Parliament Flashcards
What is Parliament ?
Compromised of the Commons and Lords which possesses supreme legislative authority. It scrutinises the work of the government and ensures it represents the diverse interests of the UK
What is House of Commons ?
- Responsible for passing legislation in the form of a vote before it is forwarded to the Lords and Monarch.
- MPs are democratically elected to represent their constituents at a government level.
What is House of Lords ?
- Scrutinises legislation, holds government to account, considers and reports upon public policy.
- Lords are not democratically elected and earn a seat on merit.
Front Bench MPs ?
Often the spokespeople for the party and have the most importance in terms of duties to the house and so sit in the front row.
Back Bench MPs ?
- MPs that are not government or opposition spokespeople but still have been elected to the house by constituents.
- They hold less importance than the spokespeople so sit on the benches further back in the house.
Party Whips ?
Whips are MPs or Members of the House of Lords appointed by each party in Parliament to help organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. One of their responsibilities is making sure the maximum number of their party members vote, and vote the way their party wants.
The Speaker ?
The speaker is an elected MP who acts as a neutral referee within the house that keeps order and makes sure rules are followed.
Leader of Opposition ?
The Leader of the Opposition is the title given to the leader of the political party in Parliament that has formed the Official Opposition meaning 2nd most seats after the election.
What are the Functions of the Commons ?
Legitimation - Process of making laws by vote to get consent
Accountability - Gov are accountable for serving the people and must give reason for decisions
Scrutiny - Any proposed legislation is examined by MPs who may amend
Constituency Work - MPs serve best interests of electorate
Representation of Interests - Interests of society may be affected by policy and MPs protect these
National Debate - MPs have opportunities to debate things they see as an issue
What are the types of Peers in the Lords
Life Peer - Members appointed for life by Monarch on advice of PM
Archbishop / Bishop - 26 CofE are members
Hereditary Peers - 92 remaining lords inherited from their fathers after 1999
What is Independent Appointment Commission ?
Neutral committee that review nominations to the Lords by the PM and are finalised by the monarch
How have powers changed over time in the Lords ?
Pre 1911 - Veto any bills
1911 Parliament Act - Cannot vote down money bills and only delay for 2 years
1945 Salisbury Convention - Lords cannot oppose bills from manifesto
1949 Parliament Act - Only delay for 1 year
1958 Peerage Age - Created life peers
1999 HOL Act -Reduces hereditary peers to 92
2000 Independent Appointment Commission - Neutral committee appoint members
2005 Constitutional Reform Act - Ended judicial role and created supreme court
Positives of the Lords ?
- Commons get final decision on legislation
- Scrutinises and improves legislation line by line
- Not motivated by promotion opportunities like the Commons
- Experts in their field
- Many made peers on merit
- Often ex MPs meaning they have experience in politics
- Cross-benchers aren’t politically involved
- Lords can bring their own views and passions into the house to create change and use their links
Negatives of the Lords ?
- Attendance often low - Baroness D’Souza said that some peers ran into the house to say they attended then ran back out
- Members old and maybe incompetent (Oldest member is 99)
- Unelected and undermines democracy
- Not representative of British public (Old, white, rich, males)
- Can only delay and not reject bills
- After a year they cannot delay any longer
- Hereditary peers don’t sit on merit instead luck
- £300 a day in expenses can be claimed from taxpayer
- Normal people cannot enter the Lords as they cannot afford having no salary
What are the functions of the Lords ?
- Scrutinise Legislation (committees)
- Power of Delay (for 1 year)
- Scrutinise secondary legislation
- Debate issues (25% of sittings)
- Scrutinise the work of the government (around 12 committees)
How are people appointed to the HOL ?
1) Five Possible Ways:
- Direct Ministerial Appointment by PM - 2023 Sunak appointing Cameron
- Top up Appointment by Party Leaders - Johnson nominated donor Peter Cruddas and ignored HOLAc
- Dissolution Honours by Party Leaders - The longest serving MP, Clarke, was appointed by Johnson
- Resignation Honours by outgoing PM - Truss appointed 3 Lords, one including Matthew Elliott a Lobbyist ???
- Non-part Political Life Peers by HOLAC - In 2015, Bird was appointed as life peer
2) HOLAC vets all nominations and advises PM on appointments.
3) The PM can ignore any advice.
4) Monarch then signs off.
Positives of HOL Appointments ?
- HOLAC vet all nominations
- Allows more people to access the cabinet like Cameron in 2023
- Lets people like Ken Clarke to be rewarded for their long careers
- Rewards people for exceptional work in their lives like Lord Bird
- Appointments can be made by people not in government to allow for inclusivity
Negatives of HOL Appointments ?
- PM can ignore HOLAC advice
- Many appointments are favouring friends
- Buying influence is common like Peter Cruddas
- Resignations Honours list are often long
- Tactical appointments undermine democracy like Cameron being made Foreign Secretary
- PM has more appointment opportunities (4)
- Same amount of nominations no matter how long served (Truss = 45 days)
What are the types of Legislation ?
Public Bills - Bills presented by the government
Primary Legislation - Major legislation either changing law or granting powers to devolved bodies to create secondary
Secondary Legislation - Under powers granted by primary, which other bodies can interpret and make regulations without parliament approval
Private Members Bill - MPs enter ballot to present their proposed bill which is debated and rarely passed to law
Private Bills - Bills presented by individuals outside of parliament who apply
How are bills passed ?
- Bill created in either HOC/L
- Goes through 1st & 2nd reading, then committee stage, then Report Stage, and finally 3rd reading
- Bill passed to the alternate house where the process is repeated
- Returned to original house to either confirm or revise
- If confirmed, the bill is given royal assent and made law
When do the Lords not get a say in Bills ?
- According to Salisbury Convention, Lords cannot veto any bill included in the government manifesto
- After a year of delaying the Commons get the final decision whether or not to pass the bill
Positives of Legislation Process ?
- Allows for constructive criticism between the houses
- Many opportunities to criticise
- Committees are experts
- All MPs can vote
