parliament Flashcards
parliament
elected representatives of society
major laws made
house of lords and house of commons
house of commons
elected by public
country divided into constituencies and each one votes for a member of parliament
general election every 5 years
by-elections are frequent as MP has to be elected if previous MP died/retired
government formed by political party
government have main say in which acts are passed
house of lords
non elected
before 1999:
1100 members - 750 hereditary peers, life peers, judges and bishops
after 1999:
90 hereditary peers
640 life peers
26 bishops
12 most senior judges - removed themselves and created supreme court
hereditary
inherited from family
life
done good in lifetime
pre-legislative procedure
minister responsible for department will draft ideas
may be published in a consultation document
anyone can comment on these ideas
green paper
published by minister involved and comments invited
white paper
published with firm proposals
what are green and white papers used for?
to stop knee jerk reactions like the dangerous dogs act 1991 which is a poorly written law
act is also known as…
…a statute
draft is also known as…
…a bill
private members bill
MP’s who aren’t ministers and can be from a political party
private members bill
introduce through:
ballot
10 min rule
ballot
20 MPs selected and can put forward their ideas
only debated on a friday so only first 6 or 7 people get heard
10 min rule
any MP can make a speech up to 10 minutes introducing their ideas
rarely successful unless there’s no opposition
exception to private members bill not being successful
abortion act 1967
parliamentary process
informal
green and white papers
parliamentary process
formal
first reading
second reading
committee stage
report stage
third reading
house of lords
royal assent
first reading
name and main aims read out
second reading
main debate
MP’s who wish to speak must catch the speakers eye
at the end a verbal vote is taken
if close formal vote - MP goes through yes/no door
committee stage
16-50 MPs examine the bill
sit on standing committee and have special interest in the subject
for finance bills the whole house sits on the committee
report stage
feedback to the house
amendments are made and debated on
third reading
final vote
usually only a further debate if more than 6 MPs request it
house of lords
goes through whole process again in H of L
if they wish to make amendments then it starts all over again in first house = parliamentary ping pong
royal assent 1967
last refused in 1707
bill becomes an act by midnight or the commencement day set
influences on parliament
law commission 1965
political influences
EU law
public opinion/media
pressure groups
pressure groups
sectional
represent the particular views of a section of society
government may consult with them when new laws/reforms are made
sectional pressure groups
examples
law society
teachers union
pressure groups
casual
promote a particular cause
Greenpeace
casual pressure groups
effects
may pressure government to change the law
gay rights - reduced age of homosexual consent to 16
may cause government to reconsider passing laws
justice and liberty successfully campaigned to stop the government restricting the right to trial by jury
lobbying
groups try to pressure individual MP’s
if successful the MP will speak for them in parliament
pressure groups
advantages
raise importance for the public
raise important issues for the government
pressure groups
disadvantages
may be seen as imposing their minority needs
2 pressure groups may have conflicting ideas
public opinion/media
government will bow to public pressure if it is just before a general election
media brings public opinion to the attention of the government
media may dramatize the situation
specific events forming the law
positive
dunblane massacre 1996 - snowdrop campaign led to the banning of most handguns
specific events forming the law
negative
dangerous dogs act 1991
government may respond too quickly
very poorly written
political influences
parties publish their manifestos before elections to make their ideas for new laws and reforms clear
kings speech details which acts they intend to pass in the year
political influences
advantages
each party has an agenda ready before being elected so everything is planned and ready to go
government has the majority so will get most laws passed, making the process efficient
political influences
disadvantages
new government means that they may spend their time repealing or altering laws the previous government passed
can be costly and time consuming
role of house of commons
democratically elected
most bills start here
all finance bills start here
government have the majority so bills introduced here are often passed
role of house of lords
acts as a check and balance to H of C
if H of L vote against something, it can alert H of C to potential problems
some bills start here
H of L limited by the parliament act 1911 - they can only delay a bill up to a year and a day
4 occasions where H of C has had to force a bill through - Hunting act 2004
parliamentary supremacy/sovereignty
- parliament can legislate on anything
- parliaments act 1911/1949 - no parliament is bound by a past or future
- statute of Westminster 1931 - nobody has the right to override parliament
- railways board v pickin 1974
limitations on parliamentary supremacy
EU - removed ourselves through Brexit
Human rights act 1998
Devolution
human rights act 1998
s4 of HRA means that anyone can challenge a national law if it isn’t compatible with the HRA
H v mental health tribunal 2001 challenged the mental health act 1985
devolution
Scotland Act 1998 and Wales act 1998
make laws on particular topics without having to consult Westminster
theoretically possible to repeal but would be very unpopular
after recent referendum in Scotland it is likely that more powers will be devolved
public bills
most bills are public
affect either the whole country or large sections of it
constitution reform act 2005
legal services act 1997
private bills
only a small number of bills
affect individuals or corporations
white haven harbor act 2007
hybrid bills
cross between private and public bills
introduced by government but if they become a law they will only affect a particular person, organization or place
cross rail act 2008
