Structure & role of Parliament 2.1 - Parliament - UK Government Flashcards
Parliament
The British legislature, made up of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Monarch
House of Commons
The primary chamber of the UK legislature, directly elected by voters.
House of Lords
The second chamber of the UK legislature, not directly elected by voters.
Fixed Term Parliaments Act
2011 - General elections are supposed to be held at regular, 5 year intervals.
When can an early election be held
If government loses vote of no confidence & PM cannot form another administration within 14 days
If 2/3 MPs support the motion for an early election
Roughly how many backbenchers
About 3/4 of MPs
Categories of peers
Hereditary
Life
Lords Spiritual
Lords Spiritual
The 26 bishops of the Church of England who are members of the House of Lords for historic reasons
Main functions of parliament
Passing legislation
Scrutinising executive
Providing ministers
Representing the electorate (Commons)
Passing legislation (role of Parliament)
Most important function. Parliament is supreme legislative body in the UK
What laws can House of Lords not interfere with?
Money bills - e.g. taxes - this is an exclusive power of the elected House of Commons
Example of defeat of legislation
March 2016 Cameron’s plan to extend Sunday trading - there were Conservative rebels
divisions
Parliamentary votes
Three line whip
Written instruction for MPs to attend a division - underline 3 times = very important
To have the whip withdrawn
To be suspended from the party and therefore have to serve as an independent - used for persistent rebels
Party whips
Members of party who are responsible for ensuring MPs attend parliamentary votes (divisions) and stay in line
Argument of overriding necessity
Government can use this to pass through legislation
Example of using argument of overriding necessity
2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act - was passed in 18 days
Parliamentary scrutiny (function of parliament)
Parliament has a responsibility to exercise oversight of the executive’s actions
Methods of scrutiny
Questions to ministers
Select committees
Debates
Select committees
Select committees in the Commons investigate and report on the activities of government departments. In the Lords they carry out topic-based inquiries
Questions to ministers
E.g. Prime minister question time
Criticism of PMQ
Criticised for being theatrical and largely a point-scoring exercise dominated by the PM and leader of the opposition
Backbench Business Committee
Since 2010 this has allowed MPs to choose the topic of debate one day a week
Providing ministers (function of parliament)
Ministers sit in one of the 2 houses.
Representing the electorate (parliament function of the house of commons)
MPs represent their constituencies however they use their own judgement to make decisions. MPs are expected to respond to issues raised by constituents (e.g. a lot of the MPs who voted against HS2 represented constituencies which would be affected
House of Lords representative
Not representative as not elected. More than half of its members are over 70
How effectively does parliament perform its representative function?
Party loyalty, desire for promotion may come into conflict with the needs of the constituency - however they can often skilfully manage this
Is Commons representative of society
10% of house were ethnic minorities - 13% irl
34% women v 51% of population
