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?
830 in 2025
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
What is a Referendum
A direct public vote on a policy measure, the opposite of representative government.
What is the House of Commons
The elected portion of parliament and where most power lies.
what is an Member of parliament (MP)
Person formally and directly elected by voters to sit in the House of Commons.
Which chamber holds the majority of power in Parliament, and why?
- Commons has majority of the power
- this is due to the parliament act 1911 and 1949
what is a party Whip?
- in charge of party discipline and ensuring 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Example of a whip withdrawn for political disloyalty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
- Boris Johnson withdrew the whip from 21 Conservative MPs who voted against the government on a motion to take control of parliamentary business during the Brexit process.
What is a Frontbencher
- members of the governing party/parties who are also ministers in the government
- also to opposition MPs who are shadow ministers
what are backbenchers
MPs who are not in the government or opposition frontbench but can influence policy through debates and voting.
example of a 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.”
- outcome: Led to parliamentary moves that forced the government to request an extension to Article 50, delaying Brexit.
What is the role of Parliament in the legislative process?
- Laws are introduced, debated, and passed, mostly as government-backed public bills
- From 2015-17, 48 out of 55 government bills were passed.
what is meant by the term representative in politics
- parliament represents people, geographically through constituencies and in terms of political ideas through parties
what does the term scrutiny mean in UK politics
- parliament has the role of checking and scrutinising the government by questioning its actions and poring over its legislative plans
what is a public bill
- a proposed law that applies to the entire country
- usually introduced by parliament
- most laws passed in parliament are public bills
What are the stages of a bill passing through Parliament?
- First reading, the bill is introduced and read out with no debate
- Second Reading, general debate on the bill’s purpose and principles, rare to be rejected
- Committee stage, bill is sent to public bill committees detailed examination, debate and amendment of the bill
- report stage, further consideration and amendment of the bill by the whole House
- Third Reading, final debate and approval of the bill
- House of Lords, the bill goes through similar stages in the Lords
- Royal Assent, the bill receives formal approval and becomes law (formality)
On average, how many public bills are passed through Parliament each year?
- On average, around 30-40 public bills are passed by parliament each year
- 31 being passed in 2019.
What is parliamentary ping pong?
- process where a bill is repeatedly sent between Commons and lords
- done until both agree on content
What is an example of parliamentary ping pong?
- Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
- 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
- Bills that only affect specific individuals, organisations or local areas, rather than the general public
- e.g. The London Local Authorities Act which grants additional powers to London councils.
what are ballot bills
- bills introduced by MPs who have won a place in a ballot (random draw)
- these are not government backed and have limited time for debate
MPs with constituencies are representatives of:
their constituents/voters
their party
special interests/groups they may feel strongly about
arguments that parliament does not represent well
- Unequal constituencies – Some have nearly 6× the population of others.
- FPTP system: Favours two main parties, limiting broader representation.
- Gender imbalance: Only 40% of MPs are women, despite women being 51% of the UK.
- MPs often prioritise party lines over their constituents’ wishes, especially with strong party discipline, espcially with party whips
arguments that parliament represents well
- Geographic coverage: 650 constituencies ensure nationwide representation.
- Improving gender balance: 34% of MPs (2024) were women, the highest ever.
- More diverse backgrounds: 62% of MPs (2024) attended state schools.
- Greater ethnic representation: 13% of MPs (2024) from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Theories of representation
Burkean or trustee theory
Delegate theory
Mandate theory
What is the Burkean or trustee theory
- MP’s act in the best interest of their constituents, but are trusted to use their judgment
- MP’s are not bound by the wishes of their voters and can vote against public opinion if they believe its for the greater good
What it the delegate theory of representation?
- MPs are bound to act according to the wishes of their constituents
- they act as a direct representative of their voters
what is the mandate Mandate theory?
- MP’s are elected to implement policies outlined in their parties manifesto
- should carry out the will of the party over constituents or personal interests
what is Parliamentary Privilege?
- grants legal immunity and special rights to MP’s and lords, ensuring they can perform their duties without interference
- e.g. free speech and protection from being sued for slander in parliament
what are PMQs?
- Every Wednesday for 30 minutes
- MPs can ask the PM about any issue
- major opportunity for scrutiny
Evidence for PMQs as an effective way of checking the government
- high public and media attention, increasing public awareness
- EVERY Wednesday for 30 mins, ensuring regular accountability
- opposition gets 6 key questions to challenge the PM e.g. 2021 Boris Johnson’s approval ratings dropped significantly after repeated PMQs attacks over Partygate
Negatives of PMQ’s for scrutinising the government
- Prime minister can avoid giving direct answers e.g. 2018, 53% of PMQ answers were evasive
- personal attacks rather than scrutiny e.g. 2017, 60% of questions were direct attacks on PM
- Leader of opposition asks most of the questions, less room for backbench MP’s or others to scrutinise e.g. 2019, 50% of questions were by opposition leader
- limited time of only 30 mins
what are the different types of committees?
- public bill committees
- select committees
- Lords committees
What are public bill committees
- temporary committees in the HoC responsible for examining and amending proposed legislation
- usually 16-50 MP’s
- call in witnesses (experts, interest groups, ministers) for evidence
What are the advantages of bill committees?
- Detailed scrutiny: Committees examine bills line by line, allowing for thorough review.
- There are normally two joint chairs, one each from the governing party and the Official Opposition.
- Can make effective changes to bills. e.g. the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 added journalist protections.
- Expert input: Can call on experts, stakeholders, and ministers to provide evidence.
What are the disadvantages of public bill committees?
- Government majority dominates: Membership reflects party balance in the Commons, so the government usually controls the outcome.
- Major amendments to bills are unlikely
- Temporary membership: only 8% of PBC MPs also serve on the relevant departmental select committee, hindering policy area expertise.
What are select committees?
- permanent committees in both HoL and HoC
- scrutinise government policy e.g. health, education, defence
Give an example of a select committee and their role
- Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
- Its role is to have an overview of how efficiently government spends money
- launches inquiries into major government projects such as the HS2 rail
what is the composition of select committees
- Most Commons SC have 11 MPs but some have more
- Lord usually have between 12-15
- governing party has a majority
argument that select committees are effective for scrutinising government
- examines policy in depth, questioning ministers, civil servants and experts
- Most chairs are elected by MP’s reducing gov control e.g. 40% of committee chairs are from opposition party
- Can lead to gov U-turns or reforms e.g. 2023 PAC report on HS2 overspending led to project cuts
arguments that select committees are not effective for scrutinising the government
- government can ignore recommendations e.g. 2023 Home Affairs Committees immigration reform proposals were most rejected
- Committees can summon witnesses but attendance cannot be enforced. e.g. 2024, senior civil servant refused to appear before PAC with no issues
- Committees lack funding and staff, limiting their ability to scrutinise. E.g. 2024, average committee had 8 staff members
What is the Liaison Committee?
- committee made up of all select committee chairs
- responsible for holding PM to account twice a year evidence sessions
strengths of Liaison Committees?
- can scrutinise policies and actions of the PM e.g. 2023, Rishi on NHS funding
- Cross-party representation: Reduces partisan bias and improves the quality of scrutiny.
- Liaison Committee allows for longer, more detailed questioning, making it harder for the PM to avoid scrutiny.
Weaknesses of Liaison Committees?
- PM can avoid answering as there are no legal requirements
- cannot enforce policy changes
- only meets twice a year
- Compared to PMQs, the Liaison Committee sessions receive less media attention.
role of opposition
- hold the government to account
- provide a clear alternative government
- debates and votes, votes of no confidence and opposition day debates
What is executive dominance?
The Prime Minister and government (executive) control Parliament to such an extent that meaningful scrutiny and accountability are weakened.
Evidence for executive dominance over parliament
- government bills are often passed with little resistance, gov holds a majority in the commons and use whips
- gov have control over parliamentary time, determining majority of debate time
- gov can ignore select committees, 60% of opposition amendments are not accepted
Evidence against executive dominance over parliament
- During minority or coalition governments, they can be defeated in Commons. e.g. May’s Brexit deals being rejected multiple times
- select committees can scrutinise government policy and expose failures e.g. public accounts committee
- rebellions from MP’s within the governing party can block or force change e.g. 2019 conservative party rebellion over Brexit
