parliament 2.1 the structure and role

Question 1

House of Commons

Answer 1

the democratically elected, lower chamber of the UK Parliament, which proposes, debates and vote on laws. The greater legitimacy of the House of Commons gives it supremacy over the other chamber, the House of Lords.

Question 2

MPs

Answer 2

This is a collective term that applies to all those elected to the House of Commons, regardless of whether they have other, more specialised roles as well.

Question 3

Frontbench MPs

Answer 3

These MPs have roles in the government, including senior ministers, junior ministers and permanent private secretaries.. They are appointed by the Prime Minister and must present and publicly support government policy. There are usually around 50 of these MPs, with the most senior being the Prime Minister.

Question 4

Backbench MPs

Answer 4

These are MPs who do not have roles in the government or shadow cabinet. They are usually, but not always, registered to a political party and will typically vote whichever way their party tells them to. Their main function is to represent the interests of their constituents.

Question 5

Speaker of the House of Commons

Answer 5

This individual is elected by other MPs to preside over proceedings in the HoC. Although this person will have been elected as an MP and is likely to be registered to a political party, they are expected to set aside their own allegiance and act impartially in this role. Their primary role is maintain order in debates and decide who gets to speak.

Question 6

Party Whips

Answer 6

These are MPs responsible for maintaining discipline in their respective political parties. They will make sure that other MPs in their party are informed about parliamentary business and try to persuade those who are reluctant to vote the way party leadership wants them to.

Question 7

The Opposition

Answer 7

> the second largest political party in the HoC, play the primary role in scrutinising the work of gov and holding them to account. T
have their own frontbench MPs, the shadow cabinet, who monitor work of gov ministers.

Question 8

how many members are there in hoc?

Answer 8

650 MPs

Question 9

what does each MP represent?

Answer 9

MPs represent a constituency, all of which contain approximately 60,000 to 80,000 people.

Question 10

why do each constituency have a similar amount of people?

Question 11

how many constituencies are there in the uk?

Answer 11

> currently 533 in England
59 in Scotland,
40 in Wales
18 in Northern Ireland