parliament Flashcards
how are members chosen for the House of Commons?
all members of the house of commons are all chosen through election, through the FPTP system, under the fixed term parliament act of 2011 elections should take place every 5 years, but this was changed with the snap election under Theresa May. MP’s tend to be elected based on a political party, there was only one independent MP lady Hermon who would serve for NI for 5 years
how are members chosen for the House of Lords?
there is not a limit of the size of peers in the House of Lords, in late 2016 there was a total of 809 peers.
what are the main functions of parliament?
both the house and lords have three main functions, they are to pass legislation, scrutiny of the executive and providing ministers.
The significance of passing legislation, in the commons and lords?
passing legislation is the most important aspect of parliament as it is the supreme legislative body, it can pass and amend any laws, there is exclusive power that is given to the commons for taxes, the lords can only amend non-financial legislation.
In order for legislation to not pass there needs to be strong opposition this was seen in 2016 when Cameron lost his plans to extend Sunday trading.
the work of the whips ensures that mp’s attend votes, the most important occasions are known as the three-line whip, there can be sanctions for those who do not meet the party line. Lee Anderson recently had the whip suspended for his actions regarding racism. Some legislation can be passed quickly for example the 2005 prevention of terrorism act was passed in juts 18 days. There have been examples where acts have been poorly passed, for example the 1991 dangerous dogs act, a review by the RSPCA 25 years later would show that of the 30 deaths caused 21 were caused by breeds that were not outlined.
the significance of parliamentary scrutiny?
there is a number of ways in which scrutiny is performed?
questions to ministers- PMQ’s is a typical way to hold the prime minister to account.
select committee, these shadow individual government departments in the commons.
debates- a key example was in 2013 when Cameron was defeated on his proposal to undertake military action in syria. the backbench business committee allow the topic for debates to be chosen by mp’s.
the significance of providing minsters, commons and lords?
a convention is that ministers must sit in one of the two houses. the whips will make suggestions to the pm on who should be promoted, peerage can also be rewarded to allow someone to be a part of the government for example Cameron was recently made a lord in order to act as foreign secretary.
the significance of representing the electorate?
commons is used as a representative function, though it is a convention that MP’s are not delegates of their constituencies and can vote on their own appeal. the first past the post system means that there is a strong link between the MP and the constituency. MP’s are supposed to deal with problems that pose their constituents, 44 MPs in 2016 would vote against HS2 and this because they lived an area that this would affects.
how effectively does parliament perform its representative function?
there can often be a collusion with the views on an MP and what they should vote, whether they should vote according to their constituency or their own views, The ministerial code encourages mp’s to avoid conflicts of interests. for example, in 2006 Hazel Blears would support protests against the planned closure of a hospital.
there is reason to suggest that the commons is still not overly representative, for example in 2015 only 29% of mp’s that were elected were female, this is in contrast to 51% of the population, ethnic minority is also a smaller value at just 6% at this time.
there is also indication that mp’s from certain industries are more likely to be elected for example in 2015 22% of mp’s that were elected were a part of the business sector.
what is the significance of the powers of the house of commons?
parliament has exclusive authority over tax and public expenditure, this is because the commons represents the tax payer.
another area where the commons can display their power is in a situation called confidence and supply, this is what took place in 2017 when Theresa may was forced to rule as a minority party with the help of the DUP. in 1977-78 there was the lib-lab agreement.
what is the significance of the powers of the house of lords?
the most important legal restraints are provided by the parliament acts of 1911/1949. this would set out that the lords had no right to delay money bills and it had the power to delay which would only last two parliamentary sessions. there is also the 1945 Salisbury convention, the lords could not oppose a bill that was on line with the manifesto, this was in response to Attlee being elected and labour wanting to make radical reforms.
the lords have the following distinctive powers, it acts as a revising chamber, Delay non-financial legislation for one year and if the government wishes to extend its power beyond the legal 5 years then the lords have the right to call a general election.
in what ways are the lords becoming more important?
their legitimacy would increase with the removal of hereditary peers and instead life peers which had been nominated for their works. The removal of the hereditary peers also has meant that the dominance of the conservative party has decrease, in 2005 the lib dems would grow in presence over Blair’s suggestion of identity cards, they would argue that the slaibury convention did not apply as this government would only win on 35.2% of the popular vote. Cross- bench peers are also less likely to assess a bill based on what a party may think, for example Lord Owen would oppose the coalition’s health and social care bill.
how does the Commons maintain its supremacy?
The commons remains the dominant house, the commons can usually find its own majority to pass bills for example in 2012 the coalition would reject seven amendments to its welfare and reform work bill, arguing that the commons can take decisions with large financial implication. a case of parliamentary ping ping was seen with the 2005 prevention of terrorism bill, the lords would want a sunset clause but they would back down following a compromise. the government can use the parliament act to pass a bill and this was used three times by the Blair government an example of this was the banning hunting with dogs, 2004. the lords can also display their determination for example in 2015 they would vote to delay planned cuts to tax credits and compensate those who would be affected.
significance of the different stages of the legislative process?
legislative bill is a proposal for a new law and act of parliment is a bill that has become law.
government bill or public bill- these are Brought forward by ministers to change public policy for example with the NHS.
private bill- sponsored by an organisation and will change the law that affects this organisation, there was the 2013 London local authorities and transport for London act which would introduce new powers surrounding dealing with obstruction on roads in the capital.
hybrid bill- has characterisations of both a public and a private bill, the HS2 is an example.
private member’s bill- this affects the whole population and is brought forward by a backbench MP or a member of the lords, they are much less likely to become law. Imposition of a duty on council and NHS to look after people with autism, this was run in 2009 by Cheryl Gillian, MP.
the significance of the each of the stages of a bill?
origin- may originate as a green/white paper but this is not compulsory.
first reading- this made available to mp’s but is not debated or voted on.
second reading- this is debated and a vote may be taken if it is contested.
Committee stage- the bill is scrutinised by the public bill committee, ammendments may be made at this stage.
report stage- whole house considered the amendments and may accept or reject the.
third reading- amended bill is debated and voted on by the whole house.
House of lords stages- the bill goes through the same stages but with the lords, the bill may go between the two houses for up to a year.
royal assent- the monarch will sign the bill making it law.
what is the role and significance of backbench mp’s?
parliamentary privilege- allows mp’s the historic right to freedom of speech.
back bench business commitee- allows backbench mp’s to choose the topic for debate in each parliamentary session, an example is in 2015 there was the creation of Harvey’s law which would mean that agencies would have to be notified if a pet died on the motoway/have been killed. The committee does also respond debates that have the support of both parties.
there has been a rise in the number of backbench rebellions, between 2010-15 there was 38% of mp’s that would rebel.
increase in the use of urgent questions- allows an mp to raise an important matter quickly speaker John Bercow would allow 3547 urgent questions from 2009-13.
