Parliament - Topic 2.3

Question 1

What is the first, ceremonial stage of the legislative process?

Answer 1

The first reading is the first stage of a legislative bill’s passage through the House of Commons - a formality. It takes place without debate with the first reading happening at anytime during the parliamentary session.

First Reading

Question 2

What is the second stage of the legislative process?

Answer 2

The bill is then scrutinised at its second reading in Parliament where questions can be raised by other MPs. A bill can die at this stage if the bill is heavily flawed or the MP doesn’t defend the bill well enough.

Second Reading

Question 3

What is the third stage of the legislative process?

Answer 3

The details of the bill (if it passes the second reading) are scrutinised by the Public Bill Committee. The committee votes on party lines and always has a government majority, which could impact objectivity. Amendments can be discussed, and it is returned to the Commons.

Committee Stage

Question 4

What is the fourth stage of the legislative process?

Answer 4

The bill is debated again at the report stage and third reading. They can weigh up the likely impact that public bills may have on the population as well as Private Members’ Bills.

Report Stage & Third Reading

Question 5

What is the fifth stage of the legislative process?

Answer 5

The bill is sent to the House of Lords where the same 4 stage process takes place. Instead of having a Public Bill Committee however, most often the entire House of Lords scrutinises a bill.

Arrival at the Lords

Question 6

What is the sixth stage of the legisative process?

Answer 6

After the bill arrives in the Lords and the Lords have also completed the same 4 stage process, the bill then goes back-and-forth with each house suggesting amendments. The House of Lords cannot block the legislation at all and can only block it for a year because of the Salisbury Convention.

Parliamentary ‘ping pong’

Question 7

What is the seventh stage of the legislative process?

Answer 7

MPs are expected to vote on party lines the way whips tell them. MPs vote on the piece of legislation.

The vote stage

Question 8

What is the eight stage of the legislative process?

Answer 8

When all the stages are completed and a bill is voted on and passed, it receives royal assent and becomes law.

Royal assent

Question 9

What are the issues with the legislative process?

Answer 9

• Large parliamentary majorities usually can rely on their party members to vote on the bill, making the debates essentially a formality
• The Public Bill Committee membership is proportional to party strength, so the government always have a majority
• Whips can influence the Public Bill Committee, who are instructed to vote according to the whip on the proposed amendments on a bill
• MPs who are very critical of the government will rarely advance in their careers, making this a good reason to just agree with government

Question 10

What are the issues with MPs following the whip?

Answer 10

• The way in which MPs are expected to follow the whip in both parliamentary and committee votes can result in a lack of scrutiny and therefore a badly thought-through bill could pass
• MPs can also be criticised for blindly following the government and not scrutinising the government enough
• MPs can be quite independent in some cases though, potentially jeopardising their careers. Major rebellions can cause significant damage to the plans of the government