Parliament - Examples for exam

Question 1

Give an example of a select committee report

Answer 1

Year? - 2016
Committee? - Business, innovation and skills
Investigation - Into alleged bad working practises at Sports Direct
Conclusion and action - The company was forced to pay compensation to its workers for paying below minimum wage

Question 2

Give an example of backbench MP’s scrutinising government effectively

Answer 2

• David Lammy made a speech in the Commons, as well as other backbenchers who led a revolt against the government due to the Windrush scandal.
• Home secretary Amber Rudd resigned, and Theresa May was put under massive pressure

Question 3

House of Lords being effective

Answer 3

• Under Theresa May, the Conservative government has been defeated 55 times by the House of Lords.
• Between April and June 2018, the Lords defeated the government over 14 times on the EU withdrawal bill. This resulted in it returning to the Commons and the government having to make concessions on it.

Question 4

House of Commons not being effective

Answer 4

• Between 1997 to 2005, Blair didn’t lose a single vote in the Commons.

Question 5

Jeremy Corbyn and universal credit

Answer 5

• In PMQ’s, Corbyn brought up universal credit and pressured the government to take action over it.
• This has led to a change in government policy

Question 6

Opposition day debate - universal credit

Answer 6

• MP’s passed a motion to force government to publish its own impact analysis on universal credit.
• However, this motion is not legally binding, therefore the government has not yet published its report.