Parliment Flashcards
What is the composition of the House of Commons
Democratically elected chamber of parliament
Each MP represents the interests of his or her constituency
most MPs represent a party however some independent candidates have occurred like in 2001 and 2005 dr Richard Taylor won on a manifesto commitment however these instances are rare
What is the role of party whips in a tight vote
Whips encourage MPs to support the party line aswell as reporting back large rebellions - on important issues a 3 line whip will be issued which will require mps to vote according to demands of the leadership
Important in a small majority or minority government they have to work hard or ensure the win - eg Callaghan government 1976-79 had to survive without a majority which means the votes were very close. In a famous incident michael helstine furiously brandished the mace when he felt labour won unfairly by one. Shows the importance of the whips in winning
What does the speaker of the HOC do
MP whose role it is to be impartial.
Does not vote or engage in debate
Ensures parliament functions effectively
However unfair to his constituency as he’s not voting
What does the leader of the opposition do
Ensure the policies of the government are throughly scrutinised
convince the public that there is an alternative government in waiting
Leader also given right to ask PM 6 questions during PMQS - this enables them to put high profile pressure on the PM by highlighting failures in policy and offering there own solutions
in order to properly scrutinise and show there is another government the opposition is able to since the 1970s claim short money from the public funds
What is the composition of House of Lords
Referred to as the ‘upper chamber’ even though it’s authority is considerable less than the HOC this is because it is an appointed chamber so cannot claim the democratic legitimacy that the HoC can
Consists of 92 hereditary peers, life peers , bishops
Can only delay bills for a year
can’t veto HOC legislation due to 1911 parliament act
1958 life peerages act - PM has authority to nominate life peers - based on public service - gives the some more professional legitimacy
Tony Blair labour reduced heriditary peers to 92
Ping pong ping
many are cross benchers so not affected by party whips - more open minded
What are the functions of the HOC
LEGITIMATION - need consent of representatives of the nation to legitimise changes - bills can only be enacted through agreement of parliament who are elective representatives
Convention of having the ask parliament before military action ,since Iraq war and david c asking on Syria, as they should legitimise such big decisions.
However Theresa may ignored parliament in getting involved in Syria however when she tried to begin brexit negotiations without parliament this was stopped in the Gina Miller case 2017
Secondary legislation is controversial as it involves less HOC scrutiny
LEGISLATION - if government has a large parliament majority if its MPs are loyal getting legislation through will be easy
Composition of public bill committee mean the membership will be proportionate the party numbers in HOC so this will help the government
The whips also influence the selection of the public bill committee and they will be instructed to vote according to the whip proposed amendments so might not make practical improvements
However MPs can rebel over legislation even if this means they have to defy their whips this means they can be independent minded and assertive eg in 2005 49 labour MPs didn’t vote for Blair’s proposals of keeping terrorist suspects in custody for 90 days.
SCRUTINY - public bill committee ps scrutinise proposed legislation and offer amendments However the whips select MPs in the them and they will be expected to support the party line
Select committees- monitor the performance of the major departments of state+ specific policies like hs2. They aren’t picked by whips so are more legit however there reports aren’t binding
has parliamentary privilege so can question relevant parties on an issue - it is seen as hostile as witnesses are expected to come and have no right to silence
liaison commitee- represents the chairs of all the select committees and regulary question the PM. it is less confrontational that PMQS and form of questioning allows greater opportunities for extended discussion. holds government accountable
REPRESENTATION - MPs are accountable to their constituents however may vote because of what whips say not there constituents Although 8 conservative MPs voted against expansion of Heathrow as it wld effect there constituents. also FPTP means that the MPs don’t actually have many people voting for them
DEBATE - helps people see each side however people may not be swayed by the debate and may just vote with what the whips say however MPs are independent minded eg people voted against Blair’s terrioist and Cameron’s Syria
PROVIDES GOVERNMEMT- Government is in the legislature- fusion of powers
what are back bench and front bench MPs
front benchers - MPs invited by prime minister to join government as ministers ect. they are all bound by the principle of collective ministerial reposiblity and must publicly support the government from the front benches
the opposition also has there front benchers who scrutinise the government - they are also required to support there party
main functions of the House of Lords
LEGISLATION - as a non elected chamber and in accordance with the salisbury convention, the House of Lords is unable to stop bills which have passed HOC from becoming law
bills are examined in detail in the comittee stage - there expertise are Important - they can propose amendments- this is why there main purpose is being a revising chamber
parliamentary ping pong ping
heavy defeats in the House of Lords can convince HOC to reconsider however they still can ignore eg sexual offences amendment 2000 which reduced the legal age for gay sex from 18 to 16 and the lords said no but the HOC used the parliamentary acts 1911 and 49 to pass it through
SCRUITINY - scrutinises work of government in oral questions to ministers and through committees
as a result of the expertise the committees are highly regarded
some committees are permanent and others set up to deal with specific issues
also joint committees of HOC and HOL - human rights committee
as secondary legislation has less scrutiny - the HOL is significant in highlighting concerns
LEGITIMATION, REPRESENTATION, PROVIDING GOVERNMENT AND DEBATE
as its unelected it cannot claim a legitimising function
also no representative role
HOL is needed to debate issues - this can significantly help to raise the profile of an issue- eg in 2018 following a large number of Palestine deaths in the Gaza strips by Israel lord steel proposed a debate ‘that this house takes note of the situation in Palestinian territories’
compare the functions of the HOC and HOL
hoc - sole right to defeat a bill
can dismiss government in vote of no confidence
have a constituency link
elected
James Callaghan defeated in vote of no confidence
legitimises important decisions
HOL- revising chamber
no constituency duties
not elected - not bound by party manifesto
lots of cross benchers - can’t be whipped or government can’t dominate
life peers= expertise eg lord Winston - pioneered ivf
salisbury convention
only delay for a year
What are the different bills
GOVERNMENT BILLS- most bills bought in by government - high chance of being enacted as government will give them sufficient time to be debated.
can also use whips to encourage support
Salisbury convention - if bill was in manifesto lords will let it through
as a result of parliament acts 1911 and 1949 legislative bill can become law even if opposed by HOL
PRIVATE MEMBER BILLS - both members of HOC and HOL can introduce these
the fact so few member bills have become law show the lack of influence of backbenchers
limited time is given to debate on them Friday - many MPs already gone home so may not be sufficient people present for a division(vote)
hostile MPs towards the bill can also talk it our (filibustering) to waste time
can be used to raise awareness eg Peter Kyles bill on lowering voting age to 16 was not put through but ensured it remained high profile
if the bill has cross party support it has a chance eg homeless reduction act 2018
most significant pmb is the House of Lords reform act 2014 put forward by dan bytes allowing lords to retire
what are the stages of a bill through parliament
first reading - bill is presented but not debated
second reading - main principles of the bill are debated and voted on and normally wins
last bill not to pass - shops bill 1986
commitee stage- will be scrutinised and amendments suggested
the budget and significant issues are scrutinised by the commitee of the whole house
report stage - the bill + any new amendments are added and its voted on - further amendments can be proposed
third reading/transfer - further debated and transferred to HOL where it will o through same stages
royal assent - once a bill has passed both chambers it will receive royal assent
what is the significance of backbenchers
they are protected by parliamentary privilege which dates back to the bill of rights
this means they are able raise any issues without fear of being prosecuted in court
main roles -
represent there constituents - vote on issues (however can be whipped eg 3 line whip)
although cld be argued they can accurately
srutinise the work of government - the backbench business commitee was established in 2010 which provides them with 35 days a year where they control parliamentary business
liason and select commitees
the extent back benchers have influence depends on government majorities eg Tony Blair had very large majority so would survive large back bench rebellion eg Iraq was 139 labour MPs voted against but Blair still won
but if government has small majority like Theresa may in 2017 they will be very influential
do backbenchers play an important role in HOC
Yes - vote of no confidence eg James Callaghan 1979 no- however -can only be called in exceptional circumstances when the government is vulnerable
MPs have important legitimising role eg committing British forces or whether to agree to an early dissolution of parliament
however pm can use royal perofgatuve eg Theresa may committing military forces
By March 2019, backbenchers had defeated Theresa May’s Brexit deal three times. MPs also voted to reject a no-deal Brexit, as well as temporarily taking control of the Brexit agenda to see if they could agree on a way forward. however if government has large majority they can survive large rebellions eg Tony Blair
what is the role and significance of the opposition
opposition:
ensures government justifies its legislative programme
creates public debate by providing reasoned arguments on why they cannot support decisions of government
use there frontbenchers to focus on government department they are shadowing - exposing failures
leader of opposition uses PMQs to present themselves as a future pm in waiting
opposition can do this
20 opposition days where they choose topics for debate however only once since 1978 has a opposition day motion been victorious
scrutinise government in public bill committees and propose ammendments
shadow ministers expose failures in government policy
what are ministerial questions
from Monday to Thursday an hour of parliamentary business is set aside for oral questions to ministers
HOL also get some time for questions
ministers must respond to written questions in a week
