parliamentary law making Flashcards
what are the three parts of parliament
house of lords
house of commons
monarch
what are the functions of parliament
check and challenge work of gov(scrutiny)
make and change laws (legislation)
debate important issues (debating)
check and approve gov spending (budget/taxes)
who is in the house of commons
650 ish elected MPs
what do the mps in the house of commons do
use their power to help produce legislation
how are a political party’s views shown prior to an election
manifesto
who becomes priminister
the leader of the winning party
invited by the king
what does the house of lords do
review and make recommendations about improvements to legislation
balance the house of commons
what does the parliament acts 1911 and 1949 do
allow the elected house of commons to pass legislation with out the consent of the house of lords
who is in the house of lords
800ish appointed members based on knowledge/ experience in a curtain area
what are the four different types of members of the house of lords
life peers
law lords
archbishops and bishops
elected hereditary peers
what is the monarchs job
to give a bill royal assent
what did the royal assent act 1961 do
ment that the monarch will not even see the text of the bull just the title
what is the green paper
an initial consultative document setting out ideas for a new law
what is the white paper
the published firm proposals for a new law
what are the 4 different types of bills
public bills
private members bills
private bills
hybrid bills
what’s a public bill
matters of public policy that apply to the whole population
what’s a private members bill
bill’s sponsored by individual mps
affect the whole population
what’s a private bill
they only apply to curtain individuals or corporations
what are all the legislative stages in the progress of a bill
first reading
second reading
committee stage
report stage
third reading
repeat first 5 stages in the other house
ping pong stage
royal assent
what happens in the first reading
draft bill is introduced by the house who came up with it
name and aims of the bill read out
no debate or vote
what happens in the second reading
main debate on the whole bill where MPs debate principles behind the bill
vote at the end of the debate
must be a majority in favour for the bill to progress
what happens in the committee stage
Mps in the committee are drawn from all parties with an interest in the topic
carrie out a detailed examination of every clause
can propose amendments/aditions
what happens in the report stage
committee report back to the house on amendments/ additions
these are debated and voted on and either accepted or rejected
what happens in the third reading
immediately after the report stage
final vote
if accepted the bill will pass to the other house
what happens in the repeat process stage
the other house will go through the same 5 stages
in the committee stage the whole house have a detailed scrutiny of every clause
what happens in the ping pong stage
the other house (the one it didn’t start at) can make amendments and for each one the first house can agree, compromise or disagree
it may be ping ponged several times before they come up with an agreement
if they can’t agree the house of commons has the final say after the parliaments acts of 1911 and 1949
what happens in the royal assent
the monarch approves the bill
a bill must have royal assent before it becomes law
conventionally royal assent cannot be withheld
under the royal assent act 1967 the monarch is only give the title of the bill
after royal assent when does the bull become law
midnight of royal assent
a date specified in the bill
a date decided by a relevant government minister
what does parliamentary supremacy mean in practice
parliament can create or revoke any laws
no parliament is bound by a previous parliament
no one has the right to overrule legislation made by parliament
what are the three institutions of the state
the legislative-parliament
the executive-cabinet
the judiciary-judges
what are the advantages of parliamentary law making
democratic
wide ranging
must be approved by both houses
wide consultation
much scrutiny
what are the disadvantages of parliamentary law making
undemocratic
time consuming
complex
law reform not priority
poor/rushed legislation
