Parliament Flashcards
Factors behind increased effectiveness of the House of Lords in checking the powers of the executive
Party Balance - no majority in the Lords so cross-party support required
Enhanced legitimacy - post House of Lords Act 1999
Questions arising over Salisbury Doctrine - periods of coalition or when the government has less than 33% support of the electorate
Increasing support of back-bench MPs of the governing party for amendments to government proposals
Functions of parliament
Legislation Oversight Debate Recruitment of ministers Representation
Stages of parliamentary legislation
First reading (presentation) Second reading (first debate) Committee stage (scrutiny by public bill committee) Report stage (second debate) Third reading (third debate - no amendments permitted) House of Lords stages
Parliamentary scrutiny
Parliamentary questions
Opposition party - opposes government and acts as alternative government-in-waiting
Select committees
Examples of parliamentary debate
Iraq 2003
Syria 2015
Representation
Delegate model Trustee model Constituency representation Party representation Descriptive representation
Exclusive powers of the House of Commons
The right to insist on legislation
Financial privilege (money bills)
The power to dismiss the executive (motion of no confidence)
Conventions regarding the relationship between the two chambers
The Salisbury Doctrine
Reasonable time
Secondary legislation
Factors affecting the legislative-executive relationship
Size of government’s parliamentary majority
Extent of party unity
Elements of parliamentary privilege
Freedom of speech - can’t be arrested
Exclusive cognisance - right of each house to regulate its own internal affairs without interference from outside bodies
Roles of the whips
Ensure that MPs attend parliamentary votes or approve of their absence otherwise
Issue instructions on how MPs should vote - strictest instruction = “three-line whip”
Enforcing discipline within the parliamentary party - provide assurances, make offers and issue threats
Categories of members of the House of Lords
Hereditary peers
Life peers
Lords Spiritual (26)
Aspects of legitimacy
Input legitimacy - concerns the composition of an institution and its responsiveness to citizens’ concerns as a result of participation by, and representation of, the people.
Output legitimacy - concerns the quality and effectiveness of an institution’s performance and outcomes for the people
The Commons has input legitimacy, because it is democratically elected, whereas the Lords has output legitimacy because of the production of better legislation as a result of its scrutiny and revision procedure
Evidence of government dominance limiting parliament’s effectiveness in making and scrutinising law
Private members’ bills have little chance of success without government backing
Executive controls parliamentary timetable - guillotine motions
The “payroll vote” - ministers required to support the government or resign
Party discipline - whip system
Salisbury Convention
The convention whereby the House of Lords does not delay or block legislation that was included in a government’s manifesto
Parliament Acts (1911 and 1949)
Restricted the veto power of the House of Lords from an indefinite time period, down to two years then to one year
Transformed the Lords from a vetoing chamber into a revising chamber
Functions of the House of Lords
Veto legislation from the House of Commons (for up to a year)
Propose amendments to bills passed by the Commons
Legislation which has been blocked by the Lords but then passed unchanged in the following session of parliament
Hunting Act (2004)
Example of a select committee
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee
2016
Mike Ashley
Phillip Green
Pro effectiveness of select committees
Overall function of scrutinising the policies and actions of government, questioning ministers and civil servants
40% of select committee recommendations are accepted by the government
Anti effectiveness of select committees
A government with a Commons majority will hold a majority in committees, reducing scrutiny on government
Government can ignore recommendations of committees e.g 2013 ban on pesticides suggested by the Environmental Audit Committee
Backbench Business Committee
Created in 2010
Has given MPs greater opportunity to shape the parliamentary agenda by allowing them to pitch debate ideas to the committee
Has led to debates shaping the parliamentary agenda - EU referendum / release of documents of Hillsborough
Government able to ignore motions passed in such debates - e.g lowering the voting age to 16
Pro parliament as an effective check on the power of the executive
Has weakened the executive’s control over the parliamentary timetable by the creation of the BBBC and the greater use of urgent questions
Backbench MPs of the governing party’s greater willingness to rebel has produced greater checks on the executive
Reformed House of Lords is a more effective revising chamber
Select committees have become more influential - 40% acceptance rate of recommendations
Anti parliament as an effective check on the power of the executive
The executive exercises significant control over the legislative timetable
Government defeats are rare
Government can resort to the Parliament Act to bypass the opposition from the House of Lords
Government able to ignore the recommendations of select committees
Ethnic diversity of the House of Commons
BAME MPs rose from 41 to 52 at the 2017 General Election
Only 8% of the house, compared to 14% of the population
Example of the government acting upon the recommendation of a select committee
2017
Work and Pensions Committee recommendations on Concentrix benefits scandal
