UK parliament Flashcards
Holding the goverment to acccount
Debating and voting on laws
P: The main function of the house of commons (HOC)/ parliament is to make new laws and change existing ones.
E: Parliament can scutinise proposed laws by goverment during debates and voting against them if necessary.
E: Sep 2019 goverment defeted several times during the brexit process, 21 conservative MPs voting against BJ in an attempt to try stop brexit
R: Whip system. They are there to ensure MPs vote for their own party. Job is to spotpotentail problens with MPs. MPs often get an increased chance of promotion if they obided whip. They dont listen they will be deslected
E: The 21 conservative MPs which voted aginst brexot bill got deselected
L: HOC/parliament can debate, question and put presure on the goverment most giverments can rely on their backbenchers to vote with the party. If a goverment has a comfprtable majority of MPs it is unlikley they will challenge gov.
Holding goverment to account
House of Lords (HOL)
E: HOL can debate and amend bills but cannot outright object bills, they can only send them back for ammendments. Peers are unelected therefore not subject to presure from part Whips. HOL can dlay bills even if it has a strong majority from GOV
E: In 2024 the goverment suffered 5 defeats from the HOL over the rwanda bill. proposed to deport asylum seeekers to rwanda by declaring it a safe place.
R: Cannot rejact bills onlt delay for up to a year, by sending a bill back to the HOC with ammendments.
E: The safety of Rwanda bill was sent back several times with amendments befoe it finally passed in Aprail 2024
L: Provides extra scutiny, particulary important when gov has large majority where they could just steamroller bills. However most bill will get through eventually because HOL cant reject bills, HOL ability is limited.
Holding goverment to account
Attending Firts Ministers question time (FMQ)
E: Provides oppertunity for opps, MPs and backbenchers to question Prime minister about policies and current affair, putting PM on the spot.
E: Brois Johnson had to justify his reasoning for not closing boarders to restric COVID to Keir Stammer.
R: PM is given adevanced notice about questions and has a tean of civil servents who help hime prepare him for questions and answers. Not really on the spot. Often turns into a media circus with MPs shouting at each other to the point where noone can be heard.
E: For example Victoria Atkins has been reprimanded by thr duty speaker over her behaviour during parliamentry debate after she loudly interuppted another MP.
L: Quitr Ineffective, Provides very publican diredct way at address PM. The mannetr at which PMQs are carried out are very unproductive and PM get notice anout some questions
Holding Goverment to account
Commitees
E: Commitee for every area fo gov, they can question PM, call witness, revieew dpcuments and make reecomendations, all public meaning gov must justify itself if commitee is being critical.
E: Paricia Ferguson, MP Glasgow west, Chair of Scottish affair commitee,critical in the realtionshipbetween Holtrood an westminister, giving a voice to people accross Scotland.
R: Limited in their power to hold GOV to account. The number of MPs from each party in a commitee is based on how many seats a party has. It acn be difficult to hold gov to account as many are likely to support commitee. Also commitees acnnot force gov to folllow recomendations.
E: Gov did not commit to making thr changes recomended in the Environmental Audit commiteee report.
L: Commitees do hold gov to account but gov is not obliged to listen. Also majority of people incommitee will be from majority gov
Voting behaviour
Sex
