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Politics - Parliament knowledge questions Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two houses of Parliament?

A

House of Commons and House of Lords

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2
Q

What does ‘bicameralism’ mean?

A

Parliament is split into 2 separate assemblies who must both agree to make a law

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3
Q

How many MPs are in the HoC?

A

650

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4
Q

What are frontbenchers?

A

A frontbencher is an MP who is apart of the executive or the shadow executive.

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5
Q

What are backbenchers?

A

Every MP is who is not apart of the executive or the shadow executive.

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6
Q

What is the Official Opposition?

A

The party that scored the second highest number of seats.

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7
Q

How many MPs does the Labour government have?

A

404

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8
Q

How many MPs does the Conservative Party have?

A

121

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9
Q

How many MPs does the Liberal Democrats have?

A

72

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10
Q

How many MPs does the Reform UK party have?

A

5

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11
Q

What is the overall majority of the current Labour government?

A

172

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12
Q

What is the role of the Party whip?

A

They have to ensure that the backbenchers vote in line with the party even if it is against their constituency. They also offer advice to MPs who are unsure how to vote.

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13
Q

How is the Prime Minister chosen in Parliament?

A

They are elected by their own party.

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14
Q

Why would an MP stand down / resign?

A

Because they no longer align with their party’s views. Also, being an MP is a lot and they may want to spend more time doing other things instead.

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15
Q

How is the government chosen?

A

The government is elected using a First Past The Post system. Each constituency - in the UK, there are 650 of them - will vote for the MP they would like to represent them. Each MP who wins their constituency vote wins a seat. Whichever party receives the most number of seats wins.

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16
Q

Who is the speaker of the house?

A

They decide what the HoC will speak on and when. They are voted in by all MPs voting.

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17
Q

What is the shadow cabinet?

A

The shadow cabinet are the hypothetical government that would have enforced had the second place party won.

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18
Q

How many peers are there in the House of Lords roughly?

A

~800

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19
Q

How many Conservative peers roughly?

A

~250

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20
Q

How many Labour peers roughly?

A

~150

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21
Q

Who are the Lords Spiritual? How many are there? Why is this controversial?

A

There are roughly 20 bishops from the church of England that are life peers in the House of Lords. It is seen as controversial because there are other religions in this country that are not seen in the House of Lords simply because of their religion.

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22
Q

What is the difference between hereditary and life peers?

A

With a life peerage, your peerage dies with you. With a hereditary peerage, your peerage is passed down to your children for generations.

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23
Q

How are life peers appointed?

A

They are appointed by the PM because of their expert knowledge and contributions to society.

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24
Q

What is the significance of the House of Lords being an unelected body?

A

They are less significant because, if the HoC wants a law passed that the HoL opposes, they could bypass them entirely. The HoL has a lot less say in changes to legislation than the HoC.

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25
Q

Name a life peer and the criteria used to appoint them.

A

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle was the green party leader from 2012 to 2016. She was awarded her peerage because of her previous politics and her journalist skills.

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26
Q

Who were the law lords?

A

These 12 lords were appointed the first justices of the 12-member Supreme Court and were disqualified from sitting or voting in the House of Lords. When they retire, they can go back to the House of Lords.

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27
Q

How many crossbenchers are there roughly?

A

~200

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28
Q

Who are the frontbenchers in the House of Lords?

A

They are ministers, spokespersons, and whips in the House of Lords.

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29
Q

How is the system of appointing life peers open to abuse?

A

Because a PM could award someone unqualified to a peerage because they like that person or want more peers to be in line with their party.

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30
Q

What is the Cash for Peerages scandal?

A

Tony Blair was accepting large donations from Labour donors and offering them peerages in exchange.

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31
Q

Who is Lord Hanningfield and why can he be used as an example as to why the House of Commons needs reform?

A

Lord Hanningfield is a peer who stole thousand of pounds from the House of Lords by pretending that he was owed it for expenses. He was awarded his peerage due to his contributions to his local council. He could be used to explain why the HoC needs reform since he was given a peerage by the then-PM - William Hague. The HoC also did not revoke his peerage even after he had gone to prison for fraud, showing how things desperately need to change.

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32
Q

What is the function of legislation?

A

Debating and passing laws and bills to ensure that everyone feels safe and protected by law.

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33
Q

What are the key stages in the legislative process - First Reading, Second Reading, Committee, Report Stages…etc?

A

First, the bill is announced in the House of Commons. Next, there are initial debates and minor changes are made with a vote. After, each committee will sit down and scrutinise every line of the proposed bill. Then, further debates and amendments are made and is then sent to the House of Lords. The same will occur in the House of Lords and is then sent back to the House of Commons with their amendments.

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34
Q

What is a public bill? Give 2 examples.

A

A bill which is proposed by the executive.

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35
Q

Why is legislation a major role of Parliament - if not the most important one?

A

Because if Parliament did not make legislation, then laws would not exist.

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36
Q

What is the Salisbury Convention and what is its significance?

A

The Salisbury Convention is a law which stops the House of Lords from vetoing a bill which is mentioned in the Party’s manifesto.

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37
Q

What is the position of the House of Lords in terms of financial matters? When was the Act passed that changed the position of the Lords?

A

The 1911 Act of Parliament means that the House of Lords cannot make amendments of bills which involve money and a budget, because they are unelected.

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38
Q

What can the Commons do in terms of bypassing the House of Lords? What examples are there?

A

The Prime Minister can use the Parliament Act to bypass the House of Lords when they are disagreeing with a bill. For example, Theresa May tried to bypass the House of Lords when trying to pass a bill on Brexit. It did not work.

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39
Q

What is a Private Members Bill? Give examples.

A

A Private Members Bill is a bill that is proposed by backbench MPs. These can be vetoed by a single MP shouting ‘object’. Some famous examples include the abolition of the death penalty, and the Abortion Act.

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40
Q

How can Private Members Bill be introduced?

A

An MP can propose their idea for a bill, which is chosen to be announced in Parliament by the speaker of the house.

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41
Q

What is secondary legislation?

A

Secondary legislation is legislation not made by the UK Parliament, but made by an authorised assembly, a government minister, or a delegated person under the powers given to them by an Act of Parliament.

42
Q

What is delegated legislation?

A

The same as secondary legislation.

43
Q

What are statutory instruments?

A

The most common forms of delegated / secondary legislation. They are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act of 1946. These are often Codes, Orders, Regulations and Rules instead of Bills or Acts.

44
Q

Why have statutory instruments been criticised?

A

They cannot be amended, and are realistically never going to be defeated. Also, they have very little defeat time.

45
Q

What examples are there of when statutory instruments have been used?

A

For example, in 2015, the government attempted to use its delegated powers under the Tax Credits Act of 2002.

46
Q

In what ways are Public Bill Committees weak?

A

The members of these committees lack expertise and certain public bill committees lack the influence over the executive.

47
Q

Why are Private Members Bills difficult to pass?

A

Because they can be vetoed by a single MP shouting ‘object’. There is also not a large amount of time spent on these bills so MPs care less.

48
Q

How and why does the government dominate the legislative agenda?

A

All public bills are taken quite seriously and given time to be discussed. They cannot be dismissed as easily as a Private Members Bill.

49
Q

What examples are there of when a minority governments backbenchers have more of a say in terms of the legislative agenda?

A

In Theresa May’s minority government, she tried to pass through her own Brexit bill which was defeated several times by her own chamber.

50
Q

What are up to date examples of the legislative agenda of the current government?

A

The current labour government has been trying to fill the twenty billion pound black hole left by the previous Tory government by increasing tuition fees by 300 pounds and removing the winter fuel allowance for pensioners. (…ADD MORE!!)

51
Q

What is the criteria for representation?

A

1) looks; Parliament must resemble the people it serves
2) fair elections
3) reflect a wide variety of views and opinions
4) responsiveness to public concern

52
Q

What is an example of how MPs represent the interests of their constituencies?

A

Jon Trickett - the only labour MP who voted against the government changes to the winter fuel allowance because his constituency wanted it.

53
Q

What percentage are linked to representation in the Commons in terms of women, ethnic minorities, state school educated, age, LGBTQ+…?

A

Women = 41%
Ethnic minorities = 90 / 650 - 14%
State school educated = 63%
Age = average of 50
LGBTQ+ = 62 / 650 ~10%

54
Q

What evidence is there about the electoral system used for Westminster to prove poor representation?

A

First Past The Post is not proportional. The number of votes DOES NOT EQUAL the number of seats a party wins. This limits the amount of representation because the parties people are voting for are not getting a seat in Parliament.

55
Q

What percentages are linked to representation in the Lords in terms of women, ethnic minorities, state school educated, age, LGBTQ+…?

A

Women = 29%
Ethnic minorities = 6%
State school educated = 1/3
Age = average of 71
LGBTQ+ = ~5

56
Q

What precise examples are there of the selection and work of a Lords to prove representation?

A

The House of Lords have defended people with disabilities and fought against the Rwandan bill to protect immigrants.

57
Q

In what ways might the House of Lords in terms of composition seem unrepresentative?

A

They do not correctly reflect how the public look. They have a complete lack in the number of women, ethnic minorities, queer peers, etc

58
Q

Name one debate in the Commons and one debate in the Lords which proves representation.

A

The House of Commons - A Private Members Bill was proposed by Lib Dem Sarah Olney to introduce a system of PR for parliamentary elections.
The House of Lords - A bill (currently in the 2nd reading) about the removal of hereditary peers. Baroness Quin gave a speech about this and her agreement to this bill.

59
Q

What is the function of ‘providing ministers’ in the context of the Commons and the Lords?

A

Commons - Ministers speak on behalf of the government frontbenchers during Parliamentary debates and must answer questions put to them by other MPs.
Lords - They take legislation through the house and and answer for the government during questions and debates.

60
Q

What are the Wright Reforms?

A

They heavily strengthened the role of backbenchers within Parliament. In 2010, they set up the Backbench Business Committee.

61
Q

What is the role of backbench business committee?

A

There main role is to determine what issues should be debated on the one day a week allocated to backbench business. They are made up of elected backbench MPs.

62
Q

What examples are there of the backbench business committees work?

A

In 2011, they managed to force the government to release all of the documents relating to the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster.

63
Q

Why is the backbench business committee limited?

A

They only have influence and not actual power. They are also a relatively new committee so do not always have a lot of influence.

64
Q

What is a backbench rebellion?

A

When the backbench MPs of a party all decide to vote against whatever their party actually wants.

65
Q

What examples are there of backbench rebellions?

A

121 labour MPs broke a three line whip to protest Tony Blair’s military intervention in Iraq.
During the coalition of 2010, with the rise of tuition fees, 21 lib dems and 6 Tories voted against government. All lib dems said they would vote against prior to the coalition.

66
Q

How does party loyalty ensure executive dominations?

A

The executive will be able to pass any legislation with minimal scrutiny when their entire party simply agrees with them.

67
Q

What are ‘urgent questions’ and what are the statistics to prove that backbenchers are becoming more vocal?

A

UQ - requires a government minister to come to the House of Commons chamber and give an immediate answer without prior notice.
Backbenchers had recently become more vocal due to the coalitions of 2010 and the few minority governments since.

68
Q

How does PM patronage ensure executive domination?

A

At any moment, the PM can dismiss anyone from their party who is not aligning with the party. This is true of PM Kier Starmer who took the whip away from labour MPs because they were not standing with the party and him, essentially.

69
Q

How does the whip ensure executive domination?

A

The whip can be taken away from any MP who is against the executive, meaning they are no longer apart of the party. This warns other MPs to stay in line.

70
Q

How does the threat of the dissolution of Parliament ensure executive domination?

A

In order to be voted for in the next general election, the MP would like to be apart of the party they align with. So, an MP would not want the whip to be taken away from them and would therefore align with whatever the executive wants.

71
Q

What is the role of the Public Bill Committee?

A

The Public Bill Committees consider Bills - proposed Acts of Parliament. This is only in the House of Commons; the House of Lords do not have the PBC.

72
Q

How does the makeup of the public bill committees ensures executive domination?

A

The Public Bill Committee is made up of 17 MPs who choose to sign up. This ensures executive dominance because, with a majority government, a lot of the committee will be made up of the winning party, who are less likely to scrutinise effectively, simply allowing the bill to pass.

73
Q

How do factors like the overall majority change and what does that mean in terms of the government?

A

The overall majority is a positive to a government because they can pass bills much easier due to everyone in their party voting for them.

74
Q

What is the role that select committees play?

A

The select committees are a vital way to call the government to account. Each of the 19 committees investigate the work of a government department.

75
Q

What is the makeup of select committees and what have been recent changes to them?

A

They are made up of backbenchers who have put themselves forward in front of the House of Commons. The chair receives an additional salary. Secret seats are also allocated through a secret ballot.

76
Q

What powers do the select committees have?

A

They have plenty of influence over departments. They can report over any issues within the department, not just what the government wants them to check. They can also enquire for documents to be sent to them and people can be brought forward to give oral evidence to prove their report.

77
Q

What are three specific and explained pieces of evidence to prove that select committees are important?

A

In 2016, the committee for ‘business, innovation, and skills’ investigated into alleged bad working practices at Sport Direct. The company was then made to pay compensation to its workers for paying them below minimum wage.
In 2018, the ‘home affairs’ committee looked into the causes and loses surrounding the Windrush Scandal that denied many of that generation and their children fundamental rights. The committee was highly critical and recommended immediate reform and an apology issued. However, this was not implemented until September 2020.
In 2022, the committee for ‘Home affairs’ looked into the government’s handling of illegal immigrants and urged them to stop their plan. The plan ended up being scrapped due to a change in government.

78
Q

Why are select committees limited?

A

They can only influence and not actually force anyone to make a change that they have suggested.

79
Q

How do the select committees work in terms of the House of Lords?

A

The House of Lords committees investigate public policy, proposed laws, and government activity. The reports are debated in the House of Lords and then sent to influence the House of Commons.

80
Q

What is the role of the Public Accounts Committee?

A

Their role is to examine the public finances. They scrutinise value for money, which includes the collection of taxation. They are the oldest committee in Commons.

81
Q

What is the makeup and significance of the Public Accounts Committee?

A

Their chair is always a member of the Official Opposition. Their chair is of a high prestige and also receives a higher pay than other MPs. All elected by all MPs - no controlling by PM or Party leaders. They also tend to act independently

82
Q

What examples are there to prove that the Public Accounts Committee is important?

A

In 2019, after an investigation into serious and organised crime, they recommended revised initiatives, developing more effective databases and that police prioritise investigating organised criminal activity. This then impacted in Jan 2020, where Home Secretary Priti Patel gave an additional 750 million pounds for an extra 6000 police officers to combat street crime.
In 2023, after an investigation into government spending on HS2, they advised that it should be cancelled. They criticised the unrealistic budget of 2.6 billion pounds and questioned the lack of transparency in Parliament. This impacted when this added to the ever-growing criticism so the government decided to just cancel it.

83
Q

What is the role that the Liaison Committee has?

A

Their main function is to call the government out and hold them to account twice a year.

84
Q

What is the makeup and significance of the Liaison Committee?

A

They are compiled of the chairs of all of the DSC as well as other committees. They lack in significance because they have very little influence.

85
Q

What might be the Liaison Committee be weak?

A

Former-PM Boris Johnson cancelled several planned appearances. He also sent a minister in his place instead because he did not care enough to show up.

86
Q

How many allocated days do opposition parties have?

A

20 days per session.

87
Q

What is PMQT?

A

Prime Minister Question Time is once a week, where MPs can ask the PM vital questions they would like answer.

88
Q

When have PMQs been effective?

A

They have allowed MPs to have vital questions answered.

89
Q

What criticisms are made about PMQT?

A

PMQT are considered to be a ‘Punch and Judy Show’, meaning that they are more entertainment for the public and not actually scrutinising the PM. Also, all questions are already known to the PM so their answers are all prepared.

90
Q

What is ministerial question time?

A

Ministers have to stand in front of a committee and answer questions scrutinising what they have done recently.

91
Q

What are the reasons as to why the House of Lords is becoming more significant?

A

The House of Lords is becoming more significant because they are effective at scrutinising due to a lack of a majority. So, they are a lot more vocal than ever before.

92
Q

How does the Commons still maintain its supremacy?

A

The House of Commons are still superior because they make the final decision. They are able to reject everything the House of Lords suggests and can even bypass them if they would like.

93
Q

When does / has the Commons used the Parliament Act to push through legislation?

A

Theresa May attempted to use the Parliament Act to push through her Brexit legislation. Unfortunately for her, this did not work.

94
Q

What examples are there which prove that the House of Commons and House of Lords do not always agree?

A

The House of Commons wanted to send immigrants to Rwanda and the House of Lords disagreed and tried to add a lot of amendments to protect certain people from being affected.

95
Q

How does the Lords’ defeat of the Cameron government’s plans for cuts to tax credits cuts to illustrate the increasing assertiveness of the Lords?

A

The House of Lords defeating this proposed law because of its effect on poor people. They have influence because both houses have to agree on a bill for it to pass.

96
Q

What do backbenchers do in the House of Commons in terms of scrutiny?

A

Backbenchers can be apart of a committee to help with scrutinising the government. They can also ask the PM questions and propose PMB if they want to make a change to legislation.

96
Q

What do backbenchers do in the House of Lords in terms of scrutiny?

A

In the House of Lords, backbenchers can also join committees to scrutinise any proposed legislation.

97
Q

What does unicameral mean?

A

Unicameral is when an elected body has a single legislative chamber.

98
Q

What are three alternatives to the current all appointed House of Lords?

A

1) Removing all of the hereditary peers
2) Replacing it with another elected chamber
3) decentralising the power from the House of Lords

99
Q

Why has there been very little support for a change in powers to the House of Lords?

A

Very few people actually care because of how little significance the House of Lords actually has. Furthermore, since the House of Commons has the ability to bypass the House of Lords, it is not very necessary to completely change it. Also, the House of Lords has a lot of expertise that would be lost if it suddenly became elected.

100
Q

What are three current weaknesses of the House of Lords?

A

1) unelected
2) limited powers of scrutiny
3) very unrepresentative of what the actual British public looks like

101
Q

What are three current strengths of the House of Lords?

A

1) full of expertise and knowledge
2) good at defending minorities
3) have been more assertive now than ever before

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