Parliament: Structure Flashcards
Seats number in HOL
800
What were the number of hereditary seats lowered to after the HOL reform act?
And what year was the HOL reform act?
92 hereditary seats.
Passed in 1999
How many seats in the HOC?
650
What is needed for a majority in HOC?
326 seats
How many devolved governments are there? What are their names?
3
- Stormant assembly
- Cardiff assembly
- Holyrood assembly
How many committee types can you name?
- Select (both in the Commons and the Lords) committee
- Liason committee
- Backbench committee
- Public accounts committee
- Public bill committee
What is a liason committee?
A committee set up so that the PM can face questions on their government policy and conduct of government.
Usually this is done openly so and increasingly today with the inception of Internet interaction with politics, put the PM in the spotlight.
What is a public accounts committee?
A committee that’s role is the scrutiny of public services and or help spending, whether government is doing enough to materially support people and general society apparatus like transport for instance.
What is a select committee?
A specific issue committee.
Whether comprised of peers or MPs, the idea behind it is that their attention and scrutiny in directed towards a specific aspect of government policy or wider society being maintained.
This is not intended to be adversarial but collaborative, comprised mainly of backbencher MPs lesser connected to either the active or shadow government.
They make recommendations and publish reports to keep the electorate, media, and bureaucracy, informed.
What’s a public bill committee?
The committees used in the committee stage of the legislative process.
Their job, to pick apart potential deficits and make recommendations for changes.
Aims of the Bill, the language used, is ensured to be properly written and explicit.
What are the roles of MPs?
- To participate in debate on legislation. Perhaps even propose their own ideas for legislation or other solutions.
- to attend constituency surgeries and champion those concerns.
This is called a ‘Redress of grievance’ - To vote ethically and truthfully to your constituency and the nation’s people’s interest.
- To sit in and engage with committees and their purposes
- To be faithful to the party, the mandate, and the party Whip.
- Make public appearances, be ready to face scrutiny.
The Parliamentary MP system is based on the thinking of which political philosopher primarily, and what kind of thinker were they?
Edmund Burk
Eg: Burkina theory of trustees not delegates
He was a Conservative thinker writing around the time of the French revolution in the 18th century, one of his most well regarded works is ‘Lamentions on the Revolution in France’.
What’s a mandate?
The recognised democratically consented, right to legislate, in the case of in U.K Burkian theory, on behalf of your electorate.
What are some ways MPs can hold government to account?
Remember as many as you can.
- PMQs.
- A vote of no confidence.
- A vote against legislation or to abstain from legislation.
- Committees like the liason committee or the public accounts committee.
- Public media agitation by making appearances.
In what ways can the electorate hold their politicians to account?
- Voting tactically are elections
Eg: rational choice theory.
. General elections
. Mid terms
. Bi-elections
. Local elections - Protest, strike action, using union action.
. Participating in pressure groups - Opinion polls, essentially warning the government of discontent.
- Asking their MPs to Redress grievances on their behalf.
