the legislative process

Question 1

1st stage - FR

Answer 1

-first reading
-the short title of the bill is read out, and then an order for the bill to be published is made
-there is no vote and the bill cannot be discussed or amended in any way

Question 2

2nd stage - SR

Answer 2

-second reading
-the main opportunity for debate, questions and voting on the general principles of a bill
-amendments can be proposed/voted on
-sometimes the government can face defeats at this stage e.g. in 2017 the commons voted by 309 to 305 to give parliament the final say on the brexit deal

Question 3

3rd stage - CS

Answer 3

-committee stage
-the longest stage and where the most scrutiny happens
-a chance to go over the bill and any amendments made in the second reading stage
-each bill is given its own public bill committee comprised of backbench MPs who go over all the clauses in the bill
-major changes are rare as the governing party always has a majority in the committee, but small changes to wording can improve the bill’s quality

Question 4

4th stage - RS

Answer 4

-report stage
-any changes made at the committee stage are discussed and voted on
-the last chance for MPs to propose further amendments

Question 5

5th stage -TR

Answer 5

-third reading
-short debate
-no further changes can be introduced at this stage
-a final vote on the bill takes place before it goes for royal assent

Question 6

what involvement does the House of Lords have in the legislative process?

Answer 6

-the lords has a key role in revising and amending legislation and can ack as a check on the commons and government, but the commons always has the final say
-bills usually begin their parliamentary life in the commons and then go through the same process in the lords
-however occasionally a bill is introduced to the lords first, normally non-controversial ones e.g. air traffic management act 2021
-it’s rare for the lords to reject a bill, but if they do the parliament act is invoked which means the bill automatically becomes law after a year- act has been used 7 times
-‘parliamentary pingpong’ - bills going back and forth between the commons and lords in their final stage

Question 7

6th stage - RA

Answer 7

-royal assent
-after the bill has been approved by both houses or just the commons if the parliament act has been used, it goes to the monarch who will then officially agree to make the bill an act of parliament

Question 8

how successfully does the legislative process hold the executive to account? - successfully:

Question 9

how successfully does the legislative process hold the executive to account? - not successfully:

Answer 9

-all of the discussions in the commons are controlled by the party whips
-the government can pass a programme motion which limits the discussion time given for a bill
-whips decide which MPs go on the public bill committee - likely to pick loyal MPs