PARLIAMENTARY LAW MAKING Flashcards
What is lobbying?
It is when some people try to persuade individual members of parliament to support their cause.
It has this name as the public can meet MPs in lobbies which they go through to get to the House of Commons
How can it be done?
It can be done through emails, letter or via social media.
Who can lobby?
Any person can lobby their Mp. Pressure groups use lobbying to highlight to highlight their concerns.
Most lobbying is done by professional lobbyists such as big businesses, Trade associations and big charities. In 2014, Parliament passed the Transparency of lobbying, Non party campaining and Trade Unions Act requiring the registration of professional lobbyists.
What is a mass lobby?
It when people contact their MPs of their member of Lords to arrange a meeting all in the same day.
Who are mass lobbies organised by?
They are usually organised by larger national or regional national campaign groups who organise them for them to coincide with a public rally or demonstration in London.
Why do people lobby?
People lobby to persuade an MP to ask a question in the House of Commons so that us gets publicity they may also try to persuade a MP who won a place in the ballot to promote a Bill that the lobbyist are concerned about.
What are examples of lobbying?
Greenpeace who built political support to bring about largescale change.
The BPF who used lobbying to reduce the Government’s recycling target
Since Brexit a lot of lobbying firms have tried to influence mps.
What are the stages of Parliamentary law making?
- Idea and consultation (White and Green Paper)
- A Bill is drafted
- They will start in the House of Commons(HoCs)or the House of Lords(HoLs). Financial Bills must start in the HoCs.
What happens after the Bill starts?
● There is a first reading where the name and aim of the Billnis read out.
● There is a second reading where there is a main debate and and at the end of the debate, a vote is taken. There must be a majority in favour for the Bill to go any further.
●There is a committee stage where detailed examination of each clause is undertaken. In the HoCs, committee of 16 to 50 Mps are chosen. It is usually a standing committee chosen on the basis of interest and knowledge in the subject of the Bill. For Financial Bills the whole house will sit in and so will the HoLs in the Committee stage there.
● There will be a report stage where the committee will report back to the HoCs if there are any amendments on the clauses of the Bill that may have been passed on. This only exists if there are any amendments.
What comes after the report stage?
●The third reading the final vote. Mainly a formality as a Bill that has managed to pass all the stages is unlikely to fail here. There will be a debate if at least 6 MPs ask for it.
● If a Bill was started in the HoCs it will go to the HoLs. It the HoLs make any amendments, it will go back to the HoCs. If the HoCs do not accept it, then the Bill will go back to the HoLs. This can go on for quite some time and it is referred to as “ping ping”. After both the Houses have agreed then it will be passed to the crown.
How powerful is the HoLs?
Their powers are limited the Parliament acts 1911 and 1949. A bill can still become law even if they reject it, given that they have gone back to the HoCs and passed all the stages again. They can delay a law by up to 1 year and an example of law made this way is the Hunting Act 2004.
What happens after both the Houses agree on a law?
●The final stage is where the monarch finally gives her approval to the Bill and it becomes an Act of Parliament. It is governed by the Royal Assent Act 1967. The past time a monarch refused to give a Royal Assent was Queen Anne in 1707. The law comes into force midnight after the royal assent, at another date said in the Act or via Commencement Order
What is an advantage of parliamentary made law?
It is a democratic process. This is because they are made by elected representatives. Parliament is answerable to the electorate(the public) as they is a general election every 5 years. The government can be voted out of the office once it has not performed as expected.
What is the 2nd advantage of Parliamentary law making?
●There can be reforms in full as Acts of Parliament can reform whole areas of law in an Act which can make it simpler to find.
●And example is the Equality Act 2010 which abolished old laws of discrimination and created new and hopefully a simpler structure of offences. ●In contrast, judges using precedent can change only few areas of the law as they can only use point of law in the case they are deciding.
What is a 3rd advantage of Parliamentary made law?
●It sets out broad policies and gives others power. ●This is called delegated Legislation. It is an advantage as the general structure is laid down by parliament and allows greater detail than if it was contained in an Act.
●The effective control on delegated legislation such as limits set in the Parent Act and review carried out by the scrutiny committee ensures that parliamentary sovereign is upheld.
