the structure and role of the House of Commons and the House of Lords Flashcards
what is the HOC?
The primary chamber of the UK legislature, directly elected by voters.
what is the HOL?
The second chamber of the UK legislature, not directly elected by voters.
what is the structure of the HOC?
- 650 MPs, each elected from a constituency
- MPs are divided into backbench and frontbench MPs
- MPs do a lot of their work in committees, the main ones are select committees and legislative committees
what is a party whip?
they are appointed by main parties and they ensure the MPs in their parties are remaining loyal to the party and inform them on issues
what is the difference between frontbench and backbench MPs?
frontbench MPs are more senior, they are ministers, and party officials appointed by the PM, there are also opposition frontbench MPs
whereas backbench MPs are the majority, and can be more independent than frontbench MPs but are still expected to show party loyalty
what is the structure of the HOL?
- 92 hereditary peers
- 26 are archbishops
- the rest of the members are life peers
- unelected chamber
- scrutinise government
what are life peers?
someone who is granted a peerage, which entitles the holder to attend the HOL, take part in debates and scrutinise and vote on legislation, this is for life, and unlike hereditary peers, it cannot be passed down to their children
how do you become an MP?
- join a party
- get placed on the party’s approval central list of candidates
- get nominated as the prospective parliamentary candidate for a constituency by being elected by the local members
- when an election is called, ensure that you are nominated by at least ten local residents and registered with the constituencies returning officer
- win a plurality of votes in the constituency when a general election is held
what are crossbenchers?
those of the HOL who are not formal members of a party, and are independent minded
how might the HOL be reformed?
- an all appointed second chamber
- an all elected second chamber
what are the problems with the current HOL?
- an unelected legislature is undemocratic
- too many members of the current HOL are not active or are only semi-active
appointment process of life peers
Nominated, either by current party leader, the House of Lords Appointments
Commission or the public
Nominees are considered and vetted by the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission and the names are then passed to the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister considers the list and passes it to the monarch, who issues official Letters Patent
The newly created life peer presents their Letters Patent and is sworn in as a life peer in a short ceremony
the functions of the HOC
legislating
scrutiny of government
representation
national debate
social representation
how can the HOC legislate?
- they grant the government legitimacy for what it does
- private member bills
- pass legislation and approve public finances
what are private member bills?
when backbench MPs develop their own legislation
what is the process of a private member bill?
ballot : names of backbench MPs are randomly drawn and there is an allocated time to discuss the proposed bill
this is where MPs make a ten minute speech of their bill.
they can be introduced through a presentation
what is the problem with private member bills?
the chances of seeing it through to law are small
give 2 examples of private member bills that happened 2017-2019
Animal Welfare Act 2019 by Sir Oliver Heald cons MP
Assaults on emergency workers Act 2018 by Chris Bryant labour MP
what is the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019? what was a problem with it?
banned the practice of upskirting
it was difficult to pass onto law as it took a whole year
how can the Lords legislate?
they do not really legitimise legislation
- they can scrutinise proposed legislation, to give their opinion and ask the government to think again and maybe amend the proposals
- they have the power to delay legislation for up to one year
what can the commons do when the lords delays legislation?
they can vote to bypass legislation and pass legislation without approval from the lords after the one year delay
when has the Commons bypassed legislation from the lords? (2)
- The Hunting Act 2004: banning fox hunting
- Sexual Offences Amendment Act 2000: lowering the age of consent for gay men to 16
the Sailsbury Convention
the lords cannot obstruct any proposed legislation that was contained in the government’s manifesto.
1911 and 1949 parliament acts
the lords can only delay legislation for one year and have no legislative control over financial matters.
weaknesses of the HOC
- MPs are expected to be loyal to their party
- it is hard to pass legislation without a decisive majority
- MPs lack research facilities
- there are few opportunities for MPs to raise issues on the floor of the house
strengths of the HOC
- MPs can be influential in select committees
- collectively MPs can get rid of government
- MPs can attract considerable public and media attention
- without a majority in the commons, small groups of MPs can become extremely influential
Public Accounts Committee
- scrutinises value for money: the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending and generally holds the government to account
- members are elected by MPs so are independent
- unanimous conclusions
- high profile in the media
Liason Committee
Committee that includes the chairs of all select committees and questions the prime minister on public policy twice a year
Backbench Business Committee
determines the business of the house for more than 20 days a year. it decides what backbenchers will debate on those days
example of a departmental committee report
2016 work and pensions committee investigated the collapse of BHS and the loss of the employee’s pension fund. the company was reported to the pensions regulator.
what happens in PMQTs?
every Wednesday for 30 mins, the PM is questioned
why are PMQTs important?
hold government to account, and shows opinions and policies of the opposition
what is commons questioning?
when the minister sits in the House of Commons and faces questioning, they will have to prepare a good case for what they propose to do/ what they have done
it puts the government on the spot
when have commons questioning been effective?
has the power to force someone out of parliament (e.g. Amber Rudd and the windrush generation)
what are committees?
members of the Commons investigate the quality of government, e.g. whether taxpayers money is being well spent, and if government is rational and efficient
why are committees important?
they asses proposed legislations and see whether it can be altered or ammended to protect the interests of minorities
how effective are committees?
they do not have the power to reject proposed legislation as a whole, meaning the Commons are more effective
what is commons voting?
The commons can refuse to pass a piece of legislation, and it weakens the government/forces government to think again
why is commons voting important?
if it happens enough, it can force a prime minister out of power, for example, Theresa May was forced out of power in 2019, when she failed to pass proposals for Brexit
how is commons voting effective?
has the power to force the prime minister out of power by holding them to account
what is a vote of confidence?
the commons can remove a government by passing a vote of confidence if they are unhappy with the current government
when has a vote of no confidence been effective?
e.g. in 1979, James Callagham was voted out due to failure to suport the interests of minority government
why are votes of no confidence important?
it has the power to force someone out of power, like Callaghan, but Theresa May survived her vote of no confidence in 2019
how important is the opposition leaders role?
- the opposition have to look like they are a better government in waiting in order to receive more votes
- have to scrutinise government policy
- has the right to ask 6 questions during PMQT
- important to highlight short fallings of the government and offer their own political solutions
name a weak opposition role
Jeremy Corbyn because he couldn’t speak up for Labour during questions about Brexit
he was ‘on the fence’
what is secondary legislation?
legislation that is made by government ministers, but do not have to pass through the full procedure
when can the HOL claim to be more important than the HOC ?
October 2015, the HOL voted against secondary legislation that would have reduced the tax level paid to low income families, this forced the government to amend the legislation until it is accepted by peers
in what ways can the HOC scrutinise government?
- criticism (PMQTs)
- forcing the government to justify its policies
- departmental committees investigate the quality of the government
- refuse to pass legislation
- vote of no confidence to remove a government, but this is rare
when have the HOC refused to pass legislation?
in 2016, they voted against a new law extending legal opening hours for large stores on Sundays
in what ways can the HOL scrutinise the government?
- many members of the HOL are experts in their field, and have a lot to offer
- the ‘committee stage’ : they can amend a bill so severely so that government is forced to drop it
in what ways can an MP represent their constituency?
they can approach an MP over disputes with a public body, such as HMRC, or the Department for Work and Pensions over welfare payments
most MPs hold ‘surgeries’ when constituents can bring their problems to the MPs attention if they feel they have a good case
2 times where an MP has disagreed with their constituency
the fracking debate: conservatives support fracking but conservative constituents don’t
HS2: expansion of Heathrow
constituency representation: the Lords
ha u got tricked ;D
the Lords only represent the interests of their own members, and has no constituency to represent
how many women are in parliament in 2019 compared to 1979?
1979: 19
2019: 220
many MPs are over the age of 40 in 2019?
514- they are old mate
how many MPs are from a minority ethnic background?
65 out of 650 - that is barely anything
how many conservative MPs are from private schools compared to labour?
conservative: 44%
labour: 19%
when has parliament been seen as important in their role in government?
Iraq war debate 2003
gone to war based on a debate in parliament instead of royal prerogative due to how controversial it was
parliament was given the opportunity to decide
what is an urgent question?
when backbench MPs force the prime minister to answer a question , which is empowering for backbenchers
comparing powers of the HOC and the HOL
powers and functions of the HOC only
- examine and approve financial affairs of the government
- veto legislation
- dismiss government by a vote of no confidence
- examine the work of government departments
- final approval for amendments to legislation
comparing powers of the HOC and the HOL
powers and functions that are shared between the chambers
- debating legislation and voting on proposals
- proposing amendments
- calling government and individual ministers to account
- debating key issues of the day
- private members may introduce their own legislation
comparing powers of the HOC and the HOL
powers and functions of the HOL only
- examine secondary legislation and making recommendations
- delaying primary legislation for up to one year
