Parliament Flashcards
what is Parliament?
Parliament is the centre of the UK political system, it is where sovereignty lies
it is the legislative body
Dates back to the 13th century when the king permitted the election of an assembly to assist him in governing the country
Made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the monarch
what is the role of Parliament?
Parliament is the legislative body
It makes and passes law, debates issues, represents the electorate and scrutinises the government (E.g. through select committees)
what is Parliament made up of?
the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the monarch
The UK has a bicameral Parliamentary system; it is made up of two chambers known as the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, who together form the Houses of Parliament
Parliament technically also includes the monarch
what are the three branches of government?
The three branches of government; judicial, legislative and executive
the monarch
Technically, the Monarch has the final say as to whether a bill can pass into law by giving it royal assent which results in the bill becoming an act of parliament
No Monarch has refused to give Royal assent to a bill since Queen Anne in 1707 over the Scottish Militia Bill
House of Commons: what is the House of Commons? what is it made up of?
The House of Commons is the primary chamber of the UK legislature (Parliament) and is directly elected by voters
Consists of 650 MPs, all elected in single-member constituencies using FPTP
Each MP represent a constituency, there are 650 constituencies currently but this is expected to be reduced to 600
The number of candidates seeking election in 2015 was nearly 4000 — Approximately 6 per constituency, mainly chosen and supported by political parties
House of Commons: what is the Fixed Term Parliaments Act?
Under the fixed term parliament act 2011, general elections are supposed to be held at regular five year intervals
but an early election can be held if the government loses a vote of no confidence and the Prime Minister fails to form another government within 14 days OR if 2/3 of MPs support an early election
In 2017, Theresa May called an early election with the support of at least 2/3 of MPs
House of Commons: what is a by-election?
A by-election is called for a constituency to fill a vacancy if an MP dies or retires during a Parliamentary term
House of Commons: what are MPs usually elected as?
MPs are usually elected as members of a political party and are subject to party discipline
Only 1 independent MP (Lady Hermon for North Down, Northern Ireland) was elected in 2010 and 2015
Although sometimes an MP may resign or be expelled from a party and serve the rest of the Parliamentary term as an independent MP (e.g. in 2017, UKIP’s only MP Douglas Carswell left the party to become an independent)
House of Commons: what are the majority of MPs?
The majority of MPs (roughly 75%) are backbenchers
The rest are front benchers who occupy the front benches and are subdivided Into members of the government (ministers) and members of the opposition (Shadow ministers)
the shadow cabinet is headed by the leader of the opposition — since 2015, this has been Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party
backbenchers = MPs who do not hold a ministerial or shadow ministerial position, they occupy the benches in the debating chamber behind their leaders, their main role is to represent their constituencies and they are also expected to support their party and leader
the opposition = the official opposition is usually the party with the second largest number of seats in the Commons, the main role of the opposition is to scrutinise the government and it often opposes many of its legislative proposals, also seeks to present itself an an alternative government
House of Commons: key terminology (whip, backbencher, front bench, division, scrutiny)
whip = Puts pressure on MPs to align with the party (e.g. vote in favour of the party), can be a thing such as the three line whip or a person
Backbencher = A regular member of Parliament who does not have a ministerial position
Front bench = occupied by Cabinet ministers and Shadow ministers
division = a vote
scrutiny = holding the government to account, for example by examining questioning and challenging their decisions and work
House of Commons: key terminology (cronyism, the Salisbury Convention, nepotism, Parliamentary privilege, the speaker)
cronyism = promoting and siding with friends
salisbury convention = House of Lords cannot veto or go against policies included in the governments manifesto
nepotism = promoting members of the family to positions
parliamentary privilege = The right to speak freely in debates
The speaker = keeps the Commons under control, currently John Bercow
House of Commons: how many MPs are there?
650 MPs (100 of which hold ministerial positions, 20 in cabinet, 35 shadow/opposition ministers)
MPs are usually linked to a party and subject to party discipline
MPs are elected in single-member constituencies using FPTP
The House of Commons is more representative than the Lords — In 2017, the proportion of women rose to 32% while the House of Lords is still at 24%
House of Commons: what are the powers of the House of Commons?
supreme legislative powers
can remove the government of the day through a vote of no confidence, such as what happened to labour under James Callaghan in the 1970s
The House of Commons has financial privilege over the House of Lords
House of Commons: key functions
legislation (passing and discussing, not making)
representation of constituents
scrutiny (holding the government to account by asking questions, debating issues, carrying out in-depth enquiries via committees, Prime Minister‘s question time et cetera)
Legitimacy (elected body) — The Commons provides legitimacy (the right to rule) because MPs are elected by the public
The House of Commons also provides recruitment and training of ministers
