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parliament/congress Flashcards

1
Q

what are the features of parliament?

A

bicameral - HoL and HoC

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2
Q

How many MPs/constituencies in the HoC?

A

650

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3
Q

what is the layout of parliament?

A

backbenchers majority of parliament, frontbenchers - those run the government, Speaker of the HoC, opposition - shadow cabinet, rest of the parties that don’t have a majority.

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4
Q

what types of members are there in the HoL?

A

life peers, hereditary peers, archbishops, crossbenchers

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5
Q

how many lord spirituals are there?

A

26 from the church of England

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6
Q

how are the HoL appointed?

A

HoL appointment committee, don’t have to be aligned with a party, member of the public that is nominated can be reviewed for membership by the committee

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7
Q

who else can appoint those to the HoL?

give examples

A

the PM can appoint members, such as Rishi Sunak appointed David Cameron as a Lord in 2023
Gordon Brown appointed Lord Sugar in 2009

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8
Q

what are the function of HoC?

A

scrutiny, legislation, debate, representation, legitimation, mandate

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9
Q

what is scrutiny?

A

holding government accountable for their actions, question PM and ministers on actions they have taken
critical observation and examination

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10
Q

what is debating?

A

MPs debate issues of major importance of their constituents and of the country.

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11
Q

what is representation?

A

MPs protecting the needs and interests of people in their constituency

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12
Q

what is legitimation?

A

the HoC must approve all bills which become laws and has the power to support or question

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13
Q

how effective is representation in the HoC? both sides

A

Representation - MPs have surgeries talking to their constituents
fails to represent the social makeup of society
52% of MPs over 50
ethnic 8%, but UK 14%
65% male, 35% female

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14
Q

how ineffective are PMBs

A

PMBs - only 2-3% are taken into consideration

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15
Q

how effective is legislation in the HoC? both sides

A

legislation - pass bills into law 2018 Data Protection act
MPs cannot freely debate and vote how they want to because of party line and party whips, three line whip telling them how to vote in upcoming votes

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16
Q

how effective is legitimation in the HoC? both sides

A

legitimation - approves important decisions, voted against military intervention in Syria 2013
war on Iraq 2003, over 750,000 protesters in London on a single day

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17
Q

how effective is scrutiny in the HoC? both sides

A

Scrutiny - PMQs, questioning the PM
PMQs - seen to be mainstream political theatre, punch and judy rather than holding the PM accountable
select committees - scrutinise gov’t dep’t work and ministers
question ministers - in-depth questions
Boris Johnson questioned by the privilege committee on Partygate 2021, however, 2016 Boris Johnson accused of waffling by foreign affairs committee chair

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18
Q

PMQs are effective in scrutinising the executive?

A

high profile and widely publicised, clips often featuring in TV news or social media
forces the PM to directly address key issues, most direct method of scrutiny
opportunities for the leader of the opposition to stake a claim to the premiership by delivering a better debating performance
keeps PM on their toes and directly accountable to parl.

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19
Q

PMQs are ineffective in scrutinising the executive

A

highly misleading and distorted image of parl’s work and how government is scrutinised
punch and judy politics
petty point scoring
very male, very testosterone fuelled
PMQs made 12% of the public feel proud of parliament
no less than 67% felt there was too much party political point scoring as opposed to answering the question
MPs from the ruling party use it an opportunity to ask pasty questions, these are planted questions wich supposed to make the government look good
also an opportunity to ingratiate themselves with the frontbench in hopes of a future promotion

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20
Q

what are the three theories of representation in the UK?

A

Delegate
Burkean
Mandate

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21
Q

what is the delegate theory?

A

MP is a mouthpiece for the constituency only, votes for what their constituents want, not their own interests

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22
Q

what is the Burkean theory?

A

where the MP uses their experience and understanding to decide what it best for the interests of their constituents

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23
Q

what is the mandate theory?

A

the MP is there to represent party interests not their constituents interests.

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24
Q

what are the functions of the HoL?

A

legislation - no money bills, but can delay
government scrutiny
investigating public policy
representation - scientists etc

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25
Q

how effective is legislation in the HoL? both sides

A

bill are debated at depth, containing experts providing inputs into debates, committee reviews of bills
however, not able to stop legislation passing and the Salisbury Convention means that the HoL is unable to oppose policies in the manifesto of the elected government

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26
Q

how effective is scrutiny in the HoL?

A

each gov’t dep’t has a member of the HoL that will question minister every Monday -MQs
government has to respond within 60 days to any report submitted
no single party controls the HoL
increasing non-partisanship
life peers can disobey the whip
don’t have constituencies so can constantly scrutinise the government

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27
Q

how effective is representation in the HoL?

A

contains peers who represent those that are less well represented in society - homelessness Baron bird advocates for homeless people
represents expertise from across society, different professional backgrounds
different political views
Lord Spiritual Act 2015 - woman becomes a bishop in the HoL
however,

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28
Q

how ineffective is representation in the HoL?

A

members are not elected by the public, so don’t have a mandate
92 hereditary peers - inherited title not selected by committee
members appointed by party leaders through the power of patronage
over half the members are over 70yrs
only Christianity is represented, no other religion

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29
Q

briefly name the stages in the legislative process in the UK?

A

first reading - anyone can scrutinise
second reading - following a debate a vote will take place
committee stage - goes to a specific committee, it will be considered, examined, amendments, proposed with changes back to chambers
report stage - discuss amendments, then vote again
third reading - amendments no longer made, but new amendments considered, vote again to approve, both chambers to approve bill ‘ping pong’
royal assent - monarch will sign the bill into law

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30
Q

what is the Public Bill Committee?

A

committee where it will debate and consider amendments to the bill, considering each clause of the bill, highly scrutinising changes

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31
Q

what is the public account committee?

A

oversee government expenditure, questioning ministers, publish reports, effective scrutiny and honest.

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32
Q

what is secondary legislation?

A

bills can be passed to slightly amend primary legislation without removing the primary legislation act. the HoL can reject as well as the SC.

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33
Q

what is the Strathclyde review?

A

in 2015, reviewed the relationship between the HoC and HoL
recommended that the HoL should not be able to stop secondary legislation passing, but should ask HoC to rethink

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34
Q

compare the powers between the HoC and HoL?

A

HoC:
can remove the government - vote of no confidence
legislation powers - final approval
select committees - scrutinise the government
power to approve the budget
mandate
HoL:
propose amendments
amend and scrutinise legislation

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35
Q

who are backbenchers?

A

MPs in the HoC and HoL, not part of the gov’t or the opposition

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36
Q

how is the opposition significant?

A

size of gov’t majority, if there is a minority, opposition has more power
offer a clear alternative to the government
A united opposition allows more chance of voting down government legislation

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37
Q

what is the structure of congress?

A

HoR - 435 members
senate - 100 members
6 non-voting members
each state has 2 senators and a number of HoR the represents the state population

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38
Q

what is the structure of the senate?

A

100 senators, 2 per state
term length of 6 years
1/3 of senators reelected every 2 years
president of the senate - Kamala Harris
majority leader - Chuck Schumer
minority leader - Mitch McConnell

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39
Q

what is the structure of the HoR

A

435 members
members elected every 2 years, term length 2 years
constantly campaigning
Speaker - Mike Johnson
Majority leader - Steve Scalise
Minority leader - Hakeem Jeffries

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40
Q

what concurrent powers does the legislative branch have, in the US?

A

power to overturn presidential veto 2/3
amend the constitution 2/3
impeachment
oversight

41
Q

what exclusive powers does the HoR have?

A

house has the power to impeach
power of the purse
elect president if not one has

42
Q

what checks does congress have on other branches?

A

executive - impeachment, override veto, treaties
judiciary - confirm judicial nominees, change size of SC

43
Q

why does a gov’t shutdown happen?

A

where both chambers cannot come to an agreement on the budget, therefore ceiling debt increases, jobs have to be let go, causing a gov’t shutdown until an agreement has been decided
very unpopular with citizens
Trump - 35 days longest in shutdown

44
Q

what is a filibuster/closure?

A

filibuster - senator talks for as long as possible to prevent a vote from taking place, but 60 votes are needed to stop a filibuster
closure - stops a filibuster and allows for the vote to take place

45
Q

how representative is congress compared to the rest of US society? (118th)

A

most diverse - 25%, US - 24%
women - 28%, US - 51%
LGBTQ+ - 2%, US - 7%
Christianity - 87%, US - 63%
men - 72%, US - 49%
Average age - 64yrs, US - 38yrs

46
Q

what is gerrymandering?

A

political manipulation of electoral boundaries

47
Q

what is the problem with HoR term lengths?

A

only 2 years, therefore constantly campaigning to stay for the next 2 years, less focus on passing legislation

48
Q

what is incumbency? US

A

members of congress that is going for re-election
have a higher name recognition, therefore higher chance of being reelected 90%

49
Q

what is a caucus? US

A

people from a similar background vote for which legislation they will back.

50
Q

what is the problem with executive agreements? US

A

the increase use of executive orders mean that congress has become less effective, essentially a law only while president is in office
presidents have initiated wars without consent from congress

51
Q

how can backbenchers propose legislation? UK

A

ballot bills - best chance of becoming law, 20 MPs are chosen, could be approached by a PG or bills that gov’t hasn’t found time.
ten minute bills - aspirations put into legislative language, 10-minute speaking slot after question time. concerns relating to their constituency, party whips decide the slots, undermining the independence of individual MPs
presentation bills - MP introduce a bill of their choice , given prior notice to the Public Bill Office. MP presenting the bill doesn’t give a speech and no debate, used to address discrete, non-controversial policy issues

52
Q

what is an indirect method that backbenchers can use to pass legislation? UK

A

applying pressure before the bill ever reaches the floor of the HoC. governments are keen to buy off rebels in advance and may make changes to the bill before it is first debated.
2011, plans to privatise some English forest, major crossbench opposition forced the government to abandon its plan entirely.
2006, Labour backbenchers successfully persuaded Blair’s government to bring in the Corporate Manslaughter bill.

53
Q

what are the Lord committees in the UK?

A

least significant, lord has much less power
investigations examine specialist subjects, there are 6 main permanent committee
peers put forward proposals for special inquiry committees to the Lord Liaison Committee, which makes recommendations to the HoC on which should be established

54
Q

what are the three main type of parliamentary committees?

A

Public bill committees
select committees
lord committees

55
Q

what is the role of the opposition in the UK?

A

offer scrutiny
check on the government
offer viable and practical alternative solutions

56
Q

how does the opposition challenge the government in the UK?

A

the leader asks the opening question at PMQs, and five more afterwards
20 opposition days, allowing them to choose what to debate, 2018 Labour raised the issues of schools funding, Grenfell tower fire and NHS privatisation
select committees produce reports critical of the government
2018-19 opposition was able to prevent versions of May’s deal for Brexit passing

57
Q

what are the weaknesses of the opposition in the UK?

A

government has greater resources
depends on the quality of members of the shadow cabinet and how well they perform in debates and in the media
opposition successes are rare, government can pass legislation due to large majority
successful rebellions on issues are rare - internal opposition works if supported by the opposition parties.

58
Q

what is the role of Congress?

A

passing legislation
representing the people
overseeing the executive

59
Q

what are the powers of congress?

A

legislative powers
overriding a presidential veto
initiating amendments to the constitution
ratifying treaties
declaring war
congressional oversight
confirming presidential appointments
impeachment
electing president and vice president in the event of a hung Electoral college

60
Q

what is the composition of congress?

A

has been criticised in failing to reflect the diversity of US society
congress is male, pale and stale due to high numbers of white, old men.
Christians are overrepresented to the population as a whole
slowly becoming more representative - 117th most racially diverse
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez youngest congress woman elected
The Squad - 4 women representing a new generation of progressive politics

61
Q

which groups are still underrepresented in congress?

A

women, hispanics, african-americans, those with no religion.
hispanics are largest ethnic minority group 18% of population but only make up 9% of congress
23% of the population associate with no religion but only 1 member in 117th congress

62
Q

what are the reasons for underrepresentation in congress?

A

first state legislatures are underrepresented, means that shortages of suitable candidates for congress
African americans and hispanics are better represented in the HoR than the senate this is because of majority-minority districts. majority voters in the district are from the same minority ethnic group, doesn’t apply for senate seats as senator represents whole state
traditionally male dominated

63
Q

who are the members of congress that are independent?

A

only 2, Bernie Sanders and Angus King but they are both belong to the Democratic caucus, affiliated with a main party, so not singled out in votes.

64
Q

what is oversight?

A

congress oversees and scrutinises the activities of the federal government. important part of checks and balances

65
Q

What are the 4 functions in oversight?

A

Impeachment
Ratification of treaties
Investigation of the executive
Confirmation of nominees

66
Q

give an example of confirmation of nominees in oversight?

A

Trump’s nomination of education secretary - Betty DeVos, two republicans broke party ranks to oppose 50-50 Mike Pence made final decision

67
Q

how effective is investigating the executive?

A

standing and select committees investigate the actions of the executive
committees hold hearings to provide information for investigations
the threat of investigation should motivate the executive to ensure legal actions and can withstand media attention
some investigations are for political smear with bad publicity rather than a positive form of oversight
investigations don’t produce tangible results
GAO reduced in size
staff cuts of 45%

68
Q

how effective is the confirmation of nominees to the executive?

A

senate can refuse to confirm appointments
senate confirmation encourages presidents to nominate a high-quality individual
nominees forced to withdraw when exposed to senate and media scrutiny
Betsy DeVos confirmation hearing displayed lack of knowledge of basic education policy - argued that guns in schools would protect students from bears

69
Q

how effective is impeachment?

A

congress can try to impeach a president, such as with Nixon, Clinton and Trump
the threat of impeachment on any officials should motivate all members of the executive to follow the law
impeachment has never led to the conviction or the removal of a sitting president.

70
Q

how effective is the ratification of treaties by the senate?

A

president negotiates treaties, senate must then ratify them. forces the president to work closely with the senate
the senate has rejected many important international treaties such as the Treaty of Versailles, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, The Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - president instead uses executive agreements

71
Q

what is the power of the purse?

A

only congress can raise revenue for the federal government
tax bills must start in the house but the senate can amend them.

72
Q

what is a government shutdown?

A

happens when neither the executive nor congress compromise, so the budget is not passed.
normally a ‘partial’ shutdown with little disruption but a ‘full’ shutdown the government is forced to close its non-essential functions. these are unpopular because of the inconvenience they cause.

73
Q

what are congressional caucuses?

A

group of members of congress who work together to achieve a similar legislative aims.

74
Q

name congressional caucuses?

A

House Republican caucus, senate Republican caucus, house democrat caucus, senate democrat caucus.

75
Q

what is the House Freedom Caucus?

A

subgrouping of members with similar interests - often ideological
consisted of 45 conservative Republicans committed to limited government

76
Q

what is the congressional progressive caucus?

A

nearly 100 progressive democrats

77
Q

name some bipartisan congressional caucuses

A

Bipartisan Heroin and Opioid Task Force,
Climate Solutions Caucuses,
Congressional Black Caucus, Problem Solvers Caucus

78
Q

what is the role of the majority and minority leader?

A

act as floor leaders in both chambers, plan legislative agenda and coordinate their party for votes and debates. try to achieve party unity so that the party can achieve its legislative aims.

79
Q

what is the role as speaker of the House of Representatives?

A

most high profile leadership position in congress, the speaker is elected by all members of the house and belongs to the majority party. their role is to preside over debates and keep order while the house is in session. they determine the legislative agenda for the house and choose members of conference and select committees

80
Q

who are the majority and minority leaders for the house and senate?

A

maj HoR - Steve Scalise R
min HoR - Hakeem Jeffries D
maj senate - Charles Schumer D
min senate - Mitch McConnell R

81
Q

who is the speaker of the house of representatives US?

A

Mike Johnson after Kevin McCarthy was voted out

82
Q

how effective is party discipline in the US?

A

traditionally weak as party whips power to enforce party unity is limited. separation of powers prevents party leaders offering government positions in exchange for support.
the speaker does have some leverage to influence, deciding who sits on the House Rules Committee
often need to use powers of persuasion to convince members to support the party’s agenda

83
Q

what is an example of effective party unity and discipline by the democrats?

A

democrats cohered around their opposition to Trump’s border wall to maintain unity during the longest government shutdown in history.

84
Q

how effective is partisanship in congress?

A

if extreme it can be damaging for democracy preventing bipartisanship to reach a compromise between the two parties
polarisation increases partisanship, ideologically opposing each other
increases the likelihood of gridlock during times of a divided government
party unity has increased due to the increase of partisanship.

85
Q

how has congress shown to be bipartisan?

A

the problem solver caucus was set up to promote bipartisanship on legislation
leaders have compromised on key initiatives such as the First Step Act 2018, CARES act 2020

86
Q

what committee system are used in congress?

A

standing, select, House Rules and conference committees

87
Q

what do standing committees do, US?

A

permanent, focus on specific area of policy
work is done in their subcommittees
hold hearings in the committee stage of bills,
carry out investigations

88
Q

what additional roles do the standing committees in the senate have?

A

key role in presidential appointments and SC
hearings are held to consider the suitability of the nominee
followed by a committee vote which is a recommendation to the rest of the senate on whether to confirm the appointment,
rejected Merrick Garland - Senate judiciary committee

89
Q

what is the role of the select committee?

A

set up to deal with urgent issues, prevent standing committee from being overloaded, most are temporary.
permanent - House/Senate permanent select committee on Intelligence
mainly investigate the issue

90
Q

give an example of an investigation held by the senate select committee on intelligence

A

investigated Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections, carry out high profile and detailed hearings in the public interest
however investigations can be politicised which reduces their credibility, committees may be divided on the conclusion they reach.

91
Q

what happened in the house select committee on Benghazi?

A

was set up to investigate the 2012 terrorist attack on the US embassador in Libya was killed. questioned former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for 11 hours in 2015. released 800 page report, did not find any new evidence against Clinton and focused on military leadership in Washington

92
Q

what is the role of House Rules Committee?

A

standing committee, sets the rules for bills determining how much time they will have on the floor of the house and whether amendments will be allowed.
open rules - amendments
closed rules - no amendments
115th congress 56% of bills were debated under closed rules, prevents legislation from being improved.

93
Q

what is the role of conference committees?

A

temporary committees, occurs when the house and senate passed different bills
consider the two versions of the bill and merge and combine into one
have been used less frequently

94
Q

how do members of congress represent their constituents?

A

communicating with constituents,
passing legislation,
committee membership,
lobbying the executive,
constituency casework

95
Q

what is the legislative process for the US?

A

HoR - introduction of bill, committee stage, timetabling- House Rules committee, open or closed, floor debate open to any further amendments, conference committee, presidential action
senate - needs to pass through both chambers, if it doesn’t then the bill dies. introduction, committee stage, timetabling - unanimous agreement to continued, floor debate, conference committee,

96
Q

how does congress perform it legislative function effectively?

A

congress has passed transformative legislation, Obama care act, reformed health care
major legislation is passed during periods of unified government
during hyperpartisan division compromise is possible, such as First Step Act 2018, CARES Act 2020
pass emergency legislation CARES act
congress can reject legislation proposed by the executive

97
Q

how does congress not perform its legislative function effectively?

A

only 2-3% bills become law
112th congress became the least productive congress
gridlock is common, current political climate is polarised
filibusters are becoming more frequent, block bills progressing
increased use of closed house rules, reduced amendments to the bills
presidential vetoes are rarely overturned, need a supermajority

98
Q

how does congress fulfil its oversight function?

A

strong oversight during divided government
standing or select committees investigate the executive, high-profile scrutiny
congress is able to check the executive
congress can impeach
fear of impeachment or investigation keep officials acting within the law
president must work closely with senate to negotiate treaties
senate can refuse to confirm presidential appointments

99
Q

how does congress not fulfil its oversight function?

A

members of congress reluctant to criticise the president if they belong to the same party, oversight is weaker in unified government
congress’s lack of popularity makes it difficult for it to attack a popular president
investigation can be politicised, point scoring
investigations can be time consuming
no president have ever been impeached or removed when in office
Trump’s partisan acquittal by the senate showed that political allegiance may have more impact in an impeachment trial than the facts of the case 2020
senate has refused to ratify treaties, president use executive agreements

Politics (15 decks)

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