Parliament 6.1- 6.4 The Structure Of The HOL, HOC, Legislative process In HOC, Nature Of Parlimanetary Bills Flashcards
House of Commons
-Known as ‘lower house’ and is the elected half of Parliament
The elected and most powerful chamber of Parliament. Its membership consists of
650 MPS.
How many members of Parliament in HOC
650
Structure of House Of Commons
+ 650 Members of Parliament.
+ Frontbench MPs
+ Backbench MPs
+ Select committees
+ Legislative committees (also called public bill committees)
+ Party whips
+ The Speaker
Frontbench MPs
government ministers, senior and junior, plus leading
spokespersons from opposition parties (about 150).
Backbench MPs
all those MPs who are not frontbenchers (about 500).
Select committees
Permanent committees of backbench MPs, elected by all the MPs. Their main role is to scrutinise the work of government departments.
Legislative committees
(also called public bill committees) - temporary committees that scrutinise proposed legislation and propose amendments to improve the legislation. They mostly have 20-40 members who are chosen by party whips.
Party whips
senior MPs who seek to persuade backbenchers in their own party to vote the way the party leadership wants them to, ensuring party unity.
The Speaker
presides over disputes in the House of Commons and take decisions on parliamentary procedure.
House of Lords
Also known as the ‘upper house’ and is unelected half of Parliament contains approx 800 peers
The unelected chamber of Parliament. Its main role is to examine and revise legislation from the House of Commons.
Which types of peers are there in the House of Lords?
Hereditary peers
Life peers
Cross bench MPs
Archbishop and bishop of the Church of England
The Lord Speaker
When referring to hereditary peers in the HOL refer to
the ‘democratic deficit’
Hereditary peers
have inherited the title from their father and in most cases the title passes on to their sons (just a handful of hereditary peerages are passed through the female line). Out of the several thousand hereditary peers who live in the UK, only 92 are allowed to sit in the House of Lords.
Life peers
Life peers are appointed for life by party leaders and an Appointments Commission. They do not pass on their title to their children. These peers are a mixture of former politicians and experts in various fields. Most peers have allegiance to a political party.
Crossbench MPs
While most peers (both life and hereditary) have a party allegiance, some have no party affiliation and are fully independent. These peers are called crossbench MPs.
Archbishop and Bishop of the Church of England
In addition to life and hereditary peers, archbishops and bishops of the Church of England are also members of the House of Lords. There are 26 of these. No other religions have automatic representation.
The Lord Speaker
The Lord Speaker presides over debates in the House and maintains
discipline.
What happened when a hereditary peer dies or retires from the House of Lords?
When one hereditary peer dies or retires from the House of Lords, there is a by-election among the chamber’s remaining hereditary peers from the deceased’s political party, who choose from the wider pool of hereditary peers (those who used to sit in the Lords until they were removed) to fill the vacancy.
Critics point to the hypocrisy of maintaining the most undemocratic element of the Lords — the hereditary principle — with an election.
The legislative process: House Of Commons
What are the key stages in processing a legislative bill ?
First reading
Second reading
Commmitte stage
Report stage third reading
Passage to ‘the other place’ (HOL)
Royal assent
What happens at the first reading ?
MPs are informed about the bill or proposed legislation.
What happens at the Second reading ?
The main debate on the bill is held, which is followed by a vote.
Committee stage
If the Commons votes in favour of the bill at the second reading, a public bill committee is formed to consider it line by line. This committee may propose amendments.
What happens at the report stage ?
The bill is debated again, with all the passed amendments included.
What happens at the third reading ?
There is a final debate and a last opportunity to block the legislation
What happens at Passage to ‘the other place’ (House of
Lords) ?
Most bills are first presented in the House of Commons, so they next pass to the House of Lords (though it can be the other way round). The procedures for passing the bill are roughly the same in the House of Lords.
What happens at the Royal assent ?
The monarch signs the bill into the law, which signifies the formal passage of the bill into the law. It is now an Act of Parliament.
The nature of parliamentary bills
What are the types of legislation ?
Public bills
Primary legislation
Secondary legislation (also called delegated legislation)
Private members bills
Private bills
Public bills
These are bills presented by the government. They are expected to pass successfully into law.
Primary legislation
These are major pieces of legislation either changing the law or granting powers to subsidiary bodies and individuals to make secondary legislation.
Secondary legislation (also called delegated legislation)
These are usually described as ministerial orders. Under powers granted in primary legislation, ministers or other bodies may make minor regulations on their own. Most such orders are not debated in Parliament, but Parliament has the option of vetoing such legislation.
Private members’ bills
Backbench MPs may enter a ballot allowing five of them each year to present their own proposed piece of legislation. These rarely pass into law unless they receive the support of government. There is usually not enough parliamentary time to consider them.
Private bills
Such bills are presented by individuals or organisations outside government and Parliament.
They apply to Parliament for permission to take certain actions (often building or changing land use) which are currently forbidden.
