Parliament - Development and Powers of Parliament

Question 1

Who is the Prime Minister leader of and the head of?

Answer 1

The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in Parliament and the head of the executive branch: they are responsible for formulating policy and ensuring laws are adequately executed

Question 2

Why does the Prime Minister usually command and control most of the business/ outcomes of the Commons?

Answer 2

Because they are the leader of the party which won most of the seats in a general election (a majority is needed in Parliament to pass laws)

Question 3

Who appoints Ministers?

Answer 3

The PM, therefore MPs feel pressure to vote with the PM in order to advance their careers

Question 4

What is the Speaker’s role?

Answer 4

The Speaker keeps order in the House and ensures as many MPs from a range of parties are allowed to speak in debates.
The Speaker also upholds the rules of the House and can suspend MPs for breaking rules such as calling a fellow MP a liar

Question 5

How does the Speaker gain their role?

Answer 5

They are voted by the MPs

Question 6

Are Speakers allowed to have party allegiance?

Answer 6

No, the speaker renounces allegiance and they stand as ‘the speaker seeking re-election’ at election time

Question 7

Give an example of the Speaker’s party allegiance becoming controversial

Answer 7

John Bercow faced criticism for alleged favouritism to the opposition MPs
He seemed to lack cooperation on progression of the Brexit Bill as he used Erskine May in 2019 to prevent Theresa May bringing back the Withdrawal Bill for the 3rd time without significant changes

Question 8

What is the role of Whips?

Answer 8

Whips are in charge of discipline and ensuring party MPs stay loyal and vote the way the government intends using persuasion techniques

Question 9

Give an example of a whip being removed

Answer 9

In 2019 Boris Johnson removed the whip from 21 Tory rebels who supported a motion to take control of parliamentary business from the government

Question 10

Do MPs rebel despite the threat of the whip, if so give example

Answer 10

Yes, on the 4th of November 2021 13 Conservatives rebelled against a three-line whip (a three-line whip indicates the party leadership expects all MPs to turn up and vote a certain way) to vote for reforms to the standards commission

Question 11

What does the Leader of the House of Commons do?

Answer 11

To see that the Commons runs smoothly from the executive’s perspective and that bills are properly timetabled. Also work closely with chief whips to ensure votes and chairs Cabinet Committees.

Question 12

Who is the current Leader of the House of Commons and who appoints them?

Answer 12

Lucy Powell, appointed by the PM

Question 13

Give an example showing that the Leader of the House of Commons doesn’t schedule the entire timetable

Answer 13

20 days of the Parliamentary session are Opposition Days where the opposition sets the agenda

Question 14

Who are frontbench MPs?

Answer 14

These are MPs of the governing party who are also it’s ministers (opposition frontbenchers are shadow ministers)😏

Question 15

Why and by who are ministers appointed?

Answer 15

They’re appointed to run the major departments in the country and help the PM forge policy. They’re appointed by the PM

Question 16

How are the powers of a minister limited?

Answer 16

Ministers may have to go forward with policy that they personally disagree with if the cabinet have voted for it due to collective ministerial responsibility. Also they have to be loyal to the PM as they can lose their position during reshuffles. Also select committees scrutinise ministers and their department

Question 17

Who are backbench MPs?

Answer 17

Ordinary MPs who are not ministers. They can often be independently minded and often rebel e.g. Jeremy Corbyn often rebelled against Blair and Brown when he was backbench

Question 18

What can backbench MPs do?

Answer 18

They speak in debates, can be appointed to committees by party leadership, table amendments on legislation, vote on acts, become chairs of select committees or introduce legislation (Private Member’s Bills)

Question 19

How are backbench MPs limited in power?

Answer 19

Their party can remove their whip making re-election harder, no real control over agenda except through the Backbench Business Committee and Private Member’s Bills have a low success rate

Question 20

What is the Salisbury Convention?

Answer 20

The House of Lords should not vote on a bill enacting a manifesto commitment of the governing party on the second or third reading

Question 21

Give an example of the Salisbury convention not being upheld?

Answer 21

In 2006 peers voted against an identity card bill despite it being in the 2005 Labour manifesto as Labour had a weak mandate due to low turnout

Question 22

What did the Parliament Act 1911 and Parliament Act 1949 do?

Answer 22

Made it that the House of Lords can only delay legislation by 1 year (was 2 but halved by the 1949 act) and cannot veto legislation approved by the House of Commons

Question 23

What happens if the Commons refuses amendments made on a bill by the Lords?

Answer 23

The Lords either back down or block the bill for 1 year which means the bill can still be passed by the Commons after 1 year

Question 24

Give an example of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 being used?

Answer 24

They were used in the Hunting Act 2004 to prevent the House of Lords blocking the bill

Question 25

How many times were the Blair and Brown governments rejected in the Commons and the Lords

Answer 25

They were rejected only 7 times in the Commons but 400 times in the Lords

Question 26

How many times was the government defeated in the Lords between 2019-2021?

Answer 26

114 times