UK Paper 2: Parliament

Question 1

what is parliament?

Answer 1

the british legislature made up of the house of commons, the house of lords and the monarch.

Question 2

what is the legislature?

Answer 2

the law-making body in a country or state. in the uk, this is parliament.

Question 3

what is the executive?

Answer 3

the branch of government that is responsible for the laws and policies made by parliament. at present, this is the conservative party cabinet (inner government)

Question 4

what is fusion of powers?

Answer 4

where the executive and legislative branches of the government are joined or overlapping. the term was first used by british constitutional expert walter bagehot.

Question 5

what is separation of powers?

Answer 5

where the three branches of state are separate, independent bodies. in the uk there is a division of powers between the judiciary and parliament.

Question 6

what is a vote of confidence?

Answer 6

a motion on the commons with the wording: “that this house has no confidence in HM government”. if the vote is lost, a government may have to step down and if a new government can’t be formed, a general election is called.

Question 7

what is a head of state?

Answer 7

the leading representative of a state, who personally embodies the state’s power and authority. in the uk this is the monarch, while in the us it is the president.

Question 8

what is a confidence and supply arrangement?

Answer 8

the right to reomve the government and grant or withhold funding. also used to describe a type of informal coalition agreement where the minority partner agrees to provide this in exchange for policy concessions.

Question 9

what is a backbencher?

Answer 9

an MP who does not hold a ministerial or “shadow” ministerial post: so-called because they tend to sit on the back benches in the HoC.

Question 10

what is a frontbencher?

Answer 10

an MP who holds a ministerial or shadow ministerial post: tend to sit on the front benches

Question 11

what are whips and their roles?

Answer 11

all parties have a group of officials known as whips who are responsible or ensuring that the work of the Parliamentary party runs as smoothly as possible. their roles include:
-working with the opposition whip to arrange the business of the house and send out memos
-responsible for “pairing” MPs of opposing parties who wish to be absent from the house, so their votes cancel out
-ensure that the party leader is aware of the feelings of MPs and vice versa
-incentives and sanctions available to ensure MPs “toe the party line”
-MPs may have the “whip withdrawn” which means expulsion from the party.

Question 12

what is the speaker and their role?

Answer 12

the chair of the commons - plays an important part in its proceedings. speaker is an MP and is elected to the role by fellow MPs. although they are a member of a party, they are expected to act with absolute impartiality once they become speaker. normally their constituency is not contested at election time. speaker takes no active part in debates. roles include:
-calling upon MPs to speak in debates
-ensuring that parties receive their fair share of debating time.
-disciplining MPs when they break the rules and procedures of the house
-casting the deciding vote in the event of a tie (convention dictates that this is usually to uphold the government)

Question 13

what are the main powers of the HoC?

Answer 13

-supreme legislative power - in theory the commons can make, unmake or amend any law they please
-the power to approve the government’s budget and any “money bills”
-select committees only exist in the commons. the lords have SCs but they are not focused on scrutinising government departments
-power to question the PM and govt ministers in PMQs or MQs.
-power to represent the people and be held accountable
-the power to remove the government of the day - if a government is defeated in a vote of confidence they are obliged to resign.

Question 14

what are the main powers of the HoL?

Answer 14

-lords can delay bills passed by the commons for up to one year
-lords cannot delay money bills
-salisbury convention outlines that the lords cannot defeat measures that are oulined in the government’s election manifesto
-lords are more independent with less loyalty to parties, with approx 1/4 being crossbenchers. lords tend to be less loyal because they have either joined as crossbenchers or because they are not seeking party approval.

Question 15

what is a select committee?

Answer 15

committees responisble for scrutinising the work of government departments. there are also other select committees that take on a wider remit.

Question 16

what is a money bill?

Answer 16

a bill that contains significant financial measures, as determined by the speaker of the commons.

Question 17

what is the salisbury convention?

Answer 17

the convention whereby the lords does not delay or block legislation that was included in a government’s manifesto.

Question 18

what are crossbenchers?

Answer 18

members of the lords who are not affiliated to any party and have no party loyalty.

Question 19

what is the process of legislation being passed

Answer 19

a bill has its first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, and third reading, then moves to the lords if it started in the commons or vice versa. it then moves between the commons and the lords in “ping pong” with each house making various amendments, before finally it gains royal assent and becomes law.

Question 20

what is ping pong?

Answer 20

colloquial term for the process by which legislation goes back and forth between the commons and lords to find common ground.

Question 21

what is a private members bill?

Answer 21

a PMB is a bill proposed by an MP who is not a member of the government, usually through an annual ballot.

Question 22

what is a minority government?

Answer 22

a government that does not have overall majority support in the assembly or parliement; minority governments are usually formed by single parties that are unwilling or unable to form coalitions.