Parliament - Topic 2.4

Question 1

What is the significance of backbenchers in Parliament?

Answer 1

Their main role are to represent he interests of their constiuents, scrutinise the work of government, consider the merits of legislation, legitimise certain government decisions such as committing Britsh troops to military action, and raise issues that they regard as significant.

How much influence backbenchers have depends on the size of the government’s parliamentary majority. If it’s large, rebellions against the whip are less likely to succeed. If the majority is small, backbenchers will be at their most influential, on both sides, and concessions must be made to garner support.

Backbench MPs can introduce legislation, and backbench Lords sit as if they were a giant committee, ready to scrutinise legislation that comes in.

Question 2

What main factor determines the backbenchers’ influence?

Answer 2

The influence of the backbenchers depends on the size of the government’s parliamentary majority. If a government has a small parliamentary majority, then backbenchers have more of a say. Backbenchers can become as influential together as the whips and the government will usually make more concessions to the opposition to garner support across the bench.

Question 3

How and why have backbenchers become more influential?

Who and what have improved their influence?

Answer 3

• John Bercow (2009-2019) was nicknamed “the backbenchers champion” as he opened the floor to more urgent questions (159 in his first 5 years) and emergency debates. Lindsay Hoyle is a lot less open as Bercow was
• Wright Reforms - The existence of the Backbench Business Committee from 2010 demonstrates the backbenchers influence. Backbenchers can debate topics they choose for 35 days of the Parliamentary session
• Committees - MPs have the chance to scrutinise bills and the government a lot and can propose amendments that would represent their constituents’ views (e.g., Jeremy Hunt (2020) Health committee’s inquiry)
• Social media has allowed more people to reach out to their MP and therefore more MPs voice their constituents’ concerns

Question 4

How and why have backbenchers become not as influential?

Answer 4

Public Bill Committee is proportional to Parliament, the government will always have the majority and therefore can have more influence in the amending of bills.

Question 5

What is the importance of parliamentary privilege?

Answer 5

Parliament is free to bring up any issue they want as it is their collective duty to best serve their constituents. Parliamentary privilege was officially established with the Bill of Rights of 1689.

Question 6

Define the work of select committees and their importance?

Answer 6

They monitor the performance of major departments of the state. Select committees can also cross departmental lines as well as chamber lines too. Select committees are non-partisan, meaning all MPs from all parties are expected to work together. Their criticisms are designed to improve future performance rather than win political advantage.

The chairs of select committees are elected by MPs as a whole, ensuring cross-party support.

• Jeremy Hunt was elected chair of the Health Select Committee in 2020 as he was former health secretary
• Tobias Ellwood was elected chair of the Defence Select Committee as he was a former soldier and defence minister

The Public Accounts Committee is regarded as the most important of all select committees as it investigates the expenditure of all government departments, ensuring money isn’t wasted

Question 7

What are the roles of the opposition in Parliament?

Answer 7

• Ensure that the government justifies its legislative programme and executive decisions
• Create a public debate by providing reasoned arguments why they cannot support the decisions of the government
• Be prepared to provide an alternative government-in-waiting in case the PM seeks an early dissolution of Parliament
• Use their various frontbench spokespeople to focus on the government department that they are shadowing, exposing and failures of policy implementation
• Use the opportunity of weekly PMQs to present themselves as having the political stature to be PM-in-waiting

Question 8

How can the opposition achieve its roles in Parliament?

Answer 8

• The parliamentary timetable allows the opposition parties to choose the subjects for debate in the Commons
• Oppositions MPs scrutinise proposed goverment legislation in Public Bill Committees and offer amendments but these require the support of the government first
• Shadow ministers should expose the mistakes and failures of their counterparts
• If the government has a small or non-existent parliamentary majority, opposition parties can work closely with the more independent-minded Lords to uncover failures in government policy and delay legislation
• Opposition parties play a very important role in forcing the government to justify its policies in parliamentary debate

Question 9

What is the purpose of ministerial question time?

Including Prime Minister Questions

Answer 9

Ministerial questions:

• An hour, from Monday to Thursday, is set aside for oral questions to ministers; half an hour for the Lords. Ministers must also repsond to questions within a week if they are asked in the Commons and within two weeks in the Lords. Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public

PMQs:

• Every Wednesday between 12:00 and 12:30, the PM must respond to questions from the chamber; providing an important opportunity for the PM to be held accountable. The Leader of the Opposition can ask six questions, the next largest leader is given two questions and then MPs have their opportunity

Question 10

What is the purpose of the Liasion Committee?

Answer 10

It represents the chairs of all select committees and twice yearly questions the PM. It is significantly less confrontational than PMQs and its form of steady examination allows greater opprtunities for extended discussion. PMs are much less able to divert questions than PMQs.

Question 11

What is the importance of opposition days?

Answer 11

The second and third largest opposition parties share twenty days (17 and 3 days respectively) to debate subjects which the opposition believe the government should try and justify.

Opposition day motions passing are rare although have happened

• Recently in 2009, a Lib Dem motion on the Brown government’s failure to provide Gurkha veterans with UK residency passed
• In 2019, a Labour opposition day motion urging the government to declare ‘an environmental and climate emergency’ was also supported by the Commons although not endorsed by the government