Parliament- paper 2 Flashcards
three main parts of UK parliament
-House of commons
-House of Lords
-Monarch
Government definition
-ruling body with responsibilities such as policy and housing
-All members are MPs
How are members of the HOC selected?
-general elections
-FPTP
-650 members
-legitimate
Cabinet definition
-most senior figures who run gov
-sit on the front bench in HOC
-eg prime minister, home secretary
Types of bills (legislation)
-Public Bill
-Private Bill
-Private Members Bill
-Hybrid Bill
public bill
affects everyone in the country eg. Coronavirus act 2020
private bill
affects particular sections of society eg. 2018 university of London act
Private members bill
put before parliament by an individual backbencher eg. 1967 Abortion Act
Hybrid bill
blends private and public bill, affects whole population but will have a more noticeable impact on certain areas eg. 2008 Crossrail act
How is the budget set?
put before parliament and discussed, can also be debated in various committees.
Public Accounts committee
scrutinise gov spending
Departmental Select committees
scrutinise the work of gov departments. last the lifetime of parliament
Ways parliament can scrutinise the gov
Early day motions:
short period at the beginning of a parliamentary session that allows MPs to flag issues
Question Time:
Time to scrutinise the PM, PM has time to answer
How do MPs ensure citizens are heard
-HOC = elected chamber
-MPs address their constituents problems in parliament
Ways to select members of the HOL
-783 members
Hereditary:
family they were born in eg. William Stonor
Life:
PM chose them, Lord Cameron
Lord Spiritual:
bishop or significant religious UK figure
HOL reform
-Salisbury convention
-1911 parliament act
-1999 HOL reform
Salisbury convention
-lords should never challenge financial bills from the HOC
-Lords cannot reject manifesto pledges
1911 parliament act
Lords veto power replaced with 2 year delay
1999 HOL reform
removed majority of hereditary peers
roles of HOLs
-debate legislation sent from the HOC
-Initiate legislation
-delay legislation
-Hold debates
Why is the HOC more powerful?
-power of HOL limited as they cannot reject legislation
-cannot reject manifesto pledges
-committees are made up of HOC members so they have greater scrutiny power over the executive
why is the HOL more powerful?
-Can bring their expertise into the law
-major legislation has been lost in the HOL eg. NHS reform
-less party discipline so members can make their own decisions
Exclusive powers of the HOCs
-vetoing legislation
-approving gov budget
-representing constituencies
-vote of no confidence
The legislative process
- First reading:
bill introduced - Second reading:
debated and voted on - Committee stage:
bill committee established - Report stage
- Third reading:
final vote - moves to opposite house and must be approved by all members, leads to parliamentary ping pong
- royal assent
non-departmental select committees
The Liaison Committee:
question PM twice a year
The Public Accounts Committee:
examines gov expenditure
Select Committees ARE effective
-scrutiny introduces debate
-run inquiries brought by public allowing the public to be heard
-can call people to their meetings eg. transport select committee can call those high up in rail
Select Committees ARE NOT effective
- often retrospective in their scrutiny
-their outcomes are not legally binding
PMQs
- half an hour. once a week
-televised
-opposition asks MP questions
PMQs ARE effective
-PM answers questions the public is asking
-Require PM to keep up to date with developments
-Provide accountability
PMQs ARE NOT effective
- more theatrical than content
-questions usually avoided
-only 30 mins
The opposition
-members of HOC from parties that don’t form gov
-provide scrutiny
-get 20 days a year to debate their own topics
methods of scrutiny
-PMQs
-Opposition
-select committees
-Motions of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
-proposal as to whether a vote of no confidence should be held
-if the gov is voted against this is a vote of no confidence
-eg Callaghan, 1979, motion passed and gov was dissolved a week later
Parliamentary privilege
legal immunity granted to MPs allowing them to speak freely without the risk of being sued or prosecuted for things said or done in parliament. ensures they can openly debate without fear or legal consequences
limits to the power of backbenchers
Party Whip:
entice party members to vote in line with the party
Recourses:
limited research and admin means the have less recourses to rely on
Majority:
if the gov has a large majority, a few backbench rebellions wont make a difference
backbench MP
neither gov. or shadow cabinet
Structure of the executive
- Prime Minister:
head of the executive, manages agenda - The cabinet:
Around 20 senior ministers including secretaries of state. - Government Departments:
Each is responsible for an area of policy, each headed by a cabinet member - Executive Agencies:
semi- independent bodies that carry out some functions of government departments
Roles of the Executive
Proposing legislation:
Proposes and amends new laws
Proposing the budget:
created by chancellor of the Exchequer and PM
Making Policy Decisions:
has to decide how to make its future aims effective for the country
Royal Prerogative
Powers that originally belonged to the monarch but over time transitioned to gov eg.
-declaring war
-grant and withdraw passports
-sometimes broken eg, 2013, Cameron wanted to conduct air strikes in Syria but gov voted against
Manifestos
-easiest policy to implement
-difficult in coalition eg. lib dems wanted to vote of change from FPTP to STV
Individual Ministerial Responsibility
ministers are accountable for their departments performance. They must resign if they fail significantly or if there is serious misconduct eg. Parkinson in 1983, had an affair and resigned
collective ministerial responsibility
the cabinet must publicly support the work of the gov, as a principle, or resign, ensures unity
collective responsibility in action
2003: Foreign secretary Robin Cook resigned from Blairs gov over opposition to the Iraq war
collective responsibility not in action
2022: during covid gov crisis many ministers issued statements against Johnson. However, they kept their jobs
collective responsibility SHOULD be abolished
-critics are silenced, removing would allow for open debates
-individual ministers could be held more accountable instead of being shielded
-ministers might be more honest, increasing transparency
Selection of ministers
-close allies
-popular figure: May appoints Johnson
-silencing opponents
-diversity: Boris’ first cabinet had 6 women
-know how
The cabinet IS still important
-provide checks on the PMs power
-meet and discuss on a regular and effective basis
the cabinet IS NOT important
-special advisors sometimes take precedence
-collective responsibility means cabinet members rarely disagree with the PM
-the PM can hire and fire as they please
constitutional changes during the coalition
2011 fixed term parliament act:
general election eery 5 years, removed in 2022
2015 recall of MPs act:
if an MP is found guilty of wrongdoings a by election is held given there are enough signatures
