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UK Politics > Parliament > Flashcards

Parliament Flashcards

1
Q

What are the functions that Parliament performs?

A
  • Passes legislation.
  • Represents constituencies.
  • Scrutinises the government.
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2
Q

What are the three parts that makes up Parliament?

A
  • House of Commons.
  • House of Lords.
  • Monarchy.
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3
Q

What are the 6 key features of Parliamentary government?

A

1) There is a fusion of powers
2) Governments are formed as a result of Parliamentary election.
3) The personnel of government must come from Parliament, typically from the largest party.
4) Government is responsible to Parliament.
5) Government has a collective ‘face’ and is based on the principle of cabinet government rather than personal leadership.
6) The PM is head of the government but not head of state.

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4
Q

How many MPs sit in the Commons?

A

650

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5
Q

What is the role of MPs in Parliament?

A
  • MPs represent their constituencies and deal with the grievances of individual constituents.
  • They are expected to scrutinise the government.
  • MPs are also expected to debate legislation and the great issues of the day.
    MPs, legitimise legislation and represent popular consent.
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6
Q

What is the cabinet?

A

Made up of the senior members of government. Every week during Parliament, members of the Cabinet meet to discuss the most important issues for the government.

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7
Q

What are junior ministers?

A

The most junior Ministers are Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State, of whom there will be one in a small department and three or four in a large department.

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8
Q

What is the role of backbenchers in Parliament?

A
  • Not expected to criticise the government too strongly even when the interests of their constituency are an issue.
  • Opposition backbenchers are expected to play a prominent part in opposing the government as well as looking after their constituency’s interests.
  • They question ministers.
  • Participate in debates.
  • Vote on legislation.
  • Participate in PBCs and select committees.
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9
Q

What is the role of the official opposition in the Commons?

A
  • It oppose and criticises the policies of the government.
  • In doing so, it presents itself to the electorate as an alternative government.
  • The leader of the opposition is called upon every week to question the PM.
  • Official opposition MPs are on all committees in the Commons.
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10
Q

What is the role of the whips?

A
  • Work with their opposition whip to arrange business of the House.
  • They are responsible for ‘pairing’ MPs who wish to be absent from the House.
  • They ensure the party leader is aware of the feelings of MPs on issues and legislation going through Parliament and vice versa.
  • They have many incentive and sanction available and can make the life of an MP difficult if they are unwilling to ‘toe the party line’.
  • At time of minority and coalition government, the jobs of whips is considerably harder because power lies with the backbenchers rather than government.
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11
Q

What is the role of the speaker in the Commons?

A
  • Calling upon MPs to speak in debates
  • Ensuring that parties receive their fair share of debating time.
  • Disciplining MPs when they break the rules and procedures of the House.
  • Announcing the results of votes in the House.
  • Casting the deciding voting in the event of a tie, but convention dictates that this is usually to agree with government.
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12
Q

What are the different types of Lords?

A
  • Life peers.
  • People’s peers.
  • Hereditary peers.
  • Lords Spiritual.
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13
Q

Who are life peers?

A
  • Are entitled to sit in the Lords for their own lifetimes.
  • They are nominated by the Prime Minister.
  • Life peers now dominate the chamber 690 of 802 seats.
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14
Q

Who are people’s peers?

A
  • Appointed on the basis of individual recommendations made to the Lords Appointments Commission.
  • System of appointing people’s peers started in 2000.
  • By the end of 2018 there were 70 people’s peers in the House.
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15
Q

Who are hereditary peers?

A
  • These peers hold inherited titles which carry the right to sit in the Lords.
  • Once there were over 700 hereditary peers, but as of 1999 there are only 92 left.
  • This is the part of the House of Lords that receives the most criticism.
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16
Q

Who are the Lords Spiritual?

A
  • These are the 26 bishops and archbishop of the Church of England.
  • They are collectively referred to as ‘Lords Spiritual’.
  • They are appointed by the PM on the basis of recommendations made by Church England.
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17
Q

Who are cross-benchers in the Lords?

A

Members of the Lords who are not affiliated to any party and have no party loyalty.

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18
Q

How does the monarch interact with government?

A
  • ‘Appoints’ government.
  • Opens/Dismisses parliament.
  • Give the monarch’s speech.
  • Passes legislation with royal assent.
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19
Q

What are the key powers of the House of Commons?

A
  • Supreme legislative powers: the Commons can make, unmake and amend any law it wishes.
  • Has the power to approve the government’s budget and any ‘money bills’.
  • Departmental select committees only exist in the Commons.
  • The power to question government ministers and the PM.
  • The power to represent the people and to be held accountable.
  • Holds the key role of legitimation of government and its legislation.
  • The power to remove the government of the day through a motion of no confidence.
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20
Q

What are the key powers of the House of Lords?

A
  • The Lords can delay bills passed by the Commons for up to one year.
  • Lords cannot delay ‘money bills’.
  • The Salisbury convention suggests that the Lords cannot defeat measure that are outline in the government’s election manifesto.
  • The Lords are more independent with less loyalty to parties.
  • The Lords have Question Time and every government department has a spokesperson who must respond to questions.
  • Legislative committees in the Lords who are experts in a particular field.
  • The Lords has the time and independence to debate important issues.
  • The Lords possess some concurrent veto powers that cannot be overridden by the Commons - can only be used with the permission of both Houses.
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21
Q

What makes an effective legislative process?

A
  • Non-partisan.
  • Having legislation effectively checked.
  • Quick and efficient.
  • Pre-legislative scrutiny.
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22
Q

What stages must a bill pass through to be made a law?

A

In the 1st house its presented in:
- First reading
- Second reading
- Committee stage
- Report stage
- Third reading

In the 2nd house:
- First reading
- Second reading
- Committee stage
- Report stage

Consideration of amendments - both houses.

ROYAL ASSENT.

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23
Q

What are public bills?

A

Bills that make changes to the whole population.

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24
Q

What are government bills?

A

Bills that are introduced by the government.

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25
Q

What are PMBs?

A

Bills that are introduced by backbench MPs.

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26
Q

What is a hybrid bill?

A

Hybrid bills are a combination of both public and private bills - they have a general effect but some provisions single out particular individuals/groups.

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27
Q

Give an example of a hybrid bill?

A

High Speed Rail Bill (2017)

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28
Q

What are green papers and white paper and how do they differ?

A
  • Green papers are consultation documents that explains the specific issues the government would like to address along with various different courses of action, to prompt debate and discussion.
  • White papers are more focused documents that set out the government’s plans for new legislation and invites feedback so that necessary changes can be made before being taken to Parliament.
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29
Q

What happens at the committee stage in the Commons?

A
  • The bill is scrutinised line by line by a Public Bill Committee.
  • PBCs are temporary and named after the bill they are reviewing - between 16 and 50 members reflective of the House of Common.
30
Q

What happens at the committee stage in the Lords?

A
  • There are no PBCs in the Lords.
  • All peers can participate in the committee stage.
  • Bills can be scrutinised by either the Committee of the White House (meets in the chamber) or by a Grand Committee (meets away from the House).
31
Q

What happens at the report stage?

A
  • MPs can debate the Bill in its amended form.
    They can amend or repeal changes made by the PBC.
  • MPs can oppose new amendments on points that were not raised during the committee stage.
32
Q

What happens during ‘ping-pong’?

A
  • Both Houses have to agree on every word of the Bill, so, if the Lords has amended the bill, it must be sent back to the Commons.
  • If the Commons agrees the Bill can move to royal assent.
  • But if the Commons disagreed with the amendments or make alternative amendments, the bill goes back to the Lords.
  • If the Lords agree the Bill can move to royal assent.
  • But if the Lords disagrees to the changes made by the Commons, the Bill returns to House of Commons.
33
Q

What are the 3 different ways in which a backbench MP can introduce a PMB?

A
  • Ballot bill: at the beginning of the Parliamentary years, all MPs who wish to introduce a PMB sign a book, entering their names for a chance to get one of the 20 spaces to discuss their PMB.
  • 10-minute-rule Bills: MPs enter their name into a weekly ballot, if they are selected they have ten minutes to make a speech about their bill, if the House agreed the Bill will have its first reading.
  • Presentation Bill: Members introduce the title of their Bill but they are not allowed to speak about it.
34
Q

What is a public bill committee and what is their role?

A
  • A PBC is set up to scrutinise a particular piece of legislation as it makes its journey through Commons.
  • They carry out this function after the 2nd Reading during the Committee Stage and the bill is then reported back to the house for Report Stage.
  • The purpose of a Public Bill Committee is to look at a bill in detail than may be possible in the chamber of the house during its reading stages.
35
Q

How are PBC members selected?

A
  • The size of each PBC varies on the bill being considered. They normally have between 17-20 members.
  • Membership of PBC chosen by party whips.
  • The mechanism for doing this is the Committee of Selection, but this is simply the way party whips send MPs to different PBCs.
  • It is possible for the whips to choose MPs who have a particular expertise, they usually choose MPs who are likely to be loyal.
36
Q

Strengths of PBCs?

A
  • Allows MPs to go through a bill giving it detailed scrutiny it won’t get in the chamber.
  • Allows MPs to hear the opinions of external stakeholders. E.g, the Domestic Abuse Bill received 96 pieces of written evidence from various stakeholders.
  • Allows the selection of MPs with specialist expertise to sit and scrutinise bills.
  • PBCs do not normally get significant media attention so the work can be done without having to worry about media scrutiny.
37
Q

Weaknesses of PBCs?

A
  • Normally partisan and MPs vote the way that the whips want.
  • MPs who sit on a PBCs are chosen by their party whips because they will be loyal to the party.
  • Amendments to the bill are often not accepted unless they are proposed by the Government side.
  • Very few amendments come out of PBCs. This is because the Government has a majority and their MPs are heavily whipped.
  • They do not have the same level of independence as Select Committees.
38
Q

What is the process for PMBs to be passed?

A
  • PMBs must go through the same legislative process as government bills.
  • PMBs are only usually considered on Fridays - there are normally 13 sitting Fridays set aside for this.
  • The first 7 sitting Fridays in a session are usually given to the second reading of bills.
  • Bills which pass 2nd reading are then referred to a PBC - unlike for government bills, only one committee at a time scrutinises PMBs.
  • From the 8th sitting Friday, precedence in the Commons is given to those bills which have made the most progress.
  • Once all the Commons stages are complete, PMBs go to the Lords for scrutiny.
39
Q

What might prevent a PMB from progressing?

A
  • Time limits are not placed on speeches on PMBs, making it possible for an opponent to filibuster.
  • If a PMB is still being debated at the end of the main parliamentary business on a sitting Friday, it must be postponed.
  • Bills not yet debated at the end of main business may still pass, but only if no MP objects.
  • Bills may be blocked from progressing even after receiving a second reading.
40
Q

How frequently are private members’ bills passed?

A
  • Of the more than 2,500 PMBs introduced between 2010–24, 110 have received royal assent.
  • Since 2010, only 1/4 of PMBs have even had a 2nd reading debate scheduled.
  • Between 2010 and 2024, more than 1/2 of the bills which received a 2nd reading and secured a date for committee in their first house made it onto the statute books.
  • The chance of a PMB making it into law varies considerably depending on the type of bill. 3/4 of those passed between 2010 and 2024 were introduced by MPs who had been successful in the Commons ballot. By contrast, just five ten minute rule bills and 5 Lords PMBs have been passed in the last 14 years.
41
Q

Examples of social reform passed through PMBs?

A
  • The temporary abolition of the death penalty in Great Britain in 1965 (made permanent in 1969).
  • The legalisation of abortion in Great Britain in 1967.
  • The decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales in 1967.
42
Q

Strengths of PMBs?

A
  • They allow non-government members to bring forward issues and ideas that might not be prioritised by the government.
  • They often address niche issues.
  • They can raise public awareness about specific issues, encouraging participation.
  • They can foster cooperation between different political parties, as PMBs often require a lot of support to pass.
  • Chances for all parties to contribute to legislation - e.g. Liberal Democrat MP brought in legislation about abortion.
  • They provide experience for MPs, helping them understand the complexities of the legislative process and build their profiles.
43
Q

Weaknesses of PMBs?

A
  • They are often allocated less parliamentary time than government bills, making it harder for them to progress through all the necessary stages.
  • They may be seen as lower priority, particularly when there are competing demands on parliamentary time.
  • A significant number of PMBs don’t become law, often due to procedural hurdles.
  • Too easy to ‘filibuster’ and too hard to end the filibuster as 100MPs have to vote for a closure motion to end filibustering.
44
Q

Examples of the Commons challenging government?

A
  • 2005 backbench MPs defeated plans to extend the detention of terrorist suspects to 90 day - Blair’s first ever Commons defeat.
  • 2015 Cameron’s government were defeated in a vote about Sunday Trading Laws.
  • When Boris Johnson took over from May in July 2019 his government was defeated 12 times in the Commons.
45
Q

Example of the Lords challenging government?

A
  • In the 2017-2019 session there were 69 defeats by the Lords.
  • In the 2022-2023 session there were 125 defeats by the Lords.
46
Q

Examples of the Commons not being defeated?

A
  • Blair did not lose a vote in the Commons from 1997 to 2005.
  • The Brown government was only defeated three times in three years.
47
Q

Examples of the Lords not checking legislation?

A
  • The changes made to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offender Act were overturned in the Commons.
  • The Commons also overturned changes made by the Lords to the Transparency of Lobbying Act (2014).
  • Boris Johnson’s 2020 defeats in the Lords were overturned in the Commons.
48
Q

What was the issue with representation during Brexit?

A
  • Issues for Labour MPs - doctrine of the mandate was a difficult model to achieve during Brexit as it was not clear what the party message with the matter of Brexit - the snap election in 2017 meant that Labour didn’t really have a manifesto.
  • MPs in tightly contested seats didn’t know which way to go because the issue of Brexit didn’t split down party lines and it was a heavily divisive issue across the UK.
49
Q

Examples of MPs who struggled to be representatives during Brexit.

A
  1. Lisa Nandy (Labour) - She had campaigned to remain in the EU. Her constituency, Wigan voted 63-37% to leave the EU. After the referendum she chose to support the wishes of her constituents.
  2. Dominic Grieve (Conservative) - His constituency voted 50.99-49.01% to remain but he continued to push the Brexit legislation.
50
Q

Evidence that the House of Commons is representative?

A
  • Number of LGBTQ+ MPs is level to/greater than society (2024 - 64/650 MPs)
  • Just under 6% of MPs gave oaths which indicated they belonged to Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or Sikh religious traditions.
  • 14% of the Commons is from an ethnic minority backgrounds.
51
Q

Evidence that the House of Commons is not representative?

A
  • Only 41% of MPs are female - needs at least 10 more percentage points to be representative of society.
  • The average age of MPs at elections has consistently been about 50 years old.
  • Currently 23% of MPs were privately educated compared with 7% of the national population.
52
Q

Example of party whips being too controlling?

A

MP Christian Wakeford has said that, prior to his defection to Labour, Conservative whips had threatened to withdraw funds for a new school in his constituency if he did not support the Government in key votes.

53
Q

Evidence showing attitudes to Whips are changing?

A

There was a rebellion of 99 Conservative MPs over the Government’s ‘Plan B’ COVID restrictions in December 2021. Several MPs have gone as far as to threaten to report whips to the police, and release secret recordings and messages sent by the Chief Whip.

54
Q

How is representation undermined by FPTP?

A

Overrepresents the two largest parties and underrepresents third parties: in 2024 Reform had 14.3% of the vote share and received 5 seats whilst Labour received 34% of the votes and received 411 seats.

55
Q

What 4 methods can be used to scrutinise government?

A
  1. Questioning.
  2. Committees - particularly select committees.
  3. Debating.
  4. Official opposition.
56
Q

Examples of questioning being an effective method at scrutinising government?

A
  • In the 2017 - 2019 session there were 307 urgent questions asked, compared to the 4 questions during the 2007 - 2008 session.
  • PMQs gives a platform to the Leader of the Opposition to challenge the PM → in the 27/11/24 Badenoch made reference to hobnobs and gingernuts when talking about the McVites factory closure.
  • In his book ‘For the Record’, David Cameron writes about how he “dreaded it all week”. Suggests questioning is effective.
57
Q

Examples of questioning not being an effective method of scrutiny?

A
  • MPs engage in the worst of playground bullying behaviour: when Cameron joked that Ed Miliband was ‘Alex Salmon’s poodle’ in 2015 the Conservative MPs made barking noises.
  • It has become a show for the media - in his book Cameron recalls how he and his team would come up with ‘zingers’ for PMQs.
58
Q

Evidence demonstrating that select committees are an effective method of scrutiny?

A
  • Chairs can be of high-quality: Jeremy Hunt served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - he later went on to chair the Health and Social Care committee having expertise to scrutinise government.
  • Studies from 2015 estimated that 30-40% of committee recommendations end up as government policy.
  • There has been resignations in response to the evidence produced by Select Committees. E.g. Amber Rudd and the Home Affairs Committee, April 2018.
59
Q

Evidence that that select committees aren’t an effective method of scrutiny?

A
  • The government has 60 days to respond to reports but is not compelled to take up any recommendations.
  • Media attention - interviewing of ministers can become an interrogation in order to gain media coverage: e.g. Dominic Cummings during COVID.
  • The turnover of members damages committee effectiveness. The Defence Committee saw an 83% turnover during 2010-15.
60
Q

Evidence demonstrating debating is an effective method of scrutiny?

A
  • The BbBC have time to discuss the key issue of the day - e.g. debate about the use of wild animals in circuses in 2011 led to government bringing forward a policy which became law in 2019.
  • PMs have become reluctant to initiate military action debating the matter first. E.g. in 2014, Cameron recalled Parliament from its summer recess to debate a motion on using air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. In 2015 Parliament was again given the opportunity to debate the issue of air strikes in Syria - it was again approved.
61
Q

Evidence demonstrating debating isn’t an effective method of scrutiny?

A
  • PMs are not obliged to consult Parliament before military action. E.g. Theresa May did not consult Parliament in 2018 over the UK joining the air strikes against Syria.
  • The debates initiated by the BbBC are merely motions for discussion, the outcome of MPs’ votes doesn’t compel a government to act. E.g. In 2016 after 1.6 million people signed an e-petition, Parliament debated whether President Trump should be given a visa to visit the UK - but in itself it is was not enough to change government policy.
62
Q

Evidence demonstrating official opposition is an effective methods of scrutiny?

A
  • The Blair opposition 1994-1997 was very effective in highlighting weaknesses in the Major Government, as well as presenting itself as a good alternative government in waiting.
  • Starmer was an effective leader of the opposition - he was able to present a unified party in the face of Tory scandals.
  • During opposition days the opposition can direct questions at government that they are uncomfortable with/not looking at. Example: 09/01/24 - Rwanda Plan Cost and Asylum System - brought up by Labour.
63
Q

Evidence demonstrating official opposition isn’t an effective methods of scrutiny?

A
  • A government with a large majority can ignore their opposition as they have such a big mandate. Example: the Thatcher and Blair governments.
  • A poor opposition leader may not be able to make the most of the position. Example: Corbyn was widely criticised for being ineffective even with a government in chaos.
64
Q

What are the arguments in defence of the House of Lords?

A
  • The Lords has many experts in their fields .
    · They have time resources to debate in depth - to hold the Commons/Executive to account.
    · Legislation cannot pass to royal assent before the Lords approves.
    · Lack of partisanship - the chamber is not elected.
65
Q

What are the aspects of the Lords that attract criticism?

A
  • The hereditary peers
  • The appointments process.
66
Q

Evidence that hereditary peers do not deserve to be in the Lords?

A
  • There are 85 dukes, earls and barons who sit in the chamber; it is outdated.
  • Hereditary peers have costed the taxpayer almost £50 million in expense claims since 2001.
  • The average hereditary peer has spoken in the chamber just 50 times over the past five years compared with 82 times for life peers.
  • Nearly half of the hereditary peers went to Eton.
  • Between all the hereditary peers they own at least 170,000 acres of land.
67
Q

Evidence that the House of Lords is effective at its legislative function?

A
  • Party discipline in the Lords is weaker so it is more independent.
  • Approximately 1/4 of Lords are crossbenchers, making the chamber less partisan.
  • The Lords have become more rebellious in recent years:
    → In December 2020 the Lords forced the government to U-turn over the internal markets bill.
    → Asylum for children: in 2016 the Lords rebelled over the Dubs Amendment which sought to compel the government to accept its ‘fair share’ of children from Syria.
68
Q

Evidence that the House of Lords isn’t effective at its legislative function?

A
  • All defeats by the Lords on both the EU Withdrawal Bill and the Article 50 Bill were overturned in the Commons.
  • Despite the legal aid bill suffering 14 defeats in the Lords, only a few of the most contentious amendments were accepted by the Coat Government.
  • The Salisbury Convention means the House of Lords doesn’t oppose measure in the manifesto of the elected government → The Lords did not reject any measures passed by the Commons in 2019 over the issue of Brexit, nor in 2024 did they reject the Safety of Rwanda Bill.
69
Q

Evidence that the House of Lords is effective at its scrutiny function?

A
  • The Lords are more independent and so issues may be looked at in a non-partisan manner, especially by crossbench peers.
  • Because the Lords are there for life - whips have limited power over them.
  • The Lords have more time to debate than the Commons so there is the opportunity for more detailed discussion of many issues.
  • There are permanent committees on the economy, science and technology.
  • The Constitution Committee examines the constitutional implication of public bills coming before the House and keeps under review the operation of the constitution and constitutional aspects of devolution.
70
Q

Evidence that the House of Lords isn’t effective at its scrutiny function?

A
  • The Lords are less effective in scrutinising th government: PMQs and MQs allow the Commons to directly scrutinise government by making it accountable, this direct scrutiny doesn’t occur in the Lords.
  • The Commons select committees have grown in influence and authority since being reformed in 2010.
  • The lack of departmental select committees in the Lords limits their ability to scrutinise effectively.
71
Q

Evidence that the House of Lords is effective at its representative function?

A
  • The Lords may be more willing to represent people and issues because they aren’t held accountable at elections → asylum and protection of human rights.
  • The Lords represents areas of expertise outside of politics - in areas such as medicine, law, business, science, and public services.
  • Lord Adebowale was chief executive of the drugs charity Turning Point.
72
Q

Evidence that the House of Lords isn’t effective at its representative function?

A
  • Hereditary peerages automatically pass to the first-born son.
  • Average of a peer in the Lords is 69.

UK Politics (4 decks)

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