The primeminister

Question 1

Who is the Prime minister?

Answer 1

They are the leader of the government and normally live at 10 downing street. Collectively the PM and her/his ministers from the executive branch of government

Question 2

What are the PM’s main duties?

Answer 2

Appointing ministers
chairing meetings of the cabinet
meeting the queen every week
Declaring war
Appointing senior judges, the church of England clergy, peerages and other honours
Recommending the dissolution of parliament and for a general election
Attending the PMs question time each week to answer questions from MPs
Writing the queens speech, outlining the Bills to be introduced to parliament.

Question 3

Who are the Cabinet?

Answer 3

Of the 100 or so MPs appointed ministers, only about 20 of the most senior are members of the PM’s inner circle – The Cabinet
• Those ministers that head a department are usually known as Secretaries of State
• Ministers are expected to adhere to the doctrine of “collective responsibility” – this means publicly supporting the government’s policy, even if they privately disagree with it (e.g. Robin Cook resigned from the Cabinet because he opposed the Iraq war in 2003)
• Ministers are also expected to adhere to the doctrine of “individual ministerial responsibility” –he/she takes responsibility for the actions of his/her dept and should resign if a serious error is made (e.g. Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington resigned from the Cabinet over the invasion of the Falkland Islands 1982)

Question 4

Who is the civil service?

Answer 4

Civil Servants are permanent employees of the government who are expected to be politically neutral
• Politicians (Ministers and MPs) decide on policy, the civil servants implement that policy
• The rule is ‘advisers advise and ministers decide’
• Each department is headed by a senior civil servant known as a “permanent secretary”
• Civil servants don’t change at election time – they are expected to work with whatever politicians the voters see fit to elected

Question 5

What system of goverment does the UK have?

Answer 5

A bi-cameral system of government with two legislative chambers; the house of commons (the lower house) and the house of lords (the upper house)

Question 6

What must legislation pass to become law?

Answer 6

They must pass both the house of commons and the house of lords before they recieve royal assent.

Question 7

How many elected MPs are in the House of Commons?

Answer 7

650

Question 8

What party usually forms goverment?

Answer 8

the largest

Question 9

How many people form the executive?

Answer 9

100 by being appointed ministers of junior ministers

Question 10

Who becomes the shadow cabinet?

Answer 10

The second largest party

Question 11

What happens of you are not part of the 2 largest parties

Answer 11

You become backbench MPs

Question 12

how much are MPs paid?

Answer 12

£77,379

Question 13

What do Mps do?

Answer 13

They represent their constituents and are part of political parties. They take part in debates in the house of commons and vote on bills.
• They can raise issues through Early Day Motions, Urgent Debates and Adjournment Debates
• The can introduce their own legislation – a Private Members’ Bill. MPs are chosen by ballot to do this

Question 14

How do MPs hold the executive to account?

Answer 14

They ask oral questions to the PM.

Question 15

What can Mps be elected on to?

Answer 15

• They can be elected to Select Committees – a group of backbenchers that scrutinise the work of particular departments (e.g. the Home Affairs Select Committee)
• They can be elected to Bill Committees – a group of backbenchers that scrutinise a particular Bill as it passes through the Commons.

Question 16

What are whips?

Answer 16

• Whips are MPs appointed to maintain party discipline among their fellow MPs

Question 17

What happened following the expenses scandal?

Answer 17

The independant parlimentary standards authority was set up to regulate MPs saleriesa and expenses.

Question 18

Who is the speaker in the House of Commons?

Answer 18

• The Speaker is an MP who is supposed to be politically neutral and who chairs the debates

Question 19

What is the Hansard?

Answer 19

The official record of parlimentary bussiness

Question 20

Who makes up the house of lords?

Answer 20

800 non elected memebers and it one of the largest legislatures in the world.

Question 21

Who does the House of Lords include?

Answer 21

includes 26 senior Church of England clergy
• Includes 92 Hereditary Peers
The rest are life peers

Question 22

In the house of lords who are peers that are not affiliated with a political party

Answer 22

crossbenchers

Question 23

Why were plans to create a politically elected chamber in 2011 abandoned?

Answer 23

because of disagreements between the conservertivs and the liberal democrats.

Question 24

What are the stages for the passage of Bills to be introduced

Answer 24

• Green Paper – rough draft the idea sent out for consultation
• White Paper – Firmer outline of the proposed law
• First Reading – Title of the Bill is read out on the floor of the Commons
• Second Reading – Bill is debated in the Commons
• Committee Stage – Bill is scrutinised by a committee of backbenchers
• Report Stage – Committee reports back with recommendations for amendments
• Third Reading – the Bill is debated in its final form
• The Government can impose a “guillotine” to speed up the passage of the Bill
• If the Commons passes the Bill it passes to the House of Lords
• The Lords can suggest amendments that have to accepted by the Commons
• The Lords cannot delay a Money Bill (eg the Finance Bill after the Budget)
• The Lords can delay other legislation for a maximum of 13 months
• Once the Bill is approved it receives the Royal Assent and becomes the law of the land