parliament - the lords

Question 1

what are the different peers that sit in the lords?

Answer 1

life peers
hereditary peers
lord spiritual

Question 2

what did the house of lords reform act do?

Answer 2

reduce the number of hereditary peers from 750 to 92

Question 3

what are crossbenchers?

Answer 3

independent so they don respond to party whips and better scrutinise legislation

Question 4

how many men and women are peers (approx)?

Answer 4

550 men and 230 women

Question 5

the role of the monarch is largely …?

Answer 5

ceremonial

Question 6

what chamber has supreme legislative power?

Answer 6

commons - due to parliament acts 1911 and 1949, lords can only delay certain bills. this means parliaments legal sovereignty is exercised by the commons

Question 7

where do departmental select committees occur?

Answer 7

in the commons only as they scrutinise the work of gov departments and ministers

Question 8

how does the commons legitimise legislation?

Answer 8

by voting for it

Question 9

how can the commons remove a government/

Answer 9

through a vote of no confidence

Question 10

what does the salisbury convention dictate in terms of the power of the lords?

Answer 10

limited as lords cannot delay bills that come from the governing party manifesto as they have a mandate

Question 11

what are examples of the salisbury convention?

Answer 11

• European parliamentary elections at 1999 ( established use of closed party list for those elections)
• sexual offences amendment act 2000 (lowering age of consent to 16 to gay men)
• hunting act 2004 (banned fox hunting with pack of hounds)

Question 12

as peerages for life, what does this mean for peer?

Answer 12

they have greater independence and less party loyalty, as they don’t have to fear losing their position

Question 13

what powers of the lords must have the consent of both houses?

Answer 13

• delaying a general election
• sacking senior judges
• introducing secondary or delegated legislation