Parliament V2 Flashcards
Cons hol
undemocratic
-not elected
-scandals
-peter cruddes- payed way into seat- 3 mill
-part time- attendance inconsistnt
-accountable, some signed in and not in
-media scandal- taking money
-1/3 house of lords dont attend frequntly- cost 3.2 mil
Sailsbruy convention when hold played up
reject universal credit bill- usbourne and cam didnt want to push again
2015
-2008-10
-try to put through terrorism bill- can be held in police cell for 44 days w/out trial or charge -now is 14 days
Pbc
used to be called stand in committees
-committees responsible for looking at bills in detail
-mini house of commons
-proportion mps in pbc same as proportion in house of commons
normally support gov as have most mps in it
-minister responsible for it
-temporary
Pros select comm
representitive function of parliament
-cross section of all parties
-not whips
independant
-eg. Foreign affairs, dominic raab(foreign secretary) and other people in department on holiday when afghanistan withdrawal
Life peerages act
1958-gave pm authority to nominate life peers of both sexes to house of lords
Example when hoc passed bill over obejction hol
2000
Sexual offences ammendment act
Reduced legal age of gay sex from 18 to 16
Easily passed hoc
Example of joint comm
Human rights
Reports of free speech in uni
Wrongful detention and deportation of members of the windrush generation
Example experiences life peer
Labour lrd winston- scientist and fertility expert
Former chief rabbi- jonathan sacks- sits as crossbencher
Recall of mp exaple
Peter bone 2024
An investigation by Parliament’s behaviour watchdog, the Independent Expert Panel, found Mr Bone broke sexual misconduct rules by indecently exposing himself to a staff member during an overseas trip.
It also upheld five allegations of bullying, including verbally belittling, physically striking and throwing things at the staff member.
Example of rep over party
2018 -8 conservative mps disobeyed 3-line whip to vot against expanision of heathrow airport- constituencies which would be affected `
Example of rep overp party
2018 -8 conservative mps disobeyed 3-line whip to vot against expanision of heathrow airport- constituencies which would be affected `
Example where palirament doesnt reflect publci
Hoc 10% ethnic minority background -compared to 13% pop
Hol 7.3% ethnic minority background
Hoc just over 1/3mps women
Select comm sucess
Committe of privileges
Partygate =boris
Made public more aware
Pmq sucess
Lying of boris johnson in 2021 over parties first highlighted when kier starmer questioned repetedlyq
Example when prerogative power not used
Cameron in syria 2014
Believed military action should be used against bashar al-asaad to be justified after an alleged chemical attack by his gov
When debated-gov defeated 285 to 272
Example when preorgative power used
Sunak/cameron 2024 strikes on houthi tarkets in yemen without parliamentary approval
Sunak supported but humza yousef doesnt and neither does former shadow chancellor mc donell
Signif gov defeats hoc
EU withdwal agreement 2018
In 2019 may gov defeatd by 432 votes to 202 for brexit deal
Worse ever in gov
Does hockey achieve its functions/hold gov to account
Rep legislation scrutiny
Functions of hol
Scrutiny legislation
Rep/expertisse
Issues raised by pmb even tohugh not passed
2018
Peter Kyle representation of the people bill
Proposedd reducing voing age to 16- not given enough time to proceed
High profile issue
Succesfull pmb
House of lords reform act 2014
Allow lords to resign/retire
Allow lords to be expeled for criminal activity pr non-attendance
Example of bill undergone pre legislative scrutiny
Jointcommittee on. The domestic violence and abuse bill
Met in 2019
Example ping pong houses
Prevention of terrorism act 2005
Bill went through ping pong 9 times
Before being agreed by both houses
Example high profile select committee research
Culture, media and sport
2011phone hacking scandal
Telebised committee scrutiny of news international chairman- murdoch
Example to show comm dont hav eunlimited power of calling witnesses
2013 may blocked home affairs committee from questioning head of mI5
E petition debates organised by petitions com
Mar 2024
E petitioons both for and against removing lgbt content from the relationships education curriculum
Debates arranges bbc
Mar 2024 large scale solar farms
Example when large scale rebellion didnt mater
2003 139 mps voted against iraq war but blair still won the parliamentery vote
2024- rwanda 11 mps rebelled
Example when gov went against advcie of select comm
Forigen affairs sc advised against military intervention in syria
Ineffectve leader of opposition
William Hague
Divided party on europe
Popularity coulnt catch up from blair and new labour
Economy booming
Failed to make impact and ended up adopting some new labour policies as part f policy programme
Backbenchers play important role
Comm work- select comm, bbc, pbc
Representation
Power- vote no confidence, opp whips, small majority
Signif of pmb
very few become law
-limited time to debate on friday
As on friday many mps left to visit constituencies
Therefore not always sufficient no. Present for a division/vote which is needed for bill to progress
Some opposition may filibuster
-pmb may raise profile of bill rather than change law
How pbc selected
members select committee- body of mps that oversee. Selection and composition of all parliamentary committees
-party composition- proportional of hoc
-members whippd- gov agree
example of sselect com hol
Communications comm eg future channel 4
4 peremnat joint comm
Consolidation of bill
Human rights
Nat secuirty
Statitory instruments
Role of opp
ensure gov justiy legislative programme and executive
-create public debate- resonable arguments made
-shadow cabinet -ministerial failures of policy implentation
-pmqs- present leader of opp as syronh
-present themselves as better than pm
Example secondary legilstaion
Statutory tax credit regulations
Cut tax credit bill by 4.4bn
Oxbrigde mps
24% comp 1% soc
Example pmb eventually issued
Disability and presentation bill as pmb
Gain greater attention
But sustained pressure led gov to introduce its own bill- disability discriminatioin act later on despite can gov initiaally blocking it
Lack of scrutiny failure fp
Foreign secretary hague described libyan revels plan for democracy after gaddafi as ‘embryonic’
Failure led to migration crisis
Foreign affairs sselect com 2016 found that-
We have seen no eviodence that hthe uk government carried out a proper analysis of the nature off the rebellion in libya’
Sucessful e petition
A petitopn to cancel gcse and a level exams 2021 in covid 19, started alex d’arcy aged 16
Reciving over 200,000 signiatures,exams that year replaced by teacher assessed grades
Breaking hol covention
Rwanda bill defeated hol second reading by 43 votes, coventionally done and ammendment
Example hol scrutiny
Online safety bill- ammendments in july 2023 inc au generated content
Nat secuirty act new clause on foriegn inerference elections
Lords comm work
Communications and digital comm- people all ages and backgrounds left behind as services as personal lives move online - report digital exclusion
Chair lord baroness stowell- prevously been head of corporate affairs in bbc
Ezample of rep in hol
Lord winston
Chairman of house of lords select committee on scirnece and tech
Controversial hol exmaple
Baroness owen
Con appt
Worked in no10 as special advisor- although controversial as may not worked as long as stated
Woman
Youngest papt 30 years old how much expeerice
