The structure and role of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Question 1

what are the 3 components to parliament

Answer 1

house of commons
house of lords
the monarch

Question 2

what is the uk system called and why

Answer 2

a bicameral system
made up of 2 chambers

Question 3

what are the 5 key ROLLS of parliament

Answer 3

R. Representation - represent Mps constituencies
O. Offering gov ministers - parliament is recruting pool for minister have to either be from commons or lords
L. Legislation - bills proposed must go through both houses before becoming laws
L. Legitmisation - as gov is not directly elected so legitmacy rests on commons if commons passes ‘motion of no confidence’ gov will be disolved and general election will be held
S. Scrutiny - to examine the work of the gov

Question 4

what are public bills

Answer 4

bills that will affect the population as a whole
mostly introduced by government
Can be introduced in both house of lords or commons
Bills that are regarding fincances and spending can only be introuduced in commons

Question 5

what are some example of public bills

Answer 5

Coronavirus Act (2020) – This bill laid out the powers that the government had to deal with
the Coronavirus Pandemic. For example, the ability to place regions of the country in
lockdown stemmed from the powers awarded to Ministers in this bill.
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act (2020) – This is the bill that confirmed
Britain’s exit from the European Union on the 31.01.2020 in British law.
United Kingdom Internal Market Act (2020) – This is the bill that helped to regulate the
internal markets of the UK following the end of the transition period with the European
Union.

Question 6

what are private member bills

Answer 6

Private Members Bills are bills that are introduced by backbenchers. They type of public bill As are not introduced by the Government, Private Members Bills are extremely difficult to pass and
difficult to introduce in the first place.

Question 7

what are examples of private member bills

Answer 7

Assaults on Retail Workers (Offences) Bill (2020) – This bill was introduced by Labour MP Alex Norris. It
aimed to make the assault of retail workers a specific offence. This would mean that assault on a retail worker
might result in a longer sentence than a similar offence committed in a different setting. The bill fell after its
First Reading.
Pets (Microchips) Bill (2021) – This bill was introduced by Conservative MP James Daly and would have
made it a legal requirement to check a pet for a microchip and contact its owner if a microchip was found before
it was put down. The bill fell after its First Reading.

Question 8

what are private member ballots

Answer 8

a way private memebr bills can be intoduced
In every parliamentary session a lottery is held in which members can apply for a slot to get
the chance to introduce a Private Members Bill. Only 30 slots are available, and only the first seven are likely to get a full
day’s debate in the Commons.

Question 9

what is an example of a recent bill passed from a ballot

Answer 9

Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act (2019) – introduced by a Labour Backbencher called
Geoffrey Robinson. This bill changes organ donation rules so that in future it is presumed people are happy for their organs to be donated unless they explicitly opt out if their next of kin can indicate they would have
opted out

Question 10

what is the ten minute rule bill

Answer 10

another way private memebr bills are chosen to be introduced
chance to introduce a bill to Parliament and to talk about it for ten minutes.
Ten minutes is also allocated for debate. Often, Ten Minute Rule Bills are used as a chance to advertise an issue, rather
than a serious attempt to pass the bill.

Question 11

what is the downfall of private memeber bills

Answer 11

since 2015 and 2021 only 1.1% have recieved royal assent
Many Mps such as Christopher Chope believe that although none of the PMB become laws (introduced 119) none became laws it was representing and drawing attention to their constiuents views in the chamber

Question 12

why are Private member bills still important
give an example

Answer 12

It allows Backbench MPs to advertise an issue. Importantly, this is a very
prominent way for an MP to show their constituents that they are representing them.
eg. in 2019 Theresa May, then a backbench MP, introduced a bill to increase the maximum sentence for Death by Dangerous Driving. In her speech, she referenced three of her Maidenhead constituents. This speech
was reported favourably in her local paper. Her campaign led to the Government
including May’s proposals in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021. to increase the penalties for dangerous driving raising the maximum penalty for causing a death whilst under the influence of drink
and drugs to fourteen years

Question 13

what is ordinary presentation

Answer 13

allows mps to introduce a bill to parliament in writing, do not have chance to speak so there is no guarentee of debate

Question 14

what is an example of ordinary presentation

Answer 14

september 2019, MPs managed to control parliamentary agenda in order to legislate to stop a nodeal Brexit from being possible in 2019. introduce by ordinary presentation led by Labour’s Hillary Benn. He managed to persuade Parliament to pass the European Union (Withdrawal) Act (2019). This was passed from Commons to the lords 2 days later .this bill forced the Prime Minister to seek an extension to the Article 50 period.

Question 15

what are the statistics for the differnt bill types that became acts in parliament

Answer 15

76.9% were Government Bills
6.7% were Private Bills
16.2% were Private Members Bills

Question 16

why is it unliklley for private memebr bills to come laws

Answer 16

Lack of time - only 35 days in parlimentary session are put aside for backbench buisness
Objections from other Backbench Mps -often, opposition backbench MPs will
object to a bill being put forward without any debate. eg. The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill (2019) wasto try to criminalise a loophole in the law that meant that so-called upskirting (taking a surreptitious photo up somebody’s skirt) not a crime. was bought up as a Private Members Bill the Conservative MP Christopher Chope objected. He said he was not objecting to the issue, but the way the Government was using backbench Fridays to push through bills that they wanted to pass.

Question 17

why do mps bother with priavte member bills

Answer 17

for publicity and presitige
pressure can put pressure on gove to support the issue if its under a lot of support from constiuents
scrutiny of government chance to scrutinise goverment policy important part of parlimentary process whether it creates change or not

Question 18

what are hybrid bills

Answer 18

have aspects of both a private and public nature. are about an issue that will
affect the general population but also have a significant other impact on a certain group of people.

Question 19

what is the parliamentary process like for hybrid bills

Answer 19

Hybrid Bills face a
larger parliamentary process that Public Bills, because a longer period is required to allow for adequate petitioning. Major
national infrastructure products, like High-Speed Rail, have been Hybrid Bills.

Question 20

what is an example of a hybrid bill

Answer 20

High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill (2020) – This Act made provision for
building the High-Speed Rail link between Birmingham and Crewe.

Question 21

what are the distinct role of the house of commons

Answer 21

• Approval of money bills and taxation.
• Ability to block government legislation entirely.
• Ability to remove a government through a vote of no confidence.
• Ability to represents constituents

Question 22

what roles do the lords and the commons share

Answer 22

Debating legislation and suggesting amendments.
- Holding debates into issues of national security.
- Introducing legislation, either through Government Ministers or backbenchers.
- Scrutinising the actions of the Executive.

Question 23

what is a distinct role the lords do

Answer 23

examining secondary legislation in detail

Question 24

what are some factors that ensure the primacy of the house of commons

Answer 24

Democratic Legitimacy: The fact the House of Commons is democratically elected gives the House of Commons
greater legitimacy and means the House of Lords will likely back down in any showdown with the Commons.
- Statutes: There are several laws that help enforce the dominance of the House of Commons. Most notable of these
are the Parliament Acts that mean that the House of Lords can only delay, and not block, legislation.
- Conventions: There are several conventions that limit the power of the House of Lords. Most notably is the Salisbury
Convention that dictates that the House of Lords will not vote against something that is in the manifesto of the governing
party.
- Financial Privilege: The House of Commons has financial privilege, and the House of Lords (by convention) does
not vote against bills relating to supply or taxation. This is a significant power that the Commons has but the Lords does
not possess.

Question 26

How representative is the house of commons

Answer 26

women 34%
Black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME)
10%
LGBTQ 9%
Privately educated 27%
Oxbridge Educated 19%
Avg age 51 yrs

Question 27

what is the representation of the actual uk population for women, BAME, LGBTQ+, average age privately and oxbridge educated

Answer 27

women 51%
BAME 18%
LGBTQ 1.5%
private educated 6.4% in england
oxbridge educated 1%