Parliament (Scrutiny) Flashcards
Forms of questioning
- PMQs, take place every Wednesday and involves a back and forth between the PM and leader of the opposition
- Urgent questions, used by backbencher MPs
- Written questions, given to ministers forcing a response
- Humble address, an archaic procedure used to table motions
Example of urgent questions being used
in the 2017-19 session 307 urgent questions were asked
Example of humble address being used
Labour used the procedure in 2017 to force the release of universal credit studies
Positives of questioning
- forces ministers to stay up to date with the working of their departments, in 2018 Amber Rudd gave MPs false information and was forced to resign as home secretary
- PMQs give the leader of the opposition more recognition, in 2017 Corbyn used the PMQs to overturn a premium rate number used for universal credit
- PMQs are difficult for the PMs and provide a check up
Negatives of Questioning
- leads to immature behaviour, when Cameron joked that Ed Miliband was ‘Alex Salmond’s poodle’ in 2015, Tory MPs started barking
- there are often pre prepared questions given out to the back bench MPs
- there is little time for the MPs to show what they have done for their constituents
What are the different types of committees
PBC - consider Bills after their second reading
Select committees - scrutinise the government and conduct enquiries
Liaison committees - bring together chairs of select committees to have expert scrutiny twice a year
positives of Committees
- PBCs are done less formally so less media coverage
- select committee members build up high levels of expertise (it was Yvette Cooper’s questioning of Amber Rudd in 2018 which lead to the doubts in her previous statements and her resignation
- select committees receive high publicity especially when critical (in 2016 the health committee recommended a 20% sugar tax and this was unexpectedly introduced by chancellor George Osborne in the same year)
Negatives of committees
- PBCs are far less independent because whips decide members so few amendments made by opposition
- select committees have no enforcement power and government can ignore them, and they only work well if they act in a bipartisan manner
fact showing Committees work
in 2015 it was estimated that 30-40% of recommendations end up in government policy
types of debates
- Second reading of bills where MPs debate on the legislation
- Emergency debates called by MPs
- Adjournment debates for MPs to debate a minister
- Backbencher debate days, created by the Backbench Business committee
positives of debates
- backbenchers in the commons have had a great deal more time to discuss issues of the day (for example, a debate about the use of wild animals in circuses in 2011 led to the government bringing forward a policy which became law in 2019)
- Emergency debates have been used more often and effectively since 2010
fact showing the PM uses debates in Parliament
PMs reluctant to initiate military action without parliament debating it first, in 2014 Cameron recalled parliament during its summer recess to debate action against ISIS
Fact showing the use of emergency debates
between 2017-19, 24 emergency debates were allowed by the speaker
negatives of debates
- debates initiated by BbBC are merely motions for discussions
- whips often control many of the debates and MPs are not independent
- PMs don’t always use debates in parliament before taking major action
example of BbBC debate being ignored
1.6 million signed a form about Trump and a visa but the government did not act on it
fact about PM using force without a debate in parliament
Theresa May did not consult parliament with the air strikes against Syria in 2018
Powers of the Opposition
they are the biggest party after the Government and are given a certain amount of days for debate depending on the size of their majority, in 2024 with the Tory government it was 17 days for Labour and 3 days for SNP, also given extra time to debate in the PMQs
Positives of the opposition
- the Blair opposition was very effective at highlighting the weaknesses in the Major government and showing it was a good government in waiting
- the Cameron opposition managed to highlight divisions in the final years of the Blair premiership
- increases media scrutiny of ministers
- allows opposition to show they are a government in waiting
Negatives of the opposition
- a government with a large majority can ignore the opposition (Blair 1997-2005
- a poor opposition leader can make them ineffective (Corbyn seen as weak)
- Majority party is always whipped to vote against any party bills
- creates bad media coverage
- opposition bills and decisions are non-binding so government can ignore them
Example of Opposition giving government bad publicity
June 2020, where the opposition wanted daily covid-19 tests for NHS workers but the government refused the bill due to the whips, this gave them lots of bad publicity
