parliment Flashcards
the structure of parliment
Parliament is the legislature of the UK; it’s primary role is to pass legislation (laws). Parliamentary sovereignty means it is the highest source of authority.
Parliament is bicameral (meaning two-roomed) as it contains both the House of Commons and House of Lords. The monarch is also the figurehead of the legislature as Head of State; to become law Royal Assent must be given.
The government (Prime Minister and their extensive team of ministers c90) sit in Parliament (either HoC or HoL); as a result, there is no separation of powers as Executive and Legislative are mixed together. Govt draws authority from Parliament and is directly accountable to Parliament - the HoC can remove a govt with a vote of ‘no confidence’.
no confidence
In politics, a vote of no confidence is a parliamentary motion where lawmakers decide whether they still support the current government, and if it passes, the government is typically forced to resign.
(hoc)Members of Parliament (650)
elected by a constituency (60-80,000 people). They were first members of and chosen by members of the local party.
(hoc)the speaker
voted for by MPs to chair debates (along with deputies) impartially, also ensuring rules (Standing Orders) are followed.
(hoc)frontbench MPs -
prominent members of their political party (Home Secretary - Priti Patel; Shadow Chancellor - Rachel Reeves)
(hoc)backbench MPs -
have no frontbench ministerial post but may still serve important functions within parliament.
(hoc)Whips
MPs who ensure that members of their party are aware of current business and turn up and vote; a ‘three-line whip’ is a vote that all MPs need to turn up for.
(hoc)Legislative Committees
a group of at least 20 MPs, roughly split along party lines and chosen by party whips, who look at every line of specific proposed laws (Bills) and vote to make amendments.
(hoc)Departmental Select Committees
a permanent group of roughly 11 MPs who scrutinise and have the ability to question members specific government departments (Home Affairs Select Committee, chaired by Yvette Cooper, Lab). Chairs of SCs are voted for by all MPs, not chosen by the Whips. DSCs will run inquiries into their areas and provide reports on their findings which always require an official response from the government; sometimes these reports are even debated in the chamber as a way of further scrutinising the govt.
(hol)Life Peers (670)
overwhelming majority appointed to the House of Lords by the Prime Minister (TB 374; GB 34; DC 245; TM 43; BJ 70+) or by HoL Appointments Commission based on nominations from the public and an extensive process.
(hol)Hereditary Peers (92)
Lords by virtue of an ancestral title. There used to be over 700 in the HoL, but the HoL Act 1999 cut down the number to 92.
(hol)bishops
permanent Church of England representatives.
(hol)Lord Speaker
elected by Peers as a politically neutral chair.
(hol)HoL Committees
broadly concerned with subjects, rather than departments, but will also run inquiries and provide reports on findings.
NOTE: Ministers, senior or junior, for each department can be found in both Houses so that each House has ‘a person’ responsible they can question.
types of legislation (hol)
Primary Legislation (Bills) - Secondary Legislation (Statutory Instruments)
Bills are proposed laws that must be passed by both Houses to become law:
Public - come from the govt, affects general public - Coronavirus Act 2020; Domestic Abuse 2021; Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021
Private - prepped by organisations, limited scope - U of London Act 2018
Hybrid - from govt, affects public and specific group - High Speed Rail Acts
Private Members’ - by backbench MP, rarely passed - Animal Welfare 2018
Secondary/Delegated Legislation are smaller changes to law that can be made by ministers without passing through Parliament.
Statutory Instruments (SIs) are most common type: 3,000+ passed each year, c1,000 go through Parliament via one of the following procedures:
AFFIRMATIVE means that a SI must be approved by Parliament (very few)
NEGATIVE means that Parliament has 40 days to choose to reject it - this gives Parliament a chance to reject something if there is a disagreement.
- HoL has important role in scrutinising secondary legislation (HoC often too busy). It rarely votes against SIs, but has happened: 2015 Tax Credit Cut - a SI (on a Bill not to do with money) would have cut funding for low-income families, Lords sensationally voted against the SI.
