Parliament Flashcards
What does a bicameral legislature mean?
Give an example.
Divided into 2 chambers
Example: The UK Parliament: House of Commons and the House of Lords.
How many Constituencies are there in the UK?
How many MPS are there.
650 Constituencies in the UK so therefore there are 650 MPS.
Describe the role of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
How are they elected?
- Presides over the House of Commons and ensures that the rules of the house are observed.
- The speaker has the power to discipline disruptive MPS which could lead to their suspension.
- MPS have to wait until the speakers call on them before they can speak. As there are often more MPS hoping to speak than time allows, the Speaker has the difficult job f striking a fair balance between the parties.
- The Speaker determines how long MPs can talk for, and how long questions can focus on a particular topic when MPS question ministers.
- The speaker also decides whether amendments to bills, or options before the House should be debated and voted upon (Also Decide when a debate ends so a vote can be taken)
- The speaker is meant to be completely impartial: When an MP becomes the speaker they must sever all ties to their previous party.
- The speaker does not vote on any motion, except in order to break a tie.
- Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (2000): Prevents the speaker from standing under a party at general election - they instead appear on the ballot as “ The speaker seeking re-election”
- Loose convention under which the main parties do not run candidates n the speaker‘s constituency.
- The house must elect a speaker at the beginning of a new parliamentary term OR following the death of the previous speaker
- Once elected, a speaker tends to be re-elected until they choose to resign.
To become the speaker:
- Have the support of at least 12 MPS
- At least 3 of these 12 must come from a different political party of their own.
- Elections are conducted under an exhaustive ballot
- MPs vote for their preferred candidate
- If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, they are declared the winner.
- If no candidate wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes and any crate with under 5% of the vote is eliminated
- MPs vote again with the shorter list of candidates; This is repeated until one candidate has the majority of the vote.
When was the authoritative procedure on Parliamentary procedure first made definite?
The authoritative procedure on parliamentary procedure was firsts made definite by the book “ A treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and the Usage of Parliament” (1844) written by Erskine May.
- Continuously updated , 24 edition was published in 2011
Describe the make up of Parliament, following the 2017 general election?
- There was a hung Parliament
- Conservatives: 317 MPs
- Labour: 262 MPs
- SNP: 35 MPs
- Lib Dem: 12 MPs
- Green: 1 MP
The Conservatives negotiated a confidence and supply deal with the DUP, to support their minority government, but they are not in a formal coalition so DUP MPs do not sit on the government benches. ( They are not part of the government so they sit on the opposition benches)
Who are the frontbenchers and backbenchers in the governing party and the opposition parties?
Governing party:
- Frontbenchers: This is where the PM sits on the front benches alongside all other government ministers
- Backbenchers: All other MPS in the governing party who do not hold ministerial positions sit on the back benches.
When you refer to the government, you are only referring to those with ministerial positions.
Opposition Parties:
- Frontbenchers: The Leader of the official opposition (second largest party in parliament) sits at the front with their shadow ministers .
- Backbenchers: These are opposition MPs that do not have a position in the shadow cabinet, or are from other parties.
Describe the official opposition in the Commons.
Give an example.
- Largest opposition party in the Commons.
- The Leader of the Official Opposition selects MPs to join the shadow cabinet
- Each shadow minster is tasked with scrutinising and challenging a particular government minister.
- Example: Shadow Education Minister will focus on the governments eduction department: scrutinising the actions and bills produced by the Secretary of Sate for Education.
What are Whips? Describe their role.
Why are they needed?
The frontbenchers cannot take the support of the back benchers for granted, and so appoint a number of MPS to act as the parties Whips.
- Responsible for enforcing discipline within the party
- Issue weekly instructions (called “The Whip”) to backbench MPs, making it clear how party leaders would like them to vote in upcoming votes.
- On particularly important votes, the parties issue a ‘three line whip’, underlined in the vote three times as a clear indication that MPS are expected to turn up and vote in line with the leadership.
- They also communicate information from the Backbenchers to the party leaders so that they are aware of any concerns etc.
To do their jobs well, Whips can employ both ‘Carrot’ and ‘Stick’, in other words use tempting offers and threats to ensure backbench MPS behave.
- They can persuade the MPS of the government view, or tempt them with the prospect of future promotion (e.g into a ministerial position) in return for loyalty.
- Threaten the MP with the loss of a likely promotion, or even the withdrawal of the whip (expel them from the party)
What is the 1922 Committee?
- A Conservative backbench committee
- Can put considerable pressure on the Frontbenchers
- Meets weekly to discuss forthcoming parliamentary business
- The chair plays an important role in feeding back the committee views to the party leaders.
- Controversially, since 2010 Cons Frontbench MPS have been able to attend meetings, but they cannot vote for the committees officers and leaders.
What is the parliamentary Labour Party?
- Labour does not have any exclusive backbench committee - all Labour MPs are part of the Parliamentary Labour Party, which meets weekly to discuss upcoming business.
- Meetings give party leaders the opportunity to update backbench MPS on current pasta and issues and for backbench MPs to give feedback.
Give example of Independent candidates who have won a seatain the House of Commons?
2001: A doctor named Richard Taylor defeated a sitting Labour miter, after running on a platform of saving a local hospital. He held onto his seat in the 2005 GE but lost in 2010 to the Conservatives.
Slyvia Hermon: Elected for the Ulster Unionist Party in 2001, but resigned from the party in 2010. She was successfully re-elected as an independent candidate in 2010, 2015 and 2017
What as the Make up of the House of Lords historically?
Hereditary Peers: Members of the aristocracy who had inherited their titles and their right to sit in the House of Lords.
What was the House of Lords Act (1999)
- Removed all but 92 hereditary peers in the House of Lords
- This was supposed to be the first stage of the removal of hereditary peers, with the rest being removed at a later stage.
- However, Parliament has found it very difficult to agree on what this next stage of reform should look like so as a result the 92 hereditary peers remain in place .
When a HP dies, a by-election is held (using AV) in which the remaining hereditary peers, vote to select a replacement amongst the eligible candidates.
What are life peers?
Give examples
- Life Peers Act (1958): Allowed peers to be created who could pet heir right to sit in the H of L for their whole life, but could not pass this right onto the children
- The Power to create peers is a prerogative power belonging to the Queen, but in practice Appointments are made by the prime minister.
- Many of the life peers appointment made by the PM are political appointments, often senior figures within the party who are expected to follow the party line.
- By convention, the PM allows other party leaders to nominate a number of their own party members roughly in proportion to their strength in the commons.
- PM often take the oppurintity to increase their influence in the lords.
EXAMPLES:
- Tony Blair appointed 62 Conservative life peers, but 162 labour peers.
- David Cameron appointed 55 Labour peers but 110 Conservative peers.
What is the House of Lords Appointments Commission?
Give an example.
- Non-partisan, independent body
- Responsible for non-political appointments to the H OF L
- Scrutinises political appointments made by the PM to ensure there are no financial concerns e.g the possibility that peerage was influenced by a a party donation.
Example:
In 2016, it was reported that David Camerons nomination of Michael Spencer (the owner of a large financial services business), and former party treasurer, who had donated 4 million to the party had been blocked by the Appointments Commission partially due to his connection to the Labour banking scandal in which banks falsely inflated or deflated their rates.
Who are the Lords Spiritual?
- 26 Archbishops and bishops from the Church of England that sit in the H ofL.
- When these members retire as bishops, they lose their membership as it is passed on to he next most senior bishop
- The LS are not affiliated with any party, and are not whipped.
Who are the cross benchers in the House of Lords?
Who are the non-affiliated?
- There are 176 currently in Parliament.
- Many non-political life peers join the cross bench parliamentary group
- They do not take a collective position on issues, and therefore have no need for Whips, but hey do elect a ‘convenor’ to represent and keep members informed of parliamentary business.
Non affiliated:
- Currently 31
- They do not join the party or the cross benchers
Why does the size of the House of Lords vary?
Give examples.
There is no limit on the number of peerages that can be awarded so the size of the H ofL can vary far more than the commons .
Example:
In 1999, before the H OFL Act, there were 1320
After the act, there was 665 members.
As PM tend to appoint large numbers to influence the party balance, the number has risen again, reaching 803 members in August 2017.
The second largest legislature in the world after The Chinese Nationals people’s Congress.
Why was David Cameron criticised about his peerage appointments?
- He created life peers at a faster rate than any other PM, awarding 245 peerages in just 6 years.
- 110 of those being Conservatives.
- Critics argue the current size of the Lords can cause problems as their is insufficient space or resources
What was the House of Lords Reform Act (2014)
Allowed members, for the first time, to retire from the House of Lords.
Any member who does not attend at all in a session is also considered to have retire at the end of the session.
Can be seen as a way of dealing with the increasing size of the H of L
What is the role of the Queen in Parliament?
- Retains a largely ceremonial, but still important role in Parliament.
- Opens Parliament through the state opening and dissolves Parliament before a general election (However, the rules for when Parliament is dissolved is set out in the fixed term parliament Act)
- Announces the governments legislative Plans in the Queens speech (Written by the government)
- All bills passed by Parliament still require Royal Assent before they become law (The last monarch to refuse royal assent was Queen Anne in 1707)
- Invites the leader of the largest party in the commons who is able to command the confidence of the house to come to BP to form government
What is a Bill?
What are the 2 types of bills?
Bill: Proposal for a new law, or a proposal to change an existing law
Public Bills: Bills that have a genera effect - make changes that affect the whole population.
Private Bills: Make changes to the law that only apply to specific individuals or organisations e.g The 2016 Transport for London Act gave the organisation responsively from managing London’s transport system new powers to manage their own finances.
Outside groups can request a private bill when they would like to acquire powers that go beyond general law
Any groups effected by a privatise bill can give evidence and petitions
Hybrid Bills: Some bills combine elements of both private and public. They have a general effect, but some provisions single out particular individuals/groups e.g High Speed Rail Bill 2017 - The only hybrid bill to have passed through parliament in 2017
Has changes that effect the general public but also a particular impact on the business involved and the individuals elected by the new construction of this rail line.
What is the process that a bill has to go through?
First Reading Second Reading Committee Stage Report Stage Third Reading Consideration of Amendments Royal Assent
The process is the same in both the Commons and the Lords: It must pass through the stages in one house then the same in the other house.
The process is slightly different for private and hybrid bills.
Any bills can start in the Commons and non-money bills can be introduced in the Lords
Because there is limited time to debate so many bills: It makes sense for the government to introduce some bills in the commons and some in the Lords.
What happens before a bill is presented to Parliament?
Consultation process: Where outside groups are invited to contribute as the government decides what to include in the bill
Government might realise a Green Paper:
Consultation document that explains the specific issues the government would like to address, along with various different courses of action to prompt debate and discussion.
Suggests the government is open to influence and has yet settled on a course of action.
If the government is more sure of it’s plans, it might release a White Paper:
- A more focused document that sets out the governments plans for new legislation and invites feedback so that necessary changes can be made before the bill is presented to Parliament.
What happens at all the stages of a bill?
First Reading:
- This stage is mostly a formality
- Title of the bill is read out, and this is followed by an order for it to be printed
- There isn’t a debate on the bill at this stage
Second Reading:
- The debate over this merits of the bill begins
- The mister responsible for the bill makes a steamer supporting it - this is followed by comments from the relevant shadow minster.
- MPs then debate the general principles of the Bill, rather than specific clauses, and then vote on whether the Bill should progress.
- The debate at this stage is quite broad, focusing on the general principles of the bill rather than analysing individual clauses
- At the end of the debate, their is a vote to decide if the bill should progress to the next stage. Most government bills do progress at this early stage.
- The last government bill to be defeated at this early stage was the 1986 Sheeps Bill which aimed to relax Sunday trading laws.
Committee Stage:
- Bill is then sent to a Public Bill Committee (PBC) which will examine the bill in far greater detail, scrutinising line by line.
- PBCs are temporary - named after the bill they are scrutinising, and disbanded when finished. They are formed solely to scrutinise a particular bill after their second reading.
- PBC membership - 16-50 members - composition of a PB is roughly proportional to the rest of the House (generally around 20)
- At least one government minster is selected to be part of a PBC
- PBC’s can receive written evidence, and if need be conduct oral evidence hearings before they begin scrutinising the bill
- Not all bills are scrutinised by PBC
- Bills can be sent to the Committee of the Whole House, which take place on the floor of the chamber allowing any interest MPS to take part, scrutinising the bill in detail and voting on amendments.
- Often used for bills of major constitutional importance, or of great urgency, or for bills that are so uncontroversial they have little opposition.
- E.g in the 2013-2014 session, the Wales Bill, which sought to devolve further powers to Wales, was taken on Committee of the Whole House
Report Stage:
- Once a committee has examined the bill, it is reported back to the House of Commons
- MPs can debate the bill in it’s amended form, Possibly amending or repealing changes made by the PBC - MPs can propose new amendments on points that were to raised during the Committee stage.
- When all the Amendments have been debated and voted on, the bill moves on to the third reading.
Third Reading:
- MPs debate the overall content of the bill, and decide whether to accept or reject it, in it’s current form.
- No more amendments are proposed at this late stage
- As with the second reading, it is unusual for bills to be drafted at this stage.
The bill then moves onto the other house (e.g if was introduced in the commons, it then moves onto the lords who go through the same process)
How is the bill stage process slightly different in the House of Lords?
Committee Stage:
- There are no PBC in the Lords - all peers can participate in the commute stage
- Bills are scrutinised by the Committee of the Whole House (meets in the chamber) or by the Grand Committee which is similar but meets any form the floor of the house.
Debate:
- Peers spend much more time debating bills than MPs
EXAMPLE: 2016-2017 Session:
- MPS spent 235 hours 20 minuets debating government bills on the floor of the House
- This is roughly 22% of the total time available on the floor
- Peers spent over 407 hours debating government bills on the floor of the house
- Roughly 43.6% of the oral time available on the floor
- Speaker of the House can decide which amendments will be debated in the Commons, the Lord Speaker has no such powers, an all amendments can be debated
- Chair of the PBC selects amendments for debate in the commons, the Lords committee stage is open to all peers, and they can debate as many amendments as they like.
- In the commons, 100 MPS can vote to bring a debate to a close with a closure motion - but closure motions cannot be used in the Lords - Peers can’t debate for as long as the House feels appropriate.
What happens if one house makes an amendment to a bill?
The bill has to be spent back to the other house so they can consider these amendments
Both houses have to agree on every word of the bill
If one house disagrees with the Amendments or makes an alternative one, then again it has to be sent back to the other house.
The bill continues to be sent back and forth until the two houses agree on the exact same version of the bill in a process often referred to as ‘ping pong’
Usually the H of L will back down in the face of continued resistance from the commons, as it recognises it’s comparative lack of legitimacy.
Under the Salisbury convention, the Lords are not expected to block any bills featured in the government’S manifesto. However the Parliament Act allows the Lords to delay legislation for one year.
If the two houses reach a stalemate, the Bill will fail in that session, and has to be re-introduced in the next session.
What new stages were added to the legislative process in 2015 for select bills?
Was an attempt to address the West-Lothian Question.
When debating plans to devolve power to Scotland, Wales and NI, Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for West Lothian, asked whether it would be fair that English MPs can no longer votes on matters that had been devolved to S, W and NI legislatures but S, W, and NI in Parliament can still vote on bills that effect England.
In 2015, MPS approved changes to the House of Commons standing orders (the written rules which govern how Parliament conducts its business) to introduce a new system of..
‘English votes for English Lawss:
The new rule gives English, or English and Welsh MPs, two oppuruntitis veto all, or particular clauses, of bills that only affect England, or England and Wales
In practice:
The Speaker of the Commons decides if a bill contains clauses that concern Only England or only England and Wales
If this is is the case then a legislative grand committee of English MPS or English and Welsh MPS must approve a ‘consent’ motion before the bill can progress to its third reading
When the commons considers any Lords amendments that not concern Only England or Only England and Wales the bill must secure a double majority meaning it must not only be approved by a majority of the Whole House of Commons but also a majority of English/ English and Welsh MPS (Double Majority)
What are private members bills?
How can they be introduced?
Private members bills: Introduced by backbench MPS and go through the same stages as government bills
Ballot Bills:
- Stand the greatest chance of succeeding
- Beginning of the Parliamentary year, all MPs who wish to introduce a PMB sign a book and enter their names for what is essentially a lottery in which 20 names are selected at random.
- The order in which the 20 names are drawn equates to probity order for timetabling their PMB for debate, with the final name having top priority.
- MPs have to hope their name is drawn but also that they are drawn last to have th bets chance of success.
- Only 13 Fridays in each session are reserved for PMB (the first 7 are usually used for second readings)
- So much time can be spent debating the first bill, there’s no time to get onto other bills
10-Minute Rule Bills:
- MPS enter their name into a weekly ballot, and i successful, are able to make a short speech of no more than 10 minuet outlining their proposed bill after Question time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- If the House agrees, the Bill will then have it’s first reading
- Very few ten-minute bills receive Royal Assent - many MPS few the process as more of a means to raise awareness of an issue, catching the attention of minsters and backbenchers who are still in the chamber after QT
Presentation Bills:
- Members introduce the title of their bill but they are not allowed to speak about it
- While the bill has been formally introduced to Parliament, it stands little chance of progressing to the next stage unless the government takes an interest in it
What is secondary legislation?
The vast majority of legislation proposed by the government each year is secondary rather than primary.
Primary Legislation (Acts of Parliament) grant minsters/public bodies to make secondary legislation mostly takes the form of statutory instruments
Secondary legislation are laws made by minsters public/bodies granted by an Act of Parliament.
Around 30-50 bills receive royal assent each year
Around 3,500 statutory instruments are made each year.
What are the features of Parliamentary government?
- The UK parliament is the highest source of political authority - meaning that political power may be exercised only if it has been authorised by Parliament
- The government must be drawn from Parliament - either the commons or the lords
No strict separation of powers between the legislature and the executive The powers of the government and those of the legislature are fused
- In reality, this means that the government is able to dominate Parliament because a majority of its members are government supporters and so are likely to back the government
Government must be accountable to Parliament:
- Government, including the PM and other ministers, must regularly appear in Parliament to explain and justify policies and decisions, and must subject themselves to criticism.
- Parliament may remove a government through a vote of no confidence, then a GE will be held to summon a new Parliament.
What is Parliamentary sovereignty?
- UK Parliament is said to be legally sovereign
- Parliament is the source of all political power and therefore the highest source of political authority.
- No individual or body may exercise power unless it has been granted by Parliament
- Parliament does delegate most of it’s power - to minsters, to devolved governments in S, W and NI to local authorities and to the courts of law.
- Parliaments may restore to itself any powers that have been delegated to others
- Parliament may make any laws it wishes and they shall be enforced by the courts and other authorities
- There are no restrictions on what laws Parliament may make. Parliament is said to be ‘omnicompetent’ (literally capable of any act)
- Parliament is not bound by it’s predecessors. Laws passed by Parliaments in the past are not binding on the current parliament. Existing laws may be amended or repealed at will
- Parliament cannot bind it’s successors. This means that the current parliament can’t pass laws that will prevent future parliaments from amending or repealing them.
- Laws cannot be entrenched against future change
- The UK cannot have a fixed, entrenched constitution as long as the current principle of parliamentary sovereignty endures.
What is political sovereignty?
In what way has Parliament lost it sovereignty?
Refers not to strictly legal power but to where political power lies in reality
It is the political location of power rather than its theoretical location
Most political power lies with government
The government of the day usually enjoys a majority in the commons, and can therefore virtually guarantee that it’s proposals will be passed by Parliament.
Sometimes said that the ‘sovereignty of Parliament is in reality the sovereignty of the major party’
It is generally understood that the government has an electoral mandate to carry out its manifesto and commitments and Parliament should not thwart that authority.
We expect Parliament to block government plans only if it seen to be abusing its mandate or operation beyond it.
Political sovereignty returns to the the people at a GE, who are both electing a new parliament and giving a new government a fresh mandate.
However..
Parliament retains enormous reserve powers.
In some circumstances it can block legislation (in modern times the House of Lords does this quite frequently) and in really exceptional circumstances Parliament can dismiss government by passing a vote of no confidence.
This was lasts done in 1979 when James Callaghan’s Labour Government was removed prematurely from office
It can be said that Parliament is legally sovereign but that political sovereignty is less clearly located.
Political sovereignty lies with the people at elections, with the government between elections, but with the proviso that Parliament can ultimately overrule the government.
What are reserve powers?
Powers which exist and are very significant, but are only expected to be used in unusual or extreme circumstances.
Instead they are held ‘in reserve’
The UK Parliament has two key reserve powers:
- To veto legislation proposed by government and to dismiss a government in which it has lost confidence.
The monarch also as reserve powers but is even less likely than Parliament to use them,
Explain how it can be seen that Parliamentary Sovereignty has been eroded.
- EU
- A great deal of legislative power moved to the EU after 1973.
- EU is superior to British Law, so if there is any conflict, EU law must prevail.
- Parliament may not pass any law that conflicts with EU law
- However UK commitments to leaving the EU some time after 2018, all this sovereignty will be returned to Westminister
- There remains large ares of policy that have not passed to Brussels, including criminal law, tax law, social security, health and education, but nevertheless there have also been significant shifts of legislative authority - over trade, environment, employment rights and consumer protection, for example. - Executive power
- EP has grown considerably in recent decades
- Involves a transfer of political but not legal sovereignty to government
- E.g Gina Miller Supreme Court 2017 helped to clarify this relationship. - Referendums
- It is increasingly the practice to hod referendums when important constitutional changes are being proposed, such as Devolution, EU membership, the electoral system or the election of City mayors.
- The results of such referendums are not technically binding on Parliament, however it is also the inconceivable that Parliament would ignore the popular will of the people . So in effect , sovereignty in such cases returns to the people. - Human Rights
- There is some room for controversy over the status of the HR Acts and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which it establishes in law.
- The ECHR is not legally binding on the UK Parliament, so Parliament retains its sovereignty
- However, it is also clear that Parliament treats the ECHR largely as it were supreme.
- It would only be in extraordinary circumstances that Parliament would asses its sovereignty over the ECHR - Devolution
- Especially to Scotland
- As with referendums, Parliament can restore to itself all the powers that it has been delegated, but it is difficulty to imagine circumstances in which the powers grated to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh or Northern Ireland assemblies would be removed.
- Sovereignty has been transferred in reality, though not in constitutional law
We could say that Parliamentary sovereignty is now partly a myth.
However, Parliament has reserve powers.
The UK has now decided to leave the EU and so restore all it’s sovereignty
Parliament can thwart the will of the government, devolution could be cancelled (bear in mind that the NI Assembly has been suspended and direct rule from London restored on several occasions)
Parliament could, under exceptional circumstances, decide not to accept the verdict of referendum.
Furthermore, if there comes a time when the government does not enjoy a secure parliamentary majority, it could be that the balance of power - both legal and political - will return to Parliament, much as it did in the middle part of the 19th century.
Explain legitimacy in terms of laws.
Executive power lies in the hands of government minsters, and the monarch is largely ceremonial
But while governments can claim a mandate for their policies, by winning free and fair elections
All laws, taxes and public sending proposed by the government still has to be approved by Parliament
As a representative democracy, we rely on our representatives in Parliament to legitimise the governments policies on our behalf .
We obey laws knowing they havre been scrunched, debated, amended and asserted to be our representatives.
What important role do the House of Commons play in legitimatising government policy?
All money bills must originate in the House of Commons, and cannot be amended or delayed by the House of Lords.
The Parliament Act allows the House of Commons to force through bills without the consent of the House of Lords
What did the Fixed Term-Parliament Act of 2011 say about it when the Commons loses confidence in the government?
Give examples
States that is the government id defeated on the motion “ That this House has no confidence in HM government”
And no other government wins another confidence motion within 14 calendar days, then Parliament is dissolved and an early General Election is triggered.
Example: In 1979, the Labour Government lost a confidence motion by a single vote, forcing the Prime Minister to call a general election in which the Conservatives won a majority.
Why can it be said that the government NOW might havre difficulty in keeping the confidence of the Commons?
Conservatives were 8 seats short from having a majority in the commons.
They negotiated a confidence and supply deal with the DUP which hwon 10 seats in exchange for an extra 1 billion in funding for NI
The DUP agreed to support the government in key deals in the House of Commons
Conservatives should be able to maintain the confidence of the House provided they also keep the backbench MPS happy.
However given the divisive nature of Brexit (the main focus for the government) it’s far from obvious whether Parliament will approve and legitimise the governments policies.
What are the main functions of Parliament?
Legitimisation Legislation Debate Scrutiny Representation Recruitment
What are the royal prerogative powers?
Powers that the Mormon law recognises as belonging to the monarch alone - they are not subject to the approval of Parliament.
E.g negotiating treaties ad declaring war
These powers are now used by the PM and other minsters
It has long been considered inappropriate for a largely ceremonial
monarch to use these powers
However.. some argue that the use of such power should be approved and legitimised by Parliament because Parliament should be the source of the governments power not the monarch.
What legal limits have been placed on the prerogative powers?
Fixed Term Parliament Act (2011): Limited the prerogative power to dissolve Parliament and trigger a GE.
Under the provisions of the Act, parliamentary general elections must be held every five years, beginning in 2015. However, a vote of no confidence in the government, or a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Commons, can still trigger a general election at any time.
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act: Placed limits on the prerogative power to negotiate treaties.
This has given Parliament more influence, and decisions/actions greater legitimacy.
How has the royal prerogative power to declare war been lifted?
It has been limited by non legal conventions. This developed in the response to the argument that Parliament should approve and legitimate important decisions.
2003: Tony Blair asked the Commons to approve decision to go to War in Iraq. Approved 412-149. This gave his decision o go to war greater legitimacy.
2013: Cameron set the precedent set by Blair, recalling Parliament in the summer recess to endorse military intervention in Syria.
After 30 Cons, and 9 Lib Dem’s sided with Labour, the motion was defeated and Cameron abandoned his plan.
Legally Cameron still had the power to proceed with his plans, but he recognise that serious questions would have been raised over the legitimacy of such a decision.
Explain how Legitimacy was seen as very important during the aftermath of the 2016 EU referendum.
The increasing use of referendums has provided a competing source of legitimacy for government policies. After the 2016 Referendum, the Government argued that it could begin the Brexit process using the royal prerogative powers to negotiate treaties
Some minters argued that there was no need to obtain Parliamentary
approval, because voters had already legislated Brexit in the referendum.
But others argued that only an Act of Parliament could empower the Government to trigger Article 50, as Brexit would greatly reshape our constitution laws
Confusingly, the referendum provided a competing source of legitimacy for Brexit - which source was the one that really mattered? Referendum or Parliament?
The UK Supreme Court ruled that the EU referendum was only advisory, and only our sovereign Parliament could authorise the government to take action that would alter our constitution.
Parliament passed the European Union (notification of withdrawal) Act 2017: A one page bill that gave the Government power to trigger Article 50 and begin the withdrawal process.
In the eyes of those who challenged the government, it was only at this point that the brexit negotiations could begin, regardless of the referendum result.
In what way can laws passed by Parliament be seen as legitimate?
We assume that bills and budgets approved by Parliament have been throughly scrunched by MPS and Peers.
If laws didn’t undergo as much scrutiny, their legitimacy would be questioned.
What are the benefits of giving minsters power to make secondary legislation?
Give an example.
It allows for small changes to be made to the law without having to pass a new Act trough parliament which is a lengthy process.
Example: National Minimum Wage Act (1998) Established a minimum wage for the first time granted minsters power to make National Minimum Wage Regulations allowing them to set/adjust the level of minimum wage to keep up with inflation
Secondary legislation is seen as legitimate because Parliament has chosen to delegate this law making power and judges can be asked to check that minsters only ever act within the power granted by Parliament.
Why has secondary legislation been increasingly criticised?
Give an example.
Some critics argue, that in recent years secondary legislation has been used to make far more political changes rather than technical reforms.
Example: In 2015 the Lords voted to delay secondary legislation made by the Chancellor.
Statutory Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015: sought to cut the tax credit bill by 4.4 billion, by increasing the rate at which tax credits were withdrawn as an individual wages increased.
It was perfectly within the Chancellors power to make this change.
The Tax Credits Act (2002) gave the Chancellor power to adjust tax credits with statutory instruments
Some raised concerns about finial changes of this scale being made by secondary legislation because it received much less scrutiny than primary legislation.
If a Statutory Instruments has to be approved by Parliament, what is the process?
There are two procedures - neither as rigours as passing primary legislation.
Negative Procedure: SI becomes law on a stated date unless either House passes a motion that the SI be annulled.
SI is only debated if an MP requests a debate and if the government allows time for a debate.
In 2015-16, MPS only debated 3% of the 585 SI that used this procedure.
Affirmative Procedure
SI is laid before Parliament & must be approved by both houses before it can come into effect
Debated by a Delegated Legislation Committee, but there is no debate in the chamber before the House votes
In the 2015-16 seession, the average DLC debate on affirmative SIs lasted just 26 minutes.
In the 2015-16 session, MPS spent under 8 hours debating over 7,00 thousands of pages of secondary legislation.
The Commons has come to rely on the Lords to conduct more detailed scrutiny but the Lords only spent just spent under 35 hours.
Neither the negative or affirmative procedures allow MPs to amend secondary legislation and very few SIs are rejected.
The House of Lords Constitution Committee noted in 2016 “Only 17 Statutory Instruments have been rejected by the two Houses over the last 65 years” out of nearly 170,000
What role do the House of Lords play in scrutinising SIs?
Since 2003, the the House of Lords has had a committee dedicated to the scrutiny of SIs…
Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
Produces regular reports, drawing attention to any SI laid in the previous week that it considers to be “interesting, flawed or inadequately explained by the government”
From 2003 until the end of the 2014-15 session, the committee crtunsied 1,603 SIs
Reports drew attention to 718 of these SIs
However these reports are only advisory.. relatively few that are flagged up will be debated and almost none are blocked by Parliament .
What are Skelton bills and Henry Vll Clauses?
Give examples
As statutory instruments receive so much less scrutiny than bills, and are so rarely drafted, it has become increasingly tempts for the government to introduce bills that delegate vast powers to make secondary legislation.
Skelton Bills:
Bills that contain few specific details, mostly broad targets and give minsters broad powers to fill in the many gaps with secondary legislation
Henry VII Clauses:
Part of bills that grant minsters the power to amend, or even repeal, existing Acts of Parliament, with secondary legislation.
The name comes from King Henry VII who asked Parliament to give him power to proclaim his own laws without Parliaments approval.
Example: Childcare Act (2016)
The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee warned that the bill contained “virtually nothing substance beyond the vague “mission statement”
The bill Delegated power to…
Create criminal offences
Create financial penalties
Amend and repeal existing legislation
When the Bill passed, much of the law was yet to be written, and when it was written in the form of secondary legislation, how many members would be checking it, in much detail?
What are the three different type of legislatures?
Professor Phillip Norton identified three type of legislature:
- ) Policy-making legislatures: Can not only amend or reject policies proposed by the government, but also formulate their own policies (US congress)
- ) Policy-influencing legislature: Can only amend or reject the government policies - can’t formulate their own (UK Parliament)
3) Legislatures with little or no effect on policy
Simply assent to the proposals put beef them
Backbench MPs can introduce their own bills through Private members bills which suggest Parliament is a policy-making legislature?
What is the argument against this?
The governments control of the timetable in Parliament for debates and a few procedural issues means A few PMBS are successful
However.. In the 1960s, over 170 PMBs were given royal sent and became law whereas between 2010-17 only 46 came law.
Most PMBS that become law today are called hand out bills..
Instead of introducing their own bill, the MPS successful in the ballot instead choose to introduce a bill handed to them by the government, which welcomes more opportunity for the bill to be timetabled for debate.
Why was the 1960s seen as a golden age for Private Members Bills?
Over 170 PMB became law
Many of them very significant …
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965
Abortion Act - 1965 - Legalised abortion
However.. these succeeded because they were supported by the government, which controls the timetable in the House of Commons.
Very little time is set aside for debating PMBS so success largely relies on the government who control the timetable granting more time for them to complete the necessary stages.
How are Private members bills defeated?
It is very easy for the government or other MPS to defeat PMBs they don’t like with a filibuster…
Where MPS make lengthily speeches to use up available debate time and prevent a vote
If the debate on a certain private members bill is still on-going when the debate finishes at 2:30pm, then it has to be rescheduled for another date, often far in the future
The only way an MP can overcome a filibuster this can be prevented is by bringing the debate to a…
CLOSURE MOTION: Ends the debate and triggers a vote - must be supported by 100 MPs which can be difficult as MPs like to do constituency work on Fridays so attendance can be poor for the debates .
What happens if a PMB survives filibustering attempts?
Move onto the public bill committee stage
Current rues state that only one public bill Committee can consider PMBS at any one time - meaning that PMBS can pass their 2nd reading and get stuck in a queue
It is up to the government to decide whether to table a motion on establishing a second public bill committee to consider an additional PMB giving the government even more influence over legislation.
In what way can PMBs that fail still have considerable influence?
Give examples.
- MPs introducing 10-Minute Rule bills and Presentation Bills are well aware that they will likely fail - but they still do it to get a issue on the record, gain media attention and place pressure on the government.
-Defeated PMBs can sometimes have a long term impact
EXAMPLE: - The Conservative government successfully blocked a series of PMBs concerning the rights of disabled people in the 90s e.g Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill.
- However, sustained pressured led the government to introduce it’s own bill: Disability Discrimination Act 1995
What happened in 1997 that is evidence that Parliament has greater influence on government bills?
What are the strengths of this?
Use examples:
In 1997 Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House Commons was tasked with investigating ways to improve the legislative process
One of the suggestions was..
PRE-LEGISLATIVE SCRUTINY: Today the Government often publishes bills in draft form, so that they can be scrutinised by a select committee, before they are formally introduced.
Draft Bills can be scrutinised by existing select committees, with relevant expertise.
Example: In 2017 the Commons Science and Technology Committee scrutinised the Draft Spaceflight Bill
The Committees final report proposed a number of amendments, many of which were accepted by the government before submitting the bill to Parliament.
New select committee can be specially formed to scrutinise a draft bill.
Example: In 2015, a joint committee of peers and MPS was appointed to examine the controversial Draft Investigatory Power Bill
Strengths:
- Ministers are less committed to a Bills contents at this early stage - they are more open to suggested amendments than they are once the Bill has been formerly introduced.
- Select Committee have a number of advantages over public bill committees, putting them in a better position to actually influence government bills.
The governments use of pre-legislative scrutiny is far from consistent with only 3 draft bills being submitted for pre-legislative scrutiny in 2016-2017 the highest being 11 between 2010 and 2012.
They can be influential however they are only advisory.
Ultimately, the government can choose to dismiss their recommendations.
What are the strengths and weakness of public committees?
Use examples.
Strength:
- The power to receive written evidence from outside groups, and if need be, conduct oral evidence earnings, before they begin their scrutiny of the bill
- In theory this should make this stage of the legislative process more rigorous and informed
Weakness:
- They are temporary: Members have little time to learn about issues surrounding the bill.
- Members have little incentive to work together and little time to develop expertise
- Members are selected by whips who tend to favour loyalty more so than policy expertise.
- E.g in 2011 The Cons MP Sarah Wollaston, a former doctor, who had been critical of the Governments healthcare policy, was blocked from the Health and Social Care Bill Committee despite her relevant expertise.
- Reports are much more partisan, with votes usually divided along party lines.
- It seems inevitable that PBC will not feature many independent minded MPs, who might have valid criticism of the Bill.
- The committee usually reflect the composition of the House, meaning government with a majority in the Commons will be difficult to defeat in the Committee.
- A study from ULC report that From 2000-10, only 88 non-Government Amendments, were successfully made in PBC, despite opposition MPs proposing 17, 468 amendments (0.5% success rate)
- Of the 7322 governments amendments - almost were successful over the same period.
What are the strengths of Select Committees?
Permanent - Members have the time to develop a good working relationship and policy expertise
- As members are elected they tend to be much more independent
- Often produce unanimous reports.
How does Programme Motion undermine Public Bill Committee?
Give an example.
The 1997 Modernisation Committee said MPS should debate & vote on.. Programme Motions: Voted on after a bills second reading to set deadlines for the remaining stages in the legislative process.
- They hoped that programme motions would give backbench MPS more influence while also giving the government assurance that its bill would complete their reaming stages on time.
However…
In practice, programme motions are rarely debated - government with a majority can usually rely on whipped backbenchers to support the motion.
Some have critical programme motions for imposing tight limits, particularly for the committee stage, that arguably undermine the scrutiny
Some argue that PM have made the house more efficient and some would like them to be used for PMBS so that they can not be so easily filibustered.
Example: The timetabled Proposal for the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill 2017 which sought to give the PM power to begin withdrawing the UK from the EU.
- The Programme motion required the committee stage, report stage and third reading to be taken in 3 days.
- Some MPS questioned if this was really enough time, given that over 100 pages of amendments d been tabled.
- Former leader of the SNP Alex Salmond argued the motion was railroading debate on the biggest constitutional decisions facing this country for 50 years.
Example: The House of Lords Reform Bill 2012
- The Bill easily passed its second reading (462-124) however 91 CoNS MPS had rebelled and voted against the bill
- There was also widespread opposition the the programme motion
- Labour wanted the remaking sages to go on as long as proved necessary
- The Coalition Government delayed the vote on the programme motion, and sensing that the Bill would take up too much time without one, withdrew the Bill in September
How does the structure of the UK government effect the influence of Parliament on the government bills?
- The fusion of our executive and legislative branches can make it very difficult for the Commons to defeat, or even amend government bills that was introduced by a government with a sizeable majority.
- Ministers can vote in favour of government bills as they are simultaneously members of the executive and legislature.
- Convention of collective responsibility requires all minsters to support the government and resign if they want to rebel
- PM can reward loyalty by directly promoting MPS into the ranks of government.
The Influence of the House of Lord is limited by…
Parliament Act 1911 and 1949 - removing it’s power to veto bills
Conventions: Peers have long respected conventions such as financial privilege and the Salisbury Convention.
- Recognising their lack of legitimacy , peers often back down if the Commons overturns the Lords recommendations to a bill rather than delay a bill for a year.
Is it a problem that the Commons find it difficult to influence government bills?
- A government with a large majority can claim a mandate to deliver its manifesto policies.
- An important function of Parliament is to legitimise government policies not to simply block them.
However….
- No bill is perfect when it is first induced - it is important that MPs/peers have not only the ability, but the willingness, to challenge government to make amendments that would improve the bill
