Scrutiny Flashcards
Give 4 ways parliament scrutinises the executive
- PMQs
- Select committees
- HOL
- Backbenchers
- The Opposition
Give 4 positives of PMQs
- Allows the opposition to scrutinise parliament
- It is an opportunity for the public to understand politics
- Backbench can ask Qs
- MPs can ask constiunecy Qs
Give 4 negatives of PMQs
- Most questions are designed for partisan point scoring rather than change opinions or policies
- The PM doesn’t always directly answer the question
- Used more to embarrass the prime minister than to actually find facts
- Most people only hear the highlights on TV - thus only hearing the witty response’s - which incentives debaters to just make sound bites
Give 6 reasons why select committees are effective
- Many committee chairs are from opposition party, meaning they have no pre-exusiting bias and will be able to properly scrutinise the executive without bias
- They operate in a less party political manner than much of the Commons and aim for consensus and not competition between different parties
- Chairs and committee members are now elected by secret ballot reducing the power of party whips and encouraging the election of more independently minded chairs
- Recommendations are often acted upon by the government and therefore influence policy e.g. OBR was formed in 2010 following a select committee reccomendation
- They have the ability to call witnesses including ministers and civil servants
- What select committees request is usually provided e.g. George Osborne gave a lot more information on the budget as was requested by select committees
- Many committee members have either previous ministerial experience of specialist interest in certain policy area
What is the name of the select committee that scrutinises fiscal policy
Public Accounts Committee - chaired by opposition backbencher Meg Hillier
Give 4 reasons why select committees are not effective
- The majority of members in select committees are in the governing parties, due to select committee membership being proportional to the number of seats in the commons
- The government does not have to accept suggestions made by select committees
- Party whips are in control of membership of PBCs
- Ministers can be vague and evasive when being questioned by select committees
Give an example of a select committe
Liaison Committee
What does the Liaison Committee do?
They scrutinise the work of the Prime Minister specifically - generally meeting twice a year
Who sits on the Liaison Committe?
The chairs of all of the other committees
Who is the current chair of the Liaison Committee?
Sir Bernard Jenkin
What is the 1922 Committee
A committee consisting of Conservative backbenchers formed to scrutinise the party leadership
What powers does the 1922 Committee have?
The ability to call for a vote of no confidence in their leadership
Give 3 examples of PM’s who have been removed from office due to the 1922 Committe?
- Ian Duncan Smith (the first one)
- Margaret Thatcher
- Theresa May
When was the 1922 Committee formed
April 1923
Give an example of a recent change the 1922 Committee made
Changed the rules for the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, forcing potential candidates to have the support of at least 100 MPs, forcing every candidate by Rishi Sunak to drop out
How do the Lords provide an effective form of scrutiny
- There are no time limits on their debates which allow them to analyse any potential government bills as thoroughly as they wish
- In the 2016-2017 session MPs spent 235 hours debating government Bills on the floor of the House
- In the 2016-2017 session Peers spent 407 hours debating Government Bills on the floor of the house
- Crossbenchers have expertise in specific policy areas
Why might the Lords be seen to be not an effective from of scrutiny
- The government doesn’t have to accept any of their recommendations - and at most they can only delay the passage of a bill for a year
- Financial privilege ensures that the commons has total control over fiscal policy, and the Lords cannot even make suggestions
Name 3 functions of the Opposition
- Scrutinise Government policy
- Suggest their own policy
- Provide an alternative to the current government
Name 3 powers of the Opposition
- The leader of the opposition has special privileges e.g. additional salary, right to respond to PMQs with 6Qs and further questions, 20 days set aside specifically for Opposition agenda
Give 4 limitations of the Opposition
- Gladiatorial style politics - government and opposition, which reduces collaboration
- The government has the support of the Civil Service, who offer departmental expertise
- Limited opportunity to set the agenda - they can only choose the topic for 20 days - 17 to the official opposition
- An opposition that has just lost an election has a weak mandate
