Parliament Key Words Flashcards
What is Bicameral?
Legislative body consisting of 2 chambers
- only small countries like New Zealand are unicameral
What is a constituency?
UK is divided into 650 constituencies, each with an aim of a population of around 80,000
What is a Frontbencher?
Members of the government or opposition parties with a leadership role
- ie governing party chancellor Rachel Reeves, or frontbencher with economic responsibilities for opposition party Shadow chancellor Mel Stride
What is a Backbencher?
Any MP not on the frontbench (often on important backbench committees)
What is a Peer?
name for any member of the Lords
- ie spiritual peers are Bishop, temporal peers are all the others
What is the difference between a Spiritual Peer and a Temporal peer
spiritual peers are Bishop, temporal peers are all the others
What is a Hereditary peer?
Members of the aristocracy
- ie Duke, Earl
- used to automatically become members of the House of Lords when they inherited the title
What is a Crossbencher?
Name for any non party political or independant peers
What is Legislating?
making, amending and passing laws
What is Revising?
‘looking again’, especially by the Lords, to check a Bill is legally coherent
What is a Legislative or Public Bill Committee?
Usually consists of 16-50 MPs that meet a few times a week until the committee stage of the bill is over, then the committee is disbanded
What are Select Committees?
Committees responsible for scrutinising the work of the government, including scrutinising every government department
- ie Health and Social Care department is scrutinised by Health and Social Care Select Committee
What is the Parliamentary system of Government?
Executive is not directly (separately) elected as in presidential system of gov’t USA and France. FIT!
Gov’t comes FROM parl
Gov’t sits IN parl
Gov’t is accountable TO parl
What does accountable to mean?
Answerable to
