Parliament Flashcards
Presidential government:
Government office-holders are answerable to the president
President is not dependent on a continuing majority in the legislature
Executive accountable to people
Clear separation of powers - codified constitutional agreement to separate
Main functions of parliament:
Legitimating
Scrutiny
Accountability
Legislating
Law-making
Representation
Main functions of the House of Lords:
Scrutiny
Accountability
Legislating
Law-making
Delaying
Deliberation
Separation of powers:
Doctrine of the separation of powers proposes that each of the three functions of government should be entrusted to separate branches of government
What is the purpose of the separation of powers:
To fragment government power in such a way as to defend liberty and stem corruption
Who’s work is the separation of powers based on:
French philosopher, Montesquieu
Where is separation of powers applied most strictly:
USA
Fusion of powers:
Occurs when the three key parts of the state - executive, legislature and judiciary - are all integrated, as they are in the UK.
Representative government:
System of government where the electorate has given an elected parliament the power to take the major decisions on its behalf.
Composition of the Commons:
650 democratically elected MPs representing geographical constituencies from across the UK
Approximately 16 different parties represented
Comprises frontbenchers and backbenchers
Composition of the Lords:
91 Hereditary Lords
Approx 600 appointed lords
24 Church of England bishops
Over 700 members!
Main criticisms of the constitutional reforms of Parlaimeng since 2010:
Lords reform
Reduction in number of MPs
Fixed term parliaments
AV referendum
Right to recall, MPs
How the executive dominates Parliament:
Payroll Vote
Parliament Act
Party Whips
Parliamentary Majority
Party loyalty
Power of patronage
How parliament has some power:
Rebellions
When the parliamentary majority is small
Can make back room deals
When PM is weak
PMQs can be effective in revealing weaknesses in the government
Parliamentary government:
Government governs in and through the assembly or parliament
‘Fusion’ of executive and legislative branches
Main source of political authority in the UK
Government must be drawn from Parliament and must be accountable to Parliament
What is parliament?
Parliament is the central law making institution as well as being the main way in which citizens are represented
Distinctions between the HOL and the HOC:
HOC - grants popular consent to proposed legislation
HOL - deliberating at length on important issues
HOC - represents the interests of constituents
HOL - delays legislation forcing government to reconsider
Shared functions of the HOC and HOL:
Grant formal consent to legislation
Call government to account
Scrutinise proposed legislation and amend it where necessary
Debate key issues
Represent the interests of different sections of society
What is the Westminster model:
Concept suggests that Parliament is the centre of the political system
Presidential government:
Political principle that a president has a separate source of authority from that of the rest of the government
Separation of powers:
Principle that the powers of the government and parliament should be separated and that they should each control each other’s power
Fusion of powers:
Where there is no separation between government and Parliament
Parliamentary government:
Principle that the government draws its authority from Parliament and not directly from the electorate
Factors in the HOL favour:
Government does not enjoy the party support of a majority in the HOL
Most members of the Lords are not professional politicians meaning they can be independent minded
HOL cannot veto proposals but can delay and obstruct giving them so influence over government
