to individuals and organisations
- government (ministers) must be drawn from parliament and is accountable to it between general elections and it must justify its policies and actions in debate
- government formulates and implements policy and drafts legislation
- parliament passes judgement and scientists and changes legislation
- relationship between parliament and government is fundamental to understanding UK political system
2
Q
key issues
A
- relationship between government and parliament
- nature and importance of legal and political sovereignty
- structure, membership and roles of Commons and Lords including key differences
- recent developments, the state and representation and reforms
3
Q
history and status of parliament
A
- Lords (a royal council of advisors)
- Commons (‘representative’)
- From 1272, Commons had 3 main functions
- advise monarch on legislation
- receive and deliver petitions from aggrieved individuals
- grant permission to levy new taxes
- parliament has evolved in size, complexity and significance
- in a few hundred years the Commons has obtained dominance over the Lords
4
Q
house of lords
A
has a defined number of seats - the number of members of house of lords isn’t fixed
dates back to early 11th century, developed from ‘great council’ which advised the king during medieval times
5
Q
house of commons
A
became a regular during reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the reform act 1832
don’t control the term of prime minister only the commons may vote to require the prime minister to resign or call an election
to deliver governments legislative programme, respond to the joint committee on parliamentary privilege
6
Q
parliamentary government
A
- parliamentary government is the key, fundamental principle behind UK political system
- UK parliament is the highest source of political authority - political power can only be exercised if it is authorities by parliament
- government must be drawn from parliament
- therefore no strict separation of powers between legislature (parliament) and the executive (government)
- government must be accountable to parliament
7
Q
parliamentary sovereignty
A
- the concept of parliamentary government is underpinned by parliamentary sovereignty
- parliament is said to be legally sovereign (parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies, it holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all other government institutions)
- legal sovereignty
- parliament is source of all political power
- parliament can restore any power to itself, make or amend any law on any subject
- laws cannot be entrenched
- political sovereignty
- the reality of sovereignty however when considered politically suggests parliament has lost much of its sovereignty
- the reality and location of power is government (a government usually possesses a political party majority in the commons)
- a government possesses a mandate from the public which parliament has no right to block
- at a general election sovereignty returns to the people who elect a new parliament and creating a new government with a fresh mandate
- parliament retains considerable reserve powers
- parliament is legally sovereign but political sovereignty is less clearly located
8
Q
erosion of parliamentary sovereignty
A
- legislative power to EU: across range of policy areas including trade, environment, employment rights and consumer protection, EU law has been dominant
- growth of executive power: shift of political power driven by political parties
- increased use of referendums: direct democracy, when practical sovereignty lies with voters
- human rights: ECHR and human rights act, which parliament effectively treats as supreme law
- devolution: in reality; sovereignty has moved from parliament
9
Q
structure of parliament
A
- bicameral parliament: a government structure involving 2 houses is divided into 2 separate assemblies, chambers or houses and are separate in deliberation from one another
- benefits of having a bicameral legislature: house of lords and house of commons are both involved in making legislation
- house of lords is referred to as the ‘upper chamber’ - it demonstrates that the lords is one of 2 parts of the UK parliament, other chamber is the ‘lower house’
- powers of the house of lords: debates legislation and has power to amend or reject bills
- privileges of the house of lords: freedom of speech, freedom of arrest on civil matters
10
Q
house of commons: structure
A
- main features of house of commons: formally scrutinises the government through committees and prime ministers questions, is democratically elected body whose members as known as members of parliament
- prime ministers questions= where members ask the prime minister questions and the house gives other opportunities to question other cabinet ministers
- in the house of commons there are 650 members which represent the 650 constituencies of the UK
- in the house of lords it’s not a fixed number
- frontbench= spokesperson for each group that will sit at front
- backbench= those sitting behind them are backbenchers
- Party whips= MPs or lords appointed by each party in parliament to help organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business
- role of the speaker= presided over the houses debates and determines which members may speak and which amendments are selected for consideration, are responsible for maintaining order during debate
11
Q
frontbench MPs
A
- more senior
- spokesmen for government
- around 150-200 (a third) of them
- less influential
- around 20 cabinet ministers (all frontbenchers)
- nearly all MPs are elected to represent a political party
- must show loyalty to leadership
12
Q
backbench MPs
A
- most MPs are more independent but loyalty is still expected
13
Q
select committees
A
- permanent
- make sure that a law works as effectively as it can
- can do more than an MP can do in the house
- are elected by fellow MPs
- have oral sessions where MPs quiz executives and then the members of committees write a report which hopefully the government will take up
- cross party
- scrutinise government departments through public inquiries
- have a committee for every possible political interest
- most have 11 members
- they draft a list of questions once they decide on a topic
- use social media to get info out
- important part of parliamentary system
- make sure law works as effectively as it can
- can do more than an MP can on the house
- they follow evidence and make sure they have a range of differing opinions
- get into detail and examine how the laws they’re passing are affected
- have v few formal powers
- governments can and do ignore requests
- they conduct 4/5 inquiries at any one time
14
Q
main distinctions between house of lords and house of commons:
A
house of lords= doesn’t control term of prime minister or government, number of members isn’t fixed
house of commons= law making, government control, vote to require the prime minister to resign/ call an election, has a defined number of seats
15
Q
importance of departmental select committees
A
- research specific issues
- oversee government agencies
- derive powers of the house and from standing orders
