Structure And Role Of Parliament Flashcards
How many MPs are there in the commons?
650
On average how many votes does an MP represent?
68,000
What was the most populated seat in the 2019 election?
Isle of Wight: 113,000 voters
Give an example of an independent MP?
Martin Bell: represented Tatton from 1997-2001
How many Lords were there in 2021?
800
What is ment by a life peerage?
-person is appointed a peerage for their lifetime only
-made possible by the life peerages Act 1958
-most peers in the Lords are life peers
How many hereditary peers are there?
92
How many hereditary peers were there before 1999 reforms?
700
How are hereditary peers chosen?
-when a vacancy for a hereditary peers open, candidates must be chosen from a predetermined list
-an election then takes place
How many Lords spiritual are there?
26
When was the last time there was a party majority in the Lords?
1999
Since when has Britain been a parliamentary state?
since the Glorious Revolution in 1688
When was full enfranchisement achieved in the UK?
1928
What’s the result of the Parliament acts of 1911?
Considerable power shifted from the Lords to the Commons
When was the first female MP elected in the commons?
Nancy Astor: 1919
How many female MPs were elected in 2019?
220: a record number
How has the number of BAME MPs changed since 1987?
-in 1987 there were 3 BAME MPs
-rose to 65 in 2019
Since when has parliament been televised?
1989
What old traditions does parliament still retain?
-MPs vote by passing through a lobby
-opposition sit opposite in the commons at 2 sword lengths apart
-speaker starts each day with a percussion
What is the role of the PM?
-they are the leader of the largest party in the commons (nearly always command a majority)
-they control most of the business and the outcomes in commons
-the executive dominates legislature
What is the role of the speaker?
-they administer the laws of the HoC (such as banning calling other MPs corrupt or a liar)
-they can suspend MPs
Which MP did John Becrow suspend?
-suspended Labour MP Dennis Skaller
-he called PM David Cameron ‘Dodgy Dave’
-refused to apologise or retract statement
How is the speaker selected?
-speaker is voted for by fellow MPs
-Lindsay Hoyle was elected on 4th ballot in 2019
-when they are elected the Speaker renounces all party allegiances
Why did the speaker John Becrow face criticism?
-faced criticism over alleged favourites to opposition MPs and a perceived lack of cooperation on the progression go Brexit Bill
-was also accused of bullying staff (Private Secretary Kate Ems)
Who was the Leader of the HoC in 2019?
Jacob Reese Mogg
What is the role of the Leader of the HoC?
-they ensure that bills are properly timetabled
-essentially governments business manager
-the job involved close liaison with Govs Chief Whip
What is the role of the party Whips?
-they are in charge of party discipline (ensure MPs stay loyal)
-ensure MPs vote the way the party wants
-use ‘gentle persuasive techniques’
What does a 3 line whip indicate?
that the leader expects all MPs to turn up and vote a certain way
Given an example of the Whip being withdrawn:
2012, Whip withdrawn from MP Nadine Dorries who appeared on I’m a Celebrity without telling party leadership
2019, Boris Johnson withdrew the whip from 21 Tory rebels who didn’t support a Brexit motion
What are the 4 main functions of parliament?
legislative: to introduce, debate, and pass laws
representative: represents geographically through constituencies and in terms of political ideas through parties
scrutiny: parliament checks and scrutinises the government
deliberate: parliament is a forum for debate and discussion
What type of bill are the majority of laws that are passed?
majority of laws passed are public bills and gov backed bills
How many gov bills were debated and passed between 2015-17?
-55 gov bills were debated
-48 were passed
How many private members bills were introduced and passed between 2015-17?
-324 introduced
-14 passed
What is the significance of a public bill?
it applies to everyone once it becomes law
What is the process a bill takes to become law?
- all proposed bills, must pass through commons and lords
2.all bills go through certain stages to be passed - the length and opportunity for debate and scrutiny depending on the stage
3.every public bill is debated and can be amended
4.most gov backed bills become law, most bills proposed by backbenchers of not
5.must receive royal assent- this is a formality
Roughly how many public bills are passed each year?
30-40
How many public bills were passed in 2019?
31
What is a green paper?
-a gov doc setting out issues and options for legislation
-its a discussion document
What is a white paper?
-a government document setting out detailed plans and proposals for legislation
Give an example of a committee scrutinising a bill before it goes through the commons:
an inquiry was launched into the tenants Free Bill by the communities and local government select committee in advance of its debate in parliament
What stages do bills go through?
1.first reading
2.second reading
3.committee stage
4.report stage
5.third reading
6.House of Lords stage
What happens at the first reading of a bill?
1.First Reading formal introduction of the bill’s title by relevant government minister
there is no debate or vote
What happens at the second reading of a bill?
2.Second Reading
-main debate on the principles of the bill
-government defeats at the second stage are rare
-last time was 1986 when the Sunday Trading Bill was defeated
What happens at the committee stage of a bill?
- Committee stage
-the bill is sent to the Public Bill Committees
-members consider the bill line by line, they suggest amendments and call witness experts to inform the debate
-the government always has a majority on a committee, so major changes are unlikely
-the committee only lasts for the lifetime of a bill
-members of these committees are appointed by party whips
How many non-government amendments in a committee succeeded between 2000-10?
0.5%
What happens at the report stage of a bill?
- Report stage
-any amendments agreed in committee stage are considered by the commons
-provides an opportunity for further amendments to be put forward
What happens at the third reading of a bill?
- Third Reading
-final debate on the amended version of the bill
-no further changes are permitted
What happens at the HoL stage of a bill?
6.House of Lords stage
-once passed in commons the same process repeats in Lords
-any amendments made by lords only become part of the bill if accepted by the commons
-bill can go back and forth ‘parliamentary ping-pong’
Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005: considered 5 times by the Lords + 4 times by the Commons
When was the last time the government invoked the parliament act?
last used to pass the Hunting Act 2004
What is the parliament act?
an act that allows for a bill to become law within a year
What is English votes for English laws (2015)?
-ensures that English MPs can veto bills, or clauses in bill that only apply for England
-the speaker decides if a bill or clause is valid for the EVEL procedure
-after the report stage, the speaker can refer a bill to the Legislative Grand Committee
-all Ups can debate in the legislative grand committee, but only English/Welsh MPs can vote or make amendments
-bills only affecting England must be passed by a majority of both (all MPs and English MPs)
What is secondary legislation?
-also known as statutory instruments
-refers to provisions in legislation that allow for relevant ministers to change or introduce clauses
Misuse of Drugs Act (1971): allows the gov to easily add new drugs to the banned list
How is secondary legislation scrutinised?
-scrutinised by the Committee on statutory instruments
-join committee of MPs and Peers
-the committee doesn’t have a gov majority
-appointed at the start of 2020
-parliament must be asked for the approval of secondary legislation, but cannot amend them
How can backbenchers introduce legislation?
through private members bills
What significant laws started out as PMBs?
-Abortion Act (1967)
-Abolition of Capital Punishment Act (1965)
-these matter of conscience that the gov backed but were reluctant to propose as go bills
What are the forms that PMBs can take?
-ballot bills
-10 minute rule bills
-presentation bills
How many sitting in the commons are used for PMBs?
13 Friday sitting in the commons
What are ballot bills?
-the first 7 sitting in the commons used for ballot bills
-they have the best chance of becoming law/being properly debate
-MPs enter a ballot each year with 20 names being drawn out
-some MPs don’t have a bill in mind so they are approached by pressure groups
-some MPs chose to adopt a gov ‘handout’ bill (these make technical/discrete changes to existing bills)
-often these are bills that the gov found for its own legislative programme or bills it doesn’t want to push through itself
What type of Ballot Bills have the best chance of being passed?
-only have a change of being passed if they are noncontroversial and not opposed by the gov
How can ballot bills be blocked?
-ballot bills can be blocked by MPs speaking on them until time runs out
-the ‘Turning Bill’ in 2016 would have pardoned all men living with UK convictions for same-sex offences before the law changed in 1967
-a gov minister spoke on the bill for 25 mins, reaching allotted time for the debate and meaning the bill couldn’t progress
How many Ballot Bills were passed between 2017-19?
4
What are 10 minute rule bills?
-police aspirations put into legislative lenaquge in order to secure a 10 minute speaking slot during ‘primetime’ in the commons after question-time
-it is an opportunity to raise concerns of constituencies as opposed to passing legislation
-part whips decided the slots, undermining the independence of MPs in the process
Example of an act that started off as a 10 minute rule bill:
-Guardianship (missing persons) Act 2017
-allows someone to act in a missing persons best interest if they had been gone over 90 days
-introduced as a 10 minute rule bill by Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake and was passed into law
What are presentation bills?
-MP is permitted to introduce a bill of choice having given prior notice to Public Bill Office
-formal presented during Friday sittings after the ballot bills
-the MP presenting the bill doesn’t give a speech and there is no debate
-it can be used to address discrete, non-controversial policy issues and resolve anomalies in law
Give an example of an act that started as a presentation bill:
-Copper-Letwin and Benn Acts (Brexit) were implemented as presentation bills
-they passed because MPs took control of parliament’s agenda from the government in order to prevent a no-deal Brexit
What factors help an MP to pass legislation?
-uncontroversial
-luck in being drawn for a ballot bill
-gov backing
-exceptional circumstance (2018-19 Brexit debates)
What indirect pressure can be put on gov legislation?
-2011, plans to privatise some English forests abandoned after cross bench opposition
-gov can also introduce legislation because of backbench pressure: 2006 Labour backbenchers persuaded Tony Blairs gov to Bring in the corporate manslaughter bill
What are the 3 main theories of representation?
-Burkean
-Delegate
-Mandate
MPs with constituencies are representatives of:
-their constituency
-their party
-special interests/groups they feel strongly for
What evidence is there that the government performs its representative role very well?
-all parts of the UK geographically represented through 650 constituencies
-wide range of parties in commons, meaning a range in political ideas
-commons is becoming more diverse (record 220 women elected in 2019)
-MPs have a wide range of interests and specialist policy areas
What evidence is there that the government performs its representative role poorly?
-not all constituencies are equal in population size
-FPTP favours the 2 largest parties and are regionally concentrated (SNP in Scotland)
-severely under represents minor parties
-after 2019, 29% of MPs privately educated, compared to 7% of the population as a whole
What percentage of MPs from 2017-19 had a second job?
18%
Give an example of an MP with a second job:
Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan continued his job as city councillor after being elected to parliament in 2017
What pay rise did MPs receive in 2024?
What is the Burkean theory of representation?
-originates from 18th century political thinker Edmund Burke
-the theory argues that elected officials are purely representative of their voters
What is the delegate theory of representation?
-elected officials are authorised to represent and act as a mouthpiece for their constituents
What is the Trustee theory of representation?
-elected officials take into account the needs of their constituents before exercising their own judgment when making political decisions
What has the Trustee theory of representation been weakened by?
-has been weakened by the parliamentary whipping system
-Nick Boles (former Tory MP) represented a leave constituency but personally supported remain
-he voted against his own party in many of the Brexit votes
What is a ‘vote of conscience’?
-MPs follow their own conscience or belief in common good when voting on issues
Give an example of a vote of conscience:
-2013 Vote on Gay Marriage
-David Cameron supported the vote
-however half the party rebelled or abstained
Give an example of an MP exercising the Delegate Theory:
-2015 Tory MP Zac Goldsmith promised his voters in Richmond Park that he would resign if the government backed a third runway in Heathrow
-he resigned his seat in 2016 and stood as Independent but wasn’t re-elected
What is the mandate theory of representation?
-advocates elected officials are primarily there to represent and carry out their parties policies and manifesto
-they support this idea: they believe that ensures an election
What is the scrutiny of the executive?
-process by which opposition MPs ask questions and critique gov actions
-hold gov to account
What is the main ways parliament performs its role of scrutiny?
-debates in the chamber
-parliamentary questions
-parliamentary committees (standing and select)
CASE STUDY: Parliamentary debate over Syrian air strikes
-August 2013
-had evidence that President Bashar-al-Assad was using chemical weapons over civilians
-the coalition normally had a majority, however Cameron was defeated
-the parliamentary debate was highly charges, parliament, not the gov effectively took the lead in determining foreign policy
What is parliamentary privilege?
-the exemption of MPs and peers from laws of slander and competent in country
-allows them to uphold free speech within parliament
-doesn’t exist outside Westminster
-as debates are public, new outlets are free to report on them without the threat of prosecution
Example of parliamentary in practice
2018: Lord Peter Hain broke interim injunction granted by the Court of Appeal, which stopped news outlets from naming Sir Philip Green as behind allegations of sexual and racial harassment
What are emergency debates?
-they are granted at the speakers discretion
-must be on a ‘specific and important matter that should have urgent considerations’
-MPs have 3 minutes to put their requests to the house
How many emergency debates took place between 2017-19?
22
Example of an emergency debate:
-debate on the contaminated floor scandal moved in July 2017 by Labour MP Diana Johnson
When was the Backbench Business Committee setup?
-2010
-gives MPs more opportunities to raise matter of concern
-it decides the topic for debate on the floor of the commons and in Westminster Hall for roughly a day a week
What are Westminster Hall Debates like?
-held 4 days a week
-allocated by ballot and arranged by speaker
-any MP can attend and there are no votes
-they cannot compel the gov to act, debates are also poorly attended
How many signatures were collected in 2017 to prevent Trump from making a state visit to the UK?
-over 1 million signatures
-there was a lively debate on the matter in commons
-trip still took place
What are 3 conclusions on the importance of debate?
-few MPs change their minds because of debate
-the gov is guaranteed to win most votes because of its majority and the whip system
-the gov has a payroll vote
-Westminster hall debates are poorly attended and have no direct control over the gov
-finance and money bill are particularly weakly scrutinised/debated (a vote on budget is essentially a confidence vote)
-debates in the Lords have a limited influence
How many amendments did the lords make to Johnson’s Brexit deal?
-Lords made 5 amendments
-not one was agreed by the commons
in the 2017-18 session how many parliamentary questions were asked?
55,000
What evidence is there that PMQs are an effective check on the gov?
-high profile and widely publicised (clips often shown on news/media)
-forces the PM to directly address issues
-most direct form of scrutiny
-gives the opportunity for the opposition to take a claim at premiership
-Blair compared PMQs as akin to being led to his own execution
What evidence is there against PMQs as an effective way of checking the gov?
-gives a misleading and distorted image of parliaments work (most debates aren’t as theatrical and adversarial)
-mostly an environment for ‘Punch and Judy’ politics and petty point scoring
-John Becrow said: ‘The atmosphere is very male, and testosterone fuelled’
-many MPs use it as an opportunity to ask patsy question in hope for a future promotion
What are the 3 mains types of committees?
-public bill committees
-select committees
-lords committees
What are public committees?
-go through legislation line by line and can make changes to a bill
-they are temporary and only last for the lifetime of the bill
-the gov always ensures a majority, therefore major changes are unlikely
-the UCL Constitution unit stated that the ‘committee stage is central; to the weakness of scrutiny’
What are the advantages of public bill committees?
-allows backbench MPs to scrutinise legislation in more detail than during a debate
-normally joint chairs from the governing and opposition parties
-they do make effective changes: during the committee stage of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, extra clause was added to protect journalists
-provide opportunities for individuals and pressure groups to put forward their views and suggestions
-expert witnesses can be called
What are the disadvantages of public bill committees?
-membership involves relevant gov ministers
-membership is determined in proportion to party strength in the commons
-major amendments are unlikely
-just 0.5% of opposition amendments are accepted
-membership is temporary so MPs don’t have the opportunity to build expertise in a particular policy area
-Committee membership is decided by party whips (loyalists more likely to be chosen)
What are select committees?
-most significant of all parliamentary committees
-check that gov and public bodies are doing their jobs properly and spending taxpayer money efficiently
-they also scrutinise draft bills before they are formally debated in parliament
What is the oldest select committee?
-the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) 1857
-overviews how effectively gov spends money on projects like HS2
-it is chaired by a senior opposition backbencher
-following the 2019 election, this was Labours MP Meg Hillier
How many select committees were there in 2020?
-28
-11 members in each with the government having a majority
When did select committee members begin to be chosen through secret ballot?
2010
Give an example of a high profile individual who have experience to a select committee:
-Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley
-made to answer Q’s on working practices
What power did select committees gain in 2007?
-were given the ability to review major ministerial appointments of those heading quasi-government agencies
How many reports did select committees produce between 2017-19?
267
Does the gov have to respond to select committee reports?
Yes - the gov must formally respond within 60 days
What percentage of select committee recommendations does the gov typically accept?
40%
What do the Osmotherly rules state when a civil servant is giving evidence to a select committee?
-when civil servants are giving evidence they are acting as representatives of their ministers
-not to give personal views or judgements on policy
-they are personally accountable for the delivery/implementation of policy (can’t shift blame back to ministers)
-civil servants can refrain from giving evidence on the ground of national security
What evidence is there that select committees are effective in their rule in scrutiny and influencing the executive?
-provides an alternative and more corporate form to scrutinise gov policy
-operates in a less party-political manner
-many committee chairs are from opposition parties
-recommendations from reports are often acted upon by the gov
-they have the ability to call and question witnesses (including ministers and civil servants)
-chairs and members chosen by secretary ballot (increases independence)
-can scrutinise some executive appointments
-many committee members have either previous ministerial experience or specialist interest in a certain policy area
What evidence is there that select committees are not very effective in their rule in scrutiny and influencing the executive?
-in desire for a bipartisan approach evidence suggests: that chairs avoid selecting topics that are highly politicised and likely to provoke party partisanship
-party loyalties continue to play a significant role in the work of select committees
-governing party always has a majority
-government is under no obligation to accept policy suggestions
-unlike the US senate, they cannot directly veto appointments
What is the role of Lords Committees?
-examine specialist subjects
-there are 6 per ants committees
-short term ad hoc committees set up to deal with specific concerns
-the Lords typically appoint 4 specialist inquiry committees each year
-they work in a similar way to select committees, but the gov does not have a majority
What are 4 types of opposition in parliament?
-official opposition (either Labour or Conservative since 1920)
-other opposition parties (LibDem or Nationalist parties)
-Intra Party: opposition within a party
-Inter Party: in a coalition there can be disagreements between different parties in gov
What is the purpose of the opposition?
-offer scrutiny and a check on the gov
-must also offer a viable and practical alternative solutions (those who opposed a no-deal Brexit had to come up with ‘better’ alternatives)
-the official opposition portray themselves as a gov in waiting
-the official opposition also have a formal shadow cabinet
What special privileges does the leader of opposition have?
-at PMQs they ask the opening question and up to 5 more questions
-they are the only MP allowed to respond to the PM with further Q’s
How many opposition days are there?
20
Given an example of a debate chosen for an opposition day?
2018, Labour raised the issue of school funds, the Grenfell fire and NHS privatisation
How significant is the opposition?
-power of the opposition depends on parliamentary arithmetic
-govs with small majorities (such as May’s between 2017-19) enable the opposition more power
-in times of national emergencies (Covid-19) opposition parties have to seen seen as supportive
What are the strengths of the opposition in UK politics?
-official opposition gets some extra funding and privileges, and receives short money for policy research
-opposition can position itself as an alternative gov
-opposition can check or change gov policy (e.g Gurkhas and Brexit)
-Backbench rebels from within governing party can present serious problems (e.g Cons rebels blocking Lords reform in 2012)
What are the weaknesses of the opposition in UK politics?
-gov possess greater resources e.g controlling parliamentary business, choosing debate topics, cabinet resources and special advisers
-much depends on quality of members of shadow cabinet and how they perform in debates/media (e.g shadow Home Secretary Abbott criticised for police interview, showing weak grasp on stats and details)
-opposition successes are rare (gov can usually get legislation through parliament without difficulty)
-successful rebellions on major issues are rare + internal opposition only works if supported by opposition parties
What evidence is there FOR executive dominance over parliament?
-party whipping and discipline ensure gov backed bills easily pass and are largely unchanged
-most days of parliamentary business are controlled by the gov
-PMBs almost always require gov support to be passed
-govs ignore 60% of select committee reports
-in debates, most MPs follow the party line
-much of question time is simply about political point scoring
What evidence is there AGAINST executive dominance over parliament?
-in times of minority or coalition, Govs can be defeated in the commons
-20 opposition days that allow other parties to set out the parliamentary agenda
-during the Brexit process MPs seized control of parliamentary business
-individual MPs can pass legislation, independent of the gov
-select committees are increasingly high profile and independent
-all legislation is scrutinised in debates and public bill committees
-MPs can question the PM and ministers in regular time slots
