the structure and role of parliament Flashcards
How many MPs are in the House of Commons?
650
Why were there plans drawn up in 2010 to reduce the number of MPs to 600?
After the infamous MP’s expenses scandal but these have yet to be implemented.
Roughly, mow many peers sit in the House of Lords?
806 (as of 22nd November 2024)
What are life peers?
Those appointed to a peerage for their lifetime only
This was made possible by the Life Peerage Act 1958
How many hereditary peers sit in the House of Lords?
92
What are Lords temporal?
Hereditary and life peers
Referendum
A direct public vote on a policy measure, the opposite of representative government.
House of Commons
The elected portion of parliament and where most power lies.
Member of parliament (MP)
Person formally and directly elected by voters to sit in the House of Commons.
Balance of power within the two chambers:
the balance of power between the two chambers, the Commons and the Lords, shifted considerably in the twentieth century to the extent that real political power now lies only with the Commons. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 brought about this change.
The Prime Minister
leader of the largest single party, they nearly always command an overall majority in the Commons (although the periods 2010-15 and 2017-19 were something of an exception), and therefore can command and control most of the business and outcomes of the Commons.
Whips
in charge of party discipline and ensuring as far as they can that MPs stay loyal and vote the way their leaders dictate.
what is a three-line whip
A ‘three-line whip’ indicates the party leadership expects all its MPs to turn up and vote a certain way
Example of a whip withdrawn for political disloyalty
September 2019, when Boris Johnson removed the whip from 21 Tory rebels who defied the whips’ instructions not to support a motion to take control of parliamentary business from the government during the Brexit bill saga
Frontbench
This term is applied to members of the governing party/parties who are also ministers in the government and also to opposition MPs who are shadow ministers
backbenchers
Backbenchers are Members of Parliament (MPs) who do not hold a government or opposition frontbench position and are typically not involved in decision-making or leadership roles, but they may influence policy through debates and voting.
Backbench rebellion
2019 - over Brexit - 209 MPs to sign a letter to May on Tuesday, telling the prime minister: “We are united in our determination that the UK must not crash out of the EU without a deal.”
Legislative
parliament is where laws are introduced, debated and passed.- The vast majority of laws passed are public bills and government-backed bills. For example, in the two sessions of the 2015-17 parliament, 55 government bills were debated of which 48 were passed
Representative
Representative: parliament represents people, geographically through constituencies and in terms of political ideas through parties
Scrutiny
parliament has the vital role of checking and scrutinising the government by questioning its actions and poring over its legislative plans
Public bill
Bill that applies to everyone once it becomes law.
- most legislation
Process of a bill passing through parliament
1 All proposed laws (bills) must pass through both the Lords and the Commons.
2 All bills go through certain set stages in order to be passed. The length and opportunities for debate and scrutiny vary depending on the stage.
3 Every public bill is debated and can be amended.
4 Most government-backed bills become law. By contrast, most bills proposed by backbench MPs or peers do not.
5 Every bill must receive the royal assent to become law, but today this is only a formality
On average how many bills get passed through parliament and in 2019
On average, around 30-40 public bills are passed by parliament each year, with 31 being passed in 2019. F
Stages of passing legislation
- First reading
2.Second Reading - Committee stage
- Report Stage
- Third Reading
- The house of Lords stages
First Reading
the formal introduction or reading of the bill’s title by the relevant government minister. There is no vote or debate at this stage.
Second Reading
this is where the main debate on the principles of the bill takes place in the Commons chamber.
- very rare for bills to be rejected here
Committee stage
bills are then sent on to public bill committees (known as standing committees before 2006), the members of which consider the bill line by line, often suggesting amendments and sometimes calling expert witness to help inform debate
- major changes unlikely here
Report Stage
during this stage any amendments agreed in the committee stage are considered by the Commons, and accepted, rejected or changed. There is also the opportunity for further amendments to be put to the vote.
Third reading:
this is a final debate on the amended version of the bill. No further changes are permitted at this stage.
The House of Lords stages
assuming the bill has got through all its Commons stages, the process is then repeated in the Lords. Any amendments made by the upper house only become part of the bill if they are accepted by the Commons. A bill may go back and forth between the two houses, a process often dubbed ‘parliamentary ping-pong’.
examples of parliamentary ping pong
the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was considered five times by the Lords and four times by the Commons over a 30-hour period until a compromise was reached
what are private bills
Private Members’ bills are public bills introduced by MPs and Lords who are not government ministers.
what are ballot bills
Ballot bills allow MPs to propose new laws or changes to existing laws. MPs who are selected in the ballot are given a chance to introduce and debate these bills in Parliament, although passing them into law often requires significant support.
MPs with constituencies are representatives of:
their constituents/voters
their party
special interests/groups they may feel strongly about
How well does parliament perform its representation role?
Performs not well at all
- Not all constituencies are equal in population size. There are nearly six times more voters in the most populous constituency compared with the least populous.
- The first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system favours the two largest parties
- Women remain significantly under-represented. While just over half of all voters are female, only 34% of 2019’s intake of MPs were women.
- MPs increasingly come from backgrounds and have life experiences that are unrepresentative of the country as a whole. 29% of MPs were privately educated compared with 7% of the population as a whole.
How well does parliament perform its representation role?
Performs very well
- All parts of the UK are represented geographically through 650 constituencies that are roughly equally sized
- A wide range of parties is represented in the Commons, so ensuring a range of political opinions are represented.
- The Commons is becoming more diverse particularly in terms of gender, race and sexuality. A record 220 women were elected in 2019.
Theories of representation
Burkean or trustee theory
Delegate theory
Mandate theory
examples of Burkean
Nick Boles, former Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford, represented a Leave constituency but personally supported the Remain campaign. In addition, he voted against his own party in many of the Brexit votes
Burkean or trustee theory
- Theory that argues elected officials are purely representatives of their voters. Once elected, they are entirely free to act in the interests of their electors as they see fit.
- The trustee theory has been significantly weakened through the advent of strong party ties and the parliamentary whipping system
Delegate
Elected official authorised to represent and act as a mouthpiece for their constituents.
- Theory that views MPs as being bound by the wishes of their constituents — what the constituents want, the constituents get from their MP.
examples of delegate
In 2015, Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith promised his voters in Richmond Park that he would resign if the government backed a third runway at Heathrow. He stuck to his word when the government came out in favour of a third runway — he resigned from his seat in 2016 and fought the ensuing by-election as an independent.
Mandate theory
It suggests that MPs are primarily in their position to represent and carry out their party’s policies and manifesto
Parliamentary Privilege
Parliamentary privilege refers to the legal immunity and special rights granted to Members of Parliament (MPs) and Lords, allowing them to perform their duties without interference.
- freedom of speech in debates, protection from being sued for slander
when are e petitions considered
any e petition with more than 100000 signatures must be considered for debate by the Petitions Committee
example of e petition
2020 For example, one requested that the self-employed received statutory sick pay — it went on to garner nearly 700,000 digital signatures, the government refused the e-petition on sick pay for the self-employed.
PMQs
Every Wednesday for 30 minutes
How effective are PMQs?
Evidence against PMQs as an effective way of checking the government
It gives a highly misleading and distorted image of parliament’s work and how the government is scrutinised.
It is mostly an environment for ‘Punch and Judy’ politics and petty point-scoring.
An opinion poll by the independent Hansard Society found that 67% of the public felt there was too much party political point-scoring as opposed to answering the questions asked.
How effective are PMQs?
Evidence for PMQs as an effective way of checking the government
It is high profile and widely publicised, with clips often featuring in the television news or on social media.
It forces the prime minister to directly address key issues of the day. It is the most direct method of scrutiny, and most heads of the executive in other countries do not face it.
It offers particular opportunities for the leader of the opposition to stake a claim to the premiership by delivering a ‘better’ debating performance.
accountability
Committees types
public bill committees
select committees
Lords committees
Public Bill Committees
go through legislation line by line and can make changes to the bill. These committees are temporary and only last for the lifetime of the bill.
Numbers on each committee can vary but are normally between 16 and 20. The committees are named after the bill they are considering, e.g. the Equality Bill Committee.
effectiveness overall of bill committees
strengths:
- bill is scrutinised line by line
- membership invloves MP’s from different parties
- MP’s are often specialists on these bills
Negatives
- majority of members are from governing party
- party whipping makes it harder to oppose
- limited time can be spent
What are the advantages and disadvantages of public bill committees?
Advantages
They allow backbench MPs to scrutinise legislation in greater detail than is possible in a general debate.
There are normally two joint chairs, one each from the governing party and the Official Opposition.
They can and do make effective changes to government bills. e.g. the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 that dealt with the sensitive topic of electronic surveillance by the security services, additional safeguards were put in place to protect journalists.
They provide opportunities for pressure groups and individuals to put forward their views and suggestions.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of public bill committees? Disadvantage
Membership is decided in proportion to party strength in the Commons. As such the government always has a majority on the committee.
Major amendments to bills are unlikely. Just 0.5% of opposition amendments are accepted.
Membership is temporary, so MPs do not build up expertise in a particular policy area. Just 8% of MPs on bill committees also sit on the relevant departmental select committee.
Select Commitees
role - ‘To hold Ministers and Departments to account for their policy and decision-making and to support the House in its control of the supply of public money and scrutiny of legislation.’
Public accounts committee
Public Accounts Committee (PAC), dates back to 1857. Its role is to have an overview of how efficiently government spends money, so it often launches inquiries into major government projects such as the HS2 rail
composition of select committees
11 members and the total membership reflects the party balance in the Commons, ensuring the government has a majority
on each committee.
5 labour
4 conservatives
the rest
How many government recommendations by select committees are accepted
Research suggests that the government accepts around 40% of committee recommendations.
How effective are select committees in scrutinising and influencing the executive?
Effective
They operate in a less party-political manner than much of the Commons and aim for consensus not competition between different parties.
Many committee chairs are from opposition parties.
Recommendations from reports are often acted upon by the government and therefore influence policy.
They have the ability to call and question witnesses, including ministers and civil servants.
most members have some specialty
How effective are select committees in scrutinising and influencing the executive?
Not very effective
Party loyalties continue to play a significant role in the work of select committees. Between 2010 and 2019, there were votes on 125 out of 1,325 departmental select committee reports. Many were along party lines, although over Brexit- related matters the divide was often Leave/Remain.
The governing party always has a majority of committee seats.
The government is under no obligation to accept policy suggestions and indeed the majority are rejected.
Many answers can be vague or evasive and even a poor performance may not permanently end a minister’s career.
Scrutiny of the Prime minister through select committees
The Commons Liaison Committee consists of all select committee chairs and questions the prime minister on policy matters around three times a year.
4 types of opposition in parliament
The Official Opposition (since the 1920s this has been either the Labour or Conservative Party)
Other opposition parties such as the Liberal Democrats or the nationalist parties
Intra-party: opponents within the governing party
Inter-party: in a period of coalition government such as between 2010 and 2015, there can be disagreements between the different parties in government
role of opposition
offer scrutiny, check on the government, viable and practical alternative solutions
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition in UK politics?
Strengths
The opposition can position itself as an alternative government.
On occasion, such as with the Gurkhas and aspects of Brexit, the opposition can check or even change government policy.
Backbench rebels from within the governing party can present serious problems. For example, in 2012 Conservative rebels effectively blocked a bill that would have reformed the Lords.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition in UK politics?
Weaknesses
The government possesses greater resources
Opposition successes are rare. Most of the time, the government can get its legislation through parliament without huge obstacles.
Successful rebellions on major issues are rare.
Does the executive dominate parliament?
Evidence for executive dominance over parliament
Party whipping and discipline ensures government-backed bills usually pass easily and largely unamended in major ways.
Most days of parliamentary business are controlled and determined by the government.
Governments can and do ignore their reports and recommendations, 60% of them on average.
Much of question time, especially PMQs, is simply about political point-scoring and theatricals and not forensic scrutiny of policy.
Does the executive dominate parliament?
Evidence against executive dominance over parliament
In times of minority or coalition government, governments can and are defeated in the Commons. Theresa May’s Brexit deals offer a good example.
Increasingly frequent rebellions from governing party MPs can block or force changes to government policies
select committees can scrutinise government policy and can expose failures
MPs can ask questions of the prime minister and ministers in regular question time slots, which directly forces them to explain and justify their actions.
