Parliament part two Flashcards
describe the features of the house of commons
650 MP’s in parliament who voted in by FPTP
They represent their constituencies however there is no fixed number of how many members there are
The conservative party made an agreement that they would narrow down the amount of members to 600 and make them proportional in relation to the number of constituencies
The governing party sits to the right of the speaker and the opposition sit to the left
There are frontbenchers and backbenchers - backbenchers hold no ministerial power whereas frontbenchers do
the shadow cabinet belongs to the opposition and they also sit at the front
There have been occasions where people have been elected into the commons without a party such as Martin Bell who was a former BBC presenter who beat Neil Hamilton in 1997 after he was accused of accepting cash questions
what is parliamentary privilege?
Legal immunity in relation to free speech in parliament
What is the function of whips?
The issue instructions on how to vote. MP’s are given instructions on their attendance and how they vote. For every vote they are lines. The three line whip means that MP’s must vote in accordance to the party or they suffer disciplinary action
Whips also ensure discipline in a party - they either make offers, agreements or threats
Lastly whips make sure MP’s are present at divisions, approving the absence of MP’s when their vote is not required
What do speakers do?
They preside in the commons and allow the governing party and the opposition to speak
they are voted in through a secret ballot and when they become speaker they immediately become non partisan
They step down during the next general election and are likely re-voted in parliament
our current speaker is Lindsay Hoyle - who was a member of the labour party.
What is the house of lords/describe its features
The house of lords is referred to the upper chamber
it debates on any bills by the house of commons
they have the right to delay money bills up to 2 years and non money bills up to a year
Anytime past this point, the prime minister and his cabinet are able to go change the bill into a law or alter the bill
what are hereditary peers?
hereditary peers are those who have inherited the right to sit in the house of lords
the 1999 hereditary peers acts meant that just 99 hereditary peers could sit in the lords
previously there were around 750 hereditary peers
the 1963 peerage act meant hereditary peers had the right to revoke their titles which is what sir Alec-Dogulas home did to become Prime minister
what are life peers?/ what is a peer?
A peer - a member of the house of lords
a life peer is a member of the house of lords who has been appointed by the prime minister for a lifetime
the 1958 life peerage act enabled this to happen
Name an example of a life peer
Baron O’Donell - Gus O’Donell
who was press secretary under John Major
he was head of civil service from 2005 to 2011
he was cabinet secretary under Blair,Brown and Cameron
Was elected in the house of lords in 2011
