UK-Parliament

Question 1

Functions of parliment

3

Answer 1

• main law passing body
• scutiny of the executive eg debates and PMQs
• representation of geographic regions and different political beliefs

Question 2

Outline the structure of the House of commons:

8

Answer 2

• 650 members
• Frontbench Mps (150), government ministers and oppositon parties
• Backbench MPs, all thsoe who are not frontbenchers (500)
• Select committees, permanent committes of backbench MPs, elected by all the MPs, their main role to scrutinise the work of gov
• Legislative committes, temporary that scrutinise legislation
• Party whips, senior MPs who seek to persuade backbenchers in their own party to vote the way party leadership wants them to
• The Speaker, presides over disputes in the house of cpmmons and takes decision on parlimentary procedure

Question 3

What are the different types of peers in House of Lords?

5

Answer 3

• hereditary peers, only 92 are allowed to sit in the house of lords although there are thousands
• life peers are appointed for life by party leaders and an appointments commission, most have allegiance to political party
• Crossbench MPs are fully dependent
• 26 Archbishops and bishops of the church of england
• lord speaker presides over debates in the house and maintains discipline

Question 4

How does a bill become a law?

6

Answer 4

1) First reading, MPs are informed about the bill or proposed legislation
2) Second reading, main debate which is followed by a vote
3) Committe stage, commons vote in facour of the bill and public committee formed to consider
4) Report stage, bill is debated again, with all passed ammendemnts included
4)Third reading, final debate and last opportunity to block it
5) Passage to the other place, most bills are first represented in teh house of commons, they next pass to the house of lords
6) Royal assent, monarch signs the bill into the lw, which signifies the formal passaged of the bill into the law

Question 5

What are the different types of legislation?

5

Answer 5

• Public bills, represented by the government
• Primary legislation, major peices that chnage laws
• Secondary legisaltion, minor regulations and not debated in parliment but parliment can veto them
• Private Mebers bills, backbenchers may enter a ballot allowing five of them each year to present their own proposed peice of legisaltion, rarely passed into law unless receive support from gov
• Private bills, presented by individuals or organisations outside gov and parliment

Question 6

Parliamentary privilege

Answer 6

Legal immunity enjoyed by members of Parliament, ensuring duties can be carried out without interference
- freedom of speech
- exclusive cognisance (regulation of internal affairs without input from outside bodies)
NOT ABOVE LAW e.g. expenses scandal 2009

Question 7

Parliamentary Sovereignty in Commons

Answer 7

Ultimate legislative supremacy
No higher law-making authority

Question 8

Vote of No Confidence in
Commons

Answer 8

Government can be removed
Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011-
Parliament dissolved after no confidence motion if no
alternative gov. is approved in 14
days

Eg March 1979
Callaghan’s Labour gov lost by 1
vote

Question 9

What are the Whips and what is there role

Answer 9

Party officials
- ensure attendance of MPs to votes
- instruct MPs on how to vote (along party lines)
- enforce disciplinary action

Question 10

Three-line whip

Answer 10

Strict instruction to attend and vote according to party line, or face disciplinary action
Issued for major votes
Eg boris Johnson’s 21 rebels that voted against the credit deal and lost the whip

Question 11

Powers of Lords

Answer 11

Propose amendments to any non-money bill
Delay bills for up to 1 year (Parliament Act 1949)

Question 12

What is a Delegate and what is the delegate model

Answer 12

Individual authorised to act on behalf of others, but bound by clear instructions
Must not vote on basis of personal views

Legislators should adhere to the will of their constituents

Question 13

What is a Trustee and what is the trustee model

Answer 13

Individual with formal
responsibility for the interests of another
Free to exercise own judgement and vote accordingly e.g. MPs

Legislators should consider the will of the people but act in ways that they believe are best for the long-term interest of the nation Burke believed that MPs knew best because they had a greater understanding of affairs of state

Question 14

Constituency
Representation

Answer 14

MPs expected to protect and advance the collective interests of their constituency as well as individual interests

Question 15

What is the Core executive

Answer 15

PM, cabinet, cabinet committees,
PM’s Office, coordinating departments (e.g. Cabinet Office and Treasury) and top civil servants
Claims that power is based on dependence rather than command

Question 16

Collective cabinet responsibility

Answer 16

The convention by which ministers must publicly support collective cabinet decisions or resign

• Michael Heseltine resignation over Westland Affair 1986
• David Davis resignation from Secretary of State for Exiting the
  EU, July 2018

Question 17

Parliment

Explain and analyse three theories of representation

HINT: B D M

Answer 17

intro: idea that mps have the ability to represent their constituants,party and their own beliefs. are elected to represent

1-Burkean/Trust theory. Own views alongside the views of their constituents. This theory has been weakened by whips and party loyalty
2-Delegate Theory. Simply ‘mouthpieces’ for their constituents. E.g 2015 Zac Goldsmith promised to resign in goc backed building a third runway at hethrow and did
3-Mandate Theory. Represent the party. Easier to do as parties because voters more aware of party names then actual representatives growth in party machine. 2019 frank feild labour, despite being elected many times and being in a safe seat, lost seat after leaving labour and standing as an independent.

Question 18

parliment

Explain and analyse three stages in the legislative process

Answer 18

Intro: legislative process is the process of passing legislation through parliment. can begin in either house except money bills which must begin in the commons

1-Second Reading. Main debate and vote over the bill before it goes to committe . Last time a government bill was stopped here was 1986- very rare
2-Committee stage. Bills are sent to a public bill committee. 63% of MPs in the committees are experts committes are proportional of the distribution of the commons(usually dominated by majority party). may suggest ammendments an write a report.
3-House of lords stage. once a bill has passed through the commons the Same process occurs in the lords. 1st,2nd,committe,report,3rd and then royal assent. Can go back and forth through each house;kown as ‘parliamentary ping-pong’ eg prevention of terrorism act 2005 went back 5 times

Question 19

parliment

Explain and analyse three ways select committees could be seen as effective methods of executive scrutiny

Answer 19

intro: select commitees hold government ministers and their departments accountable for their policy and decsion making and scrutinise legislation.

1-Covers a wide range of issues. They have tackled many high profile cases such as Brexit, racism and the police. liason committe which meets biannually to hold PM accountable
2-High profile. Could suggest an increase in political influence. From 2008 to 2010 mentions in the media of the Home affairs committee had risen from 295 to 2,033.
3-Elected by secret ballot. No whips to ensure a one sided committee. with many committe chairs from different parties

Question 20

scrutiny of the executive

Explain and analyse three ways in which the Official Opposition can challenge the government in the House of Commons.

Answer 20

intro the offical opposition are the 2nd largest party in the commons and has the power to directly scrutinise the party in power and keep them in check

1- PMQs. happens each wednesday,opposition leader asks fisrt questions and is the only mp allowed to ask follow up questions, ‘political point scoring’.keeps PM on their toes by asking the difficult questions as Tony Blair recalled that it was the most ‘nerve-racking’ experience of his life
2-opposation days. 17 days in the year dedicated to opposition where they can set agenda and present topics they wish to publicise , may be used to challenge gov standpoint eg 2022 labour used an appostion day to disscuss the state of the NHS workforce. often televised so the public so can watch
3- shadow cabinet. the opposition can present themselves as the ‘government in waiting’ with their own ministers,experts and policies. eg labour transport minister can argue against any policy put forward by the government transport minister

Question 21

how much are MPs paid?

Answer 21

salary of £81,932, and receive expenses to cover the costs of running an office, employing staff, plus accommodation in London and travel expenses to London.

Question 22

3 roles of MPs

Answer 22

Intro: Mps have a number of roles to fufill whether it be a legislative role, a representative role or a party role.

1- undertaking constituancy work. mps have a duty to all constituants, may hold constituancy surguries to engage with their constituants where issues can be directly raised to an Mp.eg parliament fulfilling its traditional role of redress of grievances, a constituent might try to get their MP to put pressure on a government department or local council to treat a complaint more fairly. could also do this by asking a parliamentary question or possibly by attempting to bring in a private members’ bill to address the issue.

2- Undertaking backbench rebellions. MPs from the governing party have increasingly been willing to vote against their own government eg 2019, 21 Conservative MPs lost the whip after they rebelled in one vote that led to the government being defeated. Backbench rebellions are especially effective when a government has a small overall majority, such as the May government (2017-19).

3- Having a key role in the selection of party leader. both Labour and the Conservatives require leadership candidates to secure a set number of nominations from their sitting MPs before a party membership vote. thus ensuring Democratic legitimacy-The authority a body (here, the Commons) possesses if it is elected and accountable to the people via free and fair elections.

Question 23

what are the three types of committees and what is their significance?

Answer 23

Select - Permanent committee - Less political and partisan, for example they sit in a horseshoe form rather than as two opposing sides facing each other. Aim for greater cross-party collaboration and consensus. Many are chaired by opposition backbenchers. Able to select their own areas for investigation and can summon witnesses.The government is not obliged to carry out any findings or recommendations in their reports.

Public bill committee - referred to as legisative committe, these are temporary comittes established to give line-byline scurinty of a specific bill and to propose ammendments - Major changes are unlikely as the governing party has a majority on the committee and party whips choose the members on each committee.

lords committees - Investigate specialist subjects, taking advantage of the Lords’ expertise and the greater amount of time (compared to MPs) available to them to examine issues. main committees eg communications, science and technology, economic affairs, the constitution and international relations. - significance - Often contain genuine specialists in their field. The governing party does not have a majority on the committees.

Question 24

how effective are select committees

YES - effective scrutiny

4

Answer 24

• PAC is responsible for government spending oversight, with their powerful oversight and questioning leading to valuable insight and therefore can provide accountability and scrutiny of the government
• For example, in 2019, PAC inquired about the liquidation of Carillion (a large construction company) and was able to raise questions surrounding the use of taxpayers money
• The most significant committee which is always chaired by a member of the opposition to increase it’s ability to effectively fulfil the scrutiny function, currently Labour MP Meg Hillier
• HOWEVER many decisions made by the Public Accounts Committee are not properly executed and the lack of resources makes it hard to work effectively

Question 25

how effective are select committees

NO - lack of power

6

Answer 25

• HOWEVER select committees do not have power over legislation and are not able to make changes to laws
• This is evidenced through the idea that only 40% of select committee observations are accepted by the government, which rarely involves major changes to policy
• They also cannot force government ministers to appear before them which weakens the effectiveness of scrutiny
• For example, in 2013, May as Home Secretary blocked the Homes Affairs Committee from interviewing the head of MI5
• This therefore evidences that select committees have many limits to their powers and therefore are not largely significant
• The majority of MPs on a select committee are members of the party in government, which may limit the effectiveness of select committees in scrutinising government ministers and governmental departments

Question 26

role of the opposition

5

Answer 26

• provide scrutiny and reasoned criticism of government policies and actions in debates and via parliamentary questions
• suggest amendments to bills
• argue for alternatives — what they would do if in power
• provide a government in-waiting, especially with a shadow cabinet
• nominate the topics for debates on 20 days in each parliamentary sees 17 go to the official opposition party, three to the second-largest opposition party

Question 27

Influence of parliament on government decisions

10

Answer 27

• the committee system and committee reports - election of select committee chairs and members (no longer appointed by party whips)
• debates and questions
• backbench rebellions in the Commons
• informal lobbying of ministers by MPs and peers
• amending legislation, especially in the Lords.

However, there are limits to parliament’s influence on government:
* Governments can and do ignore select committee reports.
* Select committees are poorly resourced compared to government departments.
* Government majorities usually see off backbench revolts.
* Party whips ensure party discipline.
* The government is in control of most of the parliamentary timetable.

Question 28

how Government control of civil servants has changed ?

before and now

Answer 28

Traditionally the government had a lot of control over civil servants appearing before select committees.
* The original Osmotherly Rules allowed plenty of scope for senior civil servants to be evasive and vague in their answers before committees.

However, they were revised in 2014 and civil servants are now required to be as helpful as possible in providing accurate, truthful and full information in accordance with the duties and responsibilities of the Civil Service Code.
* For example, in 2016 the Home Affairs Select Committee ejected Oliver Robbins, a senior civil servant, for failing to respond adequately to questions about the budget of the UK’s border force.
* Civil servants must balance their answers with due regard to ministerial accountability and not deliberately undermine their political masters — the ministers.

Question 29

Does the executive dominate parliment

YES

4

Answer 29

• Defeats in the Commons on government legislation is very rare- Tony Blair did not lose a vote during the first 8 years of his premiership
• Party discipline and the influence of the whips ensures that the majority of government bills are passed without difficulty. Even if MPs rebel, the governing party can often rely on support from opposition MPs to get a bill passed
• The government often has an extensive ‘payroll vote’ made up of ministers, junior ministers and parliamentary private secretaries- this amounts to around 100 MPs who will always vote with the government
• The government has extensive powers under secondary legislation, allowing them to change laws

Question 30

Does the executive dominate parliment

NO

Answer 30

• Increased willingness of the Lords to challenge government bills due to the lack of single-party control and removal of most hereditary peers (so increasing legitimacy)- for example the defeat of proposed tax credit cuts in 2015
• Select committees have increased in significance following the decision to elect their chairs, who potentially serve over a number of years and are independent from government. Committees can call witnesses and scrutinise government policy in depth. For example, the Public Accounts Committee, which is responsible for overseeing government expenditures, and to ensure they are effective and honest. The committee is seen as a crucial mechanism for ensuring transparency and accountability in government financial operations and is one of the most important select committees
• The PM must appear twice a year before the Liaison Committee, which is made up of the chairs of select committees, and must justify government actions