Parliament (back + frontbenchers, HOL, HOC) Flashcards
Parliament is bicameral what does this mean
Bicameral , made up of two chambers HOC and HOL
the HOC has ______ within parliament as it derives its _________ from the people
Primacy
Legitimacy
The monarch needs to give a bill its _____ ______ before they become law
Royal assent
the HOL is also known as a ________ chamber as it looks over proposed ________
Revision
Legislations
MP’s who are not members of the government are known as
Backbenchers
PMQT is referred to as _______ & ______ politics
Punch & Judy
lords who are not affiliated to a party are known as __________
Crossbenchers
what are the 6 functions of the HOC
Legitimation
Legislation
Scrutiny
Representation
Debate
Providing government
a group of powerful conservative backbenchers are known as the _____ club
1922
name some of the different parties in the HOC and the seats they hold
Conservative + unionist parties 360/650
Lab party 198/650
SNP 45/650
Liberal Democrats 12/650
how many women MP’s are in the HOC
220
how many women MP’s are in the HOC
220
how many male MP’s are in the HOC
430
how many ethnic minorities are in the HOC
65
Who are frontbenchers and what is their role
Frontbenchers are either a govt minister or an opposition shadow spokesperson , allocated a portfolio,
their role includes introducing bills + answering questions about their portfolio during question time every week
give examples of frontbenchers
PM
Secretary of state
Lord chancellor
what is the role of Backbenchers and give an example
Represent constituents , scrutinise govt + legitimise decisions
E.g. theresa may
Backbenchers have ___________ privilege
Parliamentary - not bound by ministerial responsibility
who are whips and what is their role
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature
Whips are important for upholding party discipline
who are party whips and what is their role
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature
Whips are important for upholding party discipline + behaviours on the floor of the house
who is chief whip
Mark spencer
When in the HOC where does the leader of the opposition stand
PM stands in dispatch box when speaking
Leader of the opposition stands opposite from PM with their shadow cabinet behind them
what are the official roles of the speaker
To be impartial
To moderate debate/ensure parliament functions effectively
Make rulings on procedure
announce the results of votes
who is the current speaker
Sir Lindsay Hoyle
what is a peerage (HOL)
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles
Many members of the house of ______ are not members of a party
Lords
Members of the HOL do not represent ________
Constituencies
Why are lords less powerful than the commons
Lords are not elected so have less power
How many members in the HOL
780
Who is the current foreign secretary
James cleverly
who is the current chancellor of the exchequer
Jeremy hunt
who is the current Home Secretary
Suella Braverman
who is the current leader of the Labour Party
Keir starmer
The 4 great officers of state are
The chancellor
The PM
The Home Secretary
The foreign Secretary
give examples of legitimation by the HOC
Parliament act 1911 - exclusive right to approve the budget , debate the budget proposals over 4 days then scrutinise the govts resting finance bill
A convention - whereby HOC should be consulted over committing British forces to military action (after Iraq 2003)
e.g. in 2013 Cameron believed military action against Syria was justified after alleged attack by Syrian govt , but when debated by HOC govt beat by 285 to 272
Describe the legislation function of the HOC
The process through which parliamentary bills become law, intense scrutiny
each Parliament govt will introduce public bills into HOC. Each bill - two readings in HOC before it reaches the public bill committee stage when examined then reaches the report stage when it is voted upon after third reading bill sent to HOL
How did constitutional reforms under new labour change the HOL
Democratisation
the HOL act 1999
Abolished all but 92 hereditary peers , never managed to reform the composition of the powers of the lords
Describe the legitimation function of the HOC
Parliaments main constitutional function
Parliamentary bills require the consent of the HOC before enactment
how many days out of the parliamentary year is given to the backbench business committee to raise issues in parliament
35
give an example whereby bad legislation was passed
The crime and disorder act 1998
The criteria for anti social behaviours
Was imprecisely worded so individuals could be punished for excessive singing
give an example whereby the HOC excerised their legislation function to prevent a bill from being passed
In 2005 , 49 lab MP’s were unconvinced by Blair’s govt proposals that terrorist suspects should be held in custody for 90 days without charge - defeated 291 to 322
So process works effectively prevents unjust legislation
HOC has a major role in ________ the govt
Scrutinising
what three types of committees does the HOC use to scrutinise effectively
Public bill committees
Select committees
Liaison committees
What do public bill committees do
Scrutinise proposed legislation and offer amendments to the wording of bills
Often criticised for being too partisan
when were select committees introduced by the HOC
1979 (Thatcher PM)
how many members are there in a select committee
11
What do select committees do and give an example
Monitor the performance of the major departments of state
E.g. women and equalities committee monitors progress being made on a more inclusive society
Select committees are non ______
Partisan
What do select committees do and give an examples
Monitor the performance of the major departments of state
E.g. women and equalities committee monitors progress being made on a more inclusive society
What does a liaison committee do
Represents the chairs of all the select committee and questions the PM but are less confrontational than PMQT
describe the representation function of the HOC
MP’s = accountable to their constituents - ensures close relationship - balance the interests of their constituents with demands of party whips
engage with local issues to make sure constituents are acknowledged
&involved in the life of the community
Give an example of scrutiny having a significant impact on govt decision making
In 2016 May established department for exiting the EU so a SC was set up soon after to examine its work
chairman Hilary Benn questioned ministers on impactful scenarios potentially caused by departure
Describe the debate function of the HOC
Enables MP’s to weigh up the likely impact of public bills (like third runway at Heathrow)
Debate private members bills too
MP’s can request emergency debates
Govt can raise issues for debate
give an example of good representation in the HOC
In June 2018 , 8 conservative MP’s disobeyed a three-line whip to vote against expansion of the Heathrow airport
all represent constituencies which will be affected by the expansion
John Mcdonell senior lab MP represents constituency effected so supported protests against Heathrow expansion
give an example of MP’s requesting an emergency debate
2018 May failed to consult the HOC over military strikes in Syria so emergency debate was requested
Give examples of tense debates
2005 Blair failed to make the case for the detention of terror suspects for 90 days
2013 Cameron was defeated over military intervention in Syria against president Assad
describe the providing government function of the HOC
legislature and the executive are fused - the legislature provides the exec - can impress/persuade the exec proving fitness for govt
So there is a convention where major office holders are HOC members because chamber possesses democratic legitimacy
give an example of the HOC providing govt
Young conservative MP Iain Macleod impressed Churchill in parliamentary debate, Churchill demanded he be in govt despite the chief whip’s claims that Macleod was ‘too young’
What are the three functions of the HOL
Legislation
Scrutiny
Legitimation
Explain the legislation function for the HOL
bill leaves the HOC - sent to the HOL - examined in detail - expertise of Lords important in refining the bill & its contents - any member of the Lords can propose amendments -
Commons dont have to accept the Lords advice - due to Lords expertise advice is politically influential and considered
Can address the merits/demerits of legislation with open minds
give examples of the HOL effectively examining legislation
In 2008 clauses in counter terrorism bill to enable terror suspects to be held for 42 days without charge were decisively defeated in the Lords by 191 votes but were passed in HOC by minority vote - 9 votes - Gordon Brown then dropped them from bill
Why can legislation still bypass the HOL & give an example of an act which passed the HOC despite the lords opposition
Legislation can still bypass the HOL due to the Parliament acts of 1911 & 1949
the sexual offences amendment act 2000 which reduced the legal age for gay sex from 18 to 16
Explain the scrutiny function of the HOL
The HOL scrutinises the work of govt in oral questions to ministers & through committees
Committee work highly regarded concentrate on major political issues & their reports are non-binding but carry weight
HOL committees can either be _______ or _________ and there is a small number of ______ committees
Temporary
Permanent
Joint
What are joint committees and give an example
members from the HOC + HOL - human rights committee which produced significant reports on the wrongful detention + deportation of members of the ‘windrush generation’
Give examples of committees in the HOL effectively scrutinising
HOL secondary legislation scrutiny committee e.g. Osbourne’s use of secondary legislation to cut tax credits was a subject of detailed criticism
Explain the HOL legitimation, representation and providing govt & debate function
the Lords are unelected so they cannot claim a legitimising function meaning dont have representative role in a democratic sense
But important function of HOL is to debate issues - significantly raises the profile of an issue
What is the Salisbury convention
Anything that is written in the govts electoral manifesto will not be stopped to be legislated as it would be seen as undemocratic if opposed - manifest legitimacy
Give an example of the HOL debating effectively
In 2018 following the killing of a large number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli military forces
Lord Steel proposed a debate ‘that this house takes note of the situation in the Palestinian territories’
What are the powers/abilities of the HOC
-Represent the nation & is accountable to it in a general election
-Can dismiss the govt in a vote of confidence
-Must agree to the budget
-Legitimise important decisions e.g dissolution of parliament and &the commitment of the UK to major military operations
-executive needs consent of HOC to pass legislation
-Scrutinises legislation in parliamentary debate & public bill committees
what are the powers/abilities of the HOL
Can delay legislation for one parliamentary session but can’t veto it - according to Salisbury convention if proposed legislation was in the winning party’s electoral manifesto HOL can’t oppose
Lord’s main work = as revising chamber: offering amendments to legislation & scrutinising work of govt through committees + parliamentary debate
Why must the HOC agree to the Budget
The govt has a majority meaning they have more of an influence over the Budget it involves the people of the country so there needs to be a lot of representation
What can party whips do if MP’S do not vote the way they want them to
The party whips can leak private information & remove funding for constituencies
What is a legislative bill
A proposal for a new law or a proposal to change an existing law
What is an example of a legislative bill
Sexual offences pardons bill 2016
What is a private members’ bill
A bill that is introduced by MP’s or lords that are not govt ministers (backbenchers)
What is a famous private members’ bill
House of Lords reform act in 2014
what are the stages a private members’ bill goes through
First reading
Second readings
Committee stage - debated , scrutinised & amended
Report stage
Third reading
Royal assent
What does the House of Lords reform act (2014) allow
Allows members of the HOL to retire or resign
When was the backbench business committee established
2010
How else other than their allotted 35 days can backbenchers raise issues in parliament
MP’s can also use PMQ’s and debate sessions to raise issues that are important to them
What is an example of a backbencher raising issues in parliament
Luciana Berger spoke out against anti - semitism she defected from the Labour Party under Corbyn to changeUK
UN international day for women 2016 - MP Michelle Thomson spoke about her own rape at 14 to raise awareness
Give an example of a backbencher scrutinising the govt
May indirectly called Johnson a liar over ‘partygate’ asking whether or not the rules apply to him or not - 2021 -
Stella creasy - mothers in parliament - brought her own child to parliament and was berated
Diane Abbott - 2018 - anti Windrush scandal - protest and challenged May’s govt
How effective are backbenchers
- Can introduce Private members’ bills even in the HOL
- More effective with experience or passion
- not fearful of govt
- Very effective if small parliamentary majority i.e. May Brexit
- ineffective with large majority i.e. Blair Iraq 2003
What are some limits to Backbench influence
- Local issues can be raised but does not ensure govt action or change e.g. 10 min speaking rule in parliament
- Public bill committees to propose amendments - govt majority -
- Power of patronage - B’s unlikely to be promoted not submissive - so have little influence over policies
What is parliamentary privilege
When you can address issues in the HOC without being bound by party loyalty or the influence of party whips
