Parliament Flashcards
Key characteristics of Parliamentary government
- Fusion of Powers between the executive and the legislature
- Government is accountable to Parliament, can be removed via a vote of no confidence
- Collective government, executive is led by Prime Minister who is Primus inter pares (first among equals)
- Monarch is the head of state
- Leader of the largest party becomes PM
What is the word for ‘two chambers’?
Bicameral
What is the Lower house called and what is its purpose?
It is the dominant chamber b/c it’s elected. The two main powers it has are
- Parliamentary Sovereignty
- Motion of no Confidence/ Vote of no confidence
What is Parliamentary Sovereignty?
- Sovereignty is the unrestricted power and authority
- As the UK has an uncodified constitution, Westminster has the ultimate law making authority
- Parliament is the highest power in the land
What is a vote of no confidence?
It’s when the HoC can remove a government by voting to remove them. It is by convention of collective ministerial responsibility states that the entire government must reign and Parliament is dissolved.
When was the last time this happened?
In 1979 with James Callaghan’s Labour government, who did not have a parliamentary majority
What are the main characteristics of Westminster Model
The traditional British political system comprised of:
- Parliamentary sovereignty,
- An uncodified constitution,
- Cabinet government,
- FPTP
- A unitary state
What is the House of Lords?
This is the upper chamber, this is the unelected and is subordinate to the House of Commons
How long can the House of Lords delay bills
Up to one year
What did the Parliament Act do? (1949)
It said that the House of Lords can delay bills for up to a year
What did the Parliament Act do? (1911)
This stopped the HoL blocking bills indefinitely, it restricted the vetoing power to Parliamentary sessions (2 years)
-This prevented the House of Lords from delaying ‘money bills’
What can the House of Lords do to bills?
They can propose amendments to bills except money bills
What is the Salisbury Convention?
That the House of Lords is not allowed to block bills that were already voted in the manifesto, or tax bills
What are Hereditary Peers?
Hereditary peers are those who have inherited their position in the House of Lords
What happened to Hereditary Peers?
At the House of Lords Act (1999) ended the right of all but 92 hereditary peers, there used to be 750
