Structure of house of commons/lords Flashcards
What is the structure of the House of Commons
- It is known as the ‘lower house’ and is the elected half of parliament:
- There are 650 members of parliament:
- There are frontbench Mps
- Backbench Mps
- Select committees
- Legislative committees
- Party Whips
- The speaker
What are frontbench MPs
They are senior and junior government ministers with leading spokespersons from opposition parties
What are Backbench MPs
These are MPs that aren’t frontbenchers (500)
What are select committees
They are permanent committees of backbench MPs, theyre elected by all MPs: They scrutinise the work of all government departments
What are legislative committees
These are also known as public bill committees:
They are temporary committees that scrutinise proposed legislation and propose amendments to improve legislation.
There are usually 20-40 members that are chosen by party Whips
What are party Whips
These are senior MPs who seek to persuade backbenchers in their own party to vote the way the party wants them to, ensuring party unity
What are speakers
Speakers presides over disputes in the house of commons and takes decisions on parliamentary procedure.
What is the structure of the House of Lords
The house of lords is known as the ‘upper house’ and is the unelected half of parliament and contains 800 peers:
- Hereditary peers
- Life Peers
- Lord spirituals
- The lord speaker
Its main role is to examine and revise legislation from the house of commons
What are hereditary peers
These peers have inherited the title from their father and in most cases the title passes on to their sons.
Due to the house of lords act in 1999 it removed the entitlement of most of the Peers to sit and vote in the house of lords and reduced the number of Peers to 92
Hereditary peers can be created by the Prime minister with 3 being created by Margaret Thatcher
What are Life peers
They are appointed for life by party leaders (prime minister) under his powers of patronage and an appointments commission.
Their titles cant be passed on and make up majority of the house of lords
They were created under the life peerages act in 1958
They are former politicians but majority are experts in certain fields.
What are lord spirituals
As the church has always been linked to the government with Henry Vlll making himself head of church, and with there being 26 archbishops and with the queen being head of state and church.
They bring a religious voice to the government EG: Sunday trading bill
They deal with anything with morals attached
What is the lord speaker
They preside over debates in the house and maintain discipline
What is the legislative process for the House of Commons
First reading- MPs are informed about bill or propose legislation.
Second reading- Debate on bill, followed by vote
Committee stage- If the commons vote in favour, a public bill committee is formed to consider it line by line, this committee can propose amendments.
Report stage- The bill is debated again
Third reading- There is a final debate and last opportunity to block legislation
Passage to the other place- Theyre passed onto House of Lords
Royal assent- The monarch signs the bill into law, and its now an act of parliament
What types of legislation passes through parliament
Public bills Primary Legislation Secondary legislation Private members bills Private Bills
What are public bills
These are bills presented by the government. They are expected to pass successfully into law
What is primary legislation
These are known as ‘Ministerial orders’. Under powers granted in primary legislation, ministers or other bodies may make minor regulations on their own. Most orders arent debated in parliament but parliament has the option of vetoing (right to reject) such legislation
What are private members’ bills
Backbench MPs may enter a ballot allowing five of them each year to present their own proposed piece of legislation. These rarely pass into law unless they receive the support of government. There is usually not enough parliamentary time
What are private bills
These bills are presented by individuals or organisations outside government and parliament. They apply to parliament for permission to take certain action which are currently forbidden (Usually building or land use)
What functions do peers perform
- They represent different sections of society in parliament, including ethnic, age, hospital patients and different professions,
- They advocate in favour of important political causes, ensuring that they are given as much publicity as possible: Typical causes are environmental issues, human rights, animal welfare.
- Peers that have expertise play a valuable role in examining proposed legislation.
- As every government department has a frontbench representative in the lords, it gives peers the opportunity to call government to account.
What are the functions of the House of Commons
Scrutiny role
Legislative role
representative role
What is the scrutiny role in HOC
This involves examining the work of the government and holding it to account for its actions. Scrutiny can entain criticising government actions, forcing ministers to explain policy and can dismiss a government through a vote of no confidence
What is the Legislative role in HOC
Any proposed legislation is examined by MPs.
They make amendments to improve the legislation and to protect the interest of minorities.
Legislation introduced in the house of commons can be killed by the guillotine motion.
What is the representative role in HOC
Mps are expected to ensure the interest of their constituencies are protected. They have to represent their constituencies.
What are the functions of the House of Lords
It also has a scrutiny, legislative, representative role but its more limited as its conducted differently.
