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UK Politics > UK Politics Parliament > Flashcards

UK Politics Parliament Flashcards

1
Q

Functions of Parliament

A
  • Advise the King on legislation
  • To receive and deliver petitions from people with grievances against the authorities
  • To grant permission for the King to levy new taxes
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2
Q

Branches of Parliament

A

House of Commons is elected
House of Lords is appointed
The Crown is inherited

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3
Q

Strengths of the Speaker

A
  • Neutral prevents bias
  • Doesn’t take part in votes
  • Represents Parliament as a whole
  • Holds MP’s to account
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4
Q

Weaknesses of the Speaker

A
  • Can’t represent their constituency
  • In the position for a long time
  • Could have internal bias
  • Difficult to hold to account
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5
Q

Strengths of the Whip

A
  • Do not appear in public or make media appearances
  • They don’t speak in debates
  • The voice of the Prime Minister informing MP’s on how to vote
  • Assisted by other whips
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6
Q

Weaknesses of the Whip

A
  • Can force MP’s into voting a certain way to toe the party line
  • There constituency does not have a voice in debates
  • Cannot express own political opinion has to listen to the Prime Minister
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7
Q

Ministers / Front Benchers Strengths

A
  • Heads of Departments
  • Members of the Government
  • Have to vote with the party
  • Enable the manifestos to be carried out
  • Members of opposition shadow cabinet
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8
Q

Ministers / Front Benchers Weaknesses

A
  • No longer represent their constituents
  • Bound by the government
  • Have to stand down from government if don’t agree with them become backbenchers
  • Can force PM’s out if lots of front benchers resign
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9
Q

Leader of the Opposition Strengths

A
  • Question and scrutinise the work of the government
  • Takes a stance against the government
  • Opposition days were they set parliaments agenda 17 days annually
  • Hold government to account
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10
Q

Leader of the Opposition Weaknesses

A
  • Votes by the opposition are non binding
  • Lead to media pressure on government
  • Can cause the government to collapse as it did under Truss leading to her removal
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11
Q

Back Benchers Strengths

A
  • Backbenchers are increasingly important
  • Introduce private member bills
  • Represent constituents
  • Backbenchers need to be listened to if they are to help pass bills
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12
Q

Back Benchers Weaknesses

A
  • Do not have a role in government or shadow cabinet
  • Can rebel against the government
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13
Q

Strengths of the House of Lords

A
  • Scrutinise government
  • Appointed therefore not subject to political whim
  • Hereditary Peers work harder to show that they belong there
  • Experts
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14
Q

Weaknesses of the House of Lords

A
  • Appointed lack of democratic legitimacy
  • Appointed so they don’t turn up
  • Hereditary peers still exist
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15
Q

Parliament Act 1911

A

Limited Parliament’s veto powers allowing them to only delay primary legislation by 2 years.

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16
Q

Parliament Act 1949

A

Reduced delaying to only 1 year.

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17
Q

Salisbury Convention

A

Constitutional convention whereby Lords cannot oppose a second or third reading of a government’s manifesto promises.

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18
Q

Life Peers Act 1958

A

Increased the ability of the PM to change the Lords makeup allowed women to be appointed and decreased the power of the monarch to appoint members.

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19
Q

House of Lords Act 1999

A

Decreased the number of hereditary peers to 92 aimed to be the first phase of many in democratising the Lords.

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20
Q

Lord Spirituals

A

This refers to the 26 Bishops that sit in the Lords because of their position within the Church of England.

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21
Q

Hereditary Peers

A

This refers to the 92 hereditary titles in the Lords these titles are passed down to the children of the Lords.

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22
Q

Life Peers

A

These are Lords, Barons, Lady and Baroness and are appointed by the Prime Minister the King must sign off in these but that is convention. House of LOrds appointment commission set up in 2000 to regulate the Lords appointments but their powers are limited.

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23
Q

Cronyism

A

Appointing of political allies to the Lords.

24
Q

Primary functions of the Commons

A
  • Legitimisation
  • Legislation
  • Scrutiny of legislation
  • Constituency representation
  • Representation of interests
  • National debates
  • Making the government accountable
25
Q

Primary functions of the Lords

A
  • Delaying
  • Scrutiny of legislation
  • National debate
  • Scrutiny of secondary legislation
26
Q

Public Bill

A

Government legislation.

27
Q

Private Bill

A

Legislation created by backbenchers.

28
Q

Ping Pong Politics

A

Legislation that goes back and forth between the Commons and the Lords

29
Q

Types of Committees

A
  • Public Bill Committee (temporary)
  • Departmental Select Committees
  • Liaison Committee
  • Public accounts Committee
30
Q

Parliamentary Sovereignty

A

Parliament has ultimate power.

31
Q

Parliamentary Sovereignty is threatened by

A
  • Large Majority
  • Supernation organisations (EU) (UN)
  • Executive
  • People
  • Supreme Court
32
Q

Parliament is Sovereign as they

A
  • Can override the Prime Minister
  • Have final say
  • Can ignore other institutions
33
Q

Cabinet

A

Around 25 Ministers but changes according to Prime MInister they head a government department.

34
Q

Prime Minister

A

Is ‘First among equals’ the PM is not like the President. They are the chief policy maker and chief executive supported by the cabinet and civil servants.

35
Q

Junior Ministers

A

75 - 100 MP’s who work under cabinet ministers in specific departments each department is responsible for an area of policy.

36
Q

Treasury

A

Managing the government’s finances supported by senior civil servants special advisors and think thanks.

37
Q

Government Departments

A

Developing and implementing specialised policies supported by civil servants special advisors and think tanks.

38
Q

Source of the Prime MInisters power

A
  • Tradition PM now holds the power that the King use to hold.
  • Party PM is always the leader of the largest party in the commons gives them the power in following and supporting a party can replace their leader in the middle of a parliamentary session.
  • Parliament each parliament including the losing party recognises the power of the PM to lead the government.
  • The people although the PM is not directly elected the people vote for the party they want to lead them which is lead by the leader that becomes the PM.
39
Q

Examples of the party replacing the Prime Minister

A
  • Brown replaced Blair in 2007
  • May replaced Cameron in 2016
  • Johnson replaced May in 2019
  • Truss replaced Johnson in 2022
  • Sunak replaced Truss in 2022
40
Q

Role of the Prime Minister

A
  • Head of Government
  • Patronage
  • Foreign Policy leader
  • Commander in chief
  • National leadership in times of crisis
  • Calling elections
  • Exercising royal prerogative
  • Appoint and Fire Ministers
41
Q

Origins of Cabinet

A
  • Privy Council set up by the Monarch
  • Under the Hanoverian Kings the Privy Council started to meet without the King / Queen
  • The cabinet became a distinct body but was still selected by the King
42
Q

Modern Cabinet

A
  • Consists of the most senior ministers (20-25)
  • All official government policies are cleared by the cabinet before they go into parliament
  • PM appoints all members of the cabinet and there is no check on their power to do this
  • All are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords
  • Most will be heads of government departments but not all
43
Q

Great Offices of State

A
  • Prime Minister
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • Foreign Secretary
  • Home Secretary
44
Q

Chancellor of the Exchequer

A
  • Supported by the Prime Minister
  • Autumn Statement (November)
  • Budget (March)
  • Budget must be passed by parliament but mostly a formal procedure
45
Q

Cabinet Committees

A

Most detailed policy is worked out here with cabinet committees and junior ministers meetings are chaired by the PM or senior ministers these can be permanent or ad hoc.

46
Q

Individual Ministers

A

Policies involving a government department specifically but require wider approval are presented to cabinet dissent is shown here.

47
Q

Legitimises government policy

A

The cabinet will organise what the government policy eventually looks like when it is presented to the public.

48
Q

Coalition

A

When 2 or more parties form a government.

49
Q

Coalition 2010 - 2015

A
  • Cabinet 22 conservatives 5 liberal democrats
  • Lib Dems were forced to go back on promise to reduce student fees
  • Fixed term Parliament Act 2011
  • Lib Dems had an AV referendum in 2011
  • Indyref 2014
  • Austerity tightening of public spending
50
Q

Collective Ministerial Responsibility

A

Ministers are all collectively responsible for government policy government stands or falls together if a minister dissents they must resign.

51
Q

Individual Ministerial Responsibility

A

Ministers are accountable for their whole departments if a department or minister makes a serious error they are required to resign. Johnson changed the code to just apologise.

52
Q

Thatcher Timeline

A

1979 - win election (43 majority)
1979 - Mountbatten assassinated by the IRA
1981 - Chelsea barracks bombing
1982 - Hyde / Regents park bombings
1982 - Falklands War
1983 - win election (144 majority)
1984 - Brighton hotel bombing (nearly killed Thatcher)
1984 - 1985 - Miners strikes
1987 - win election (102 majority)
1990 - Poll tax riots
1990 - Thatcher bought down by her cabinet

53
Q

Thatcher

A
  • Elected 1979 - 1990
  • Conservative
  • First female PM
  • Privatisation
  • Miners strikes (1983 - 1984)
  • Winter of discontent
54
Q

1997 Election

A
  • New Labour attracted centre voters
  • 8.8% swing of voters towards Blair
  • 179 majority
  • Promises of a move towards devolution
  • Majors party was split by Euro-Sceptics
  • Media endorsement by the Sun
  • Blair young, charismatic, father
55
Q

Blair Timeline successes

A

1997 - Election 179 majority
1997 - 1998 - refused to join Eurozone
1998 - Human Rights Act
1998 - Devolution
1998 - Good Friday agreement
1999 - House of Lords Reform Act
2001 - Election 167 majority
2003 - Every child matters
2004 - Civil Partnership Act
2004 - Children’s Act
2005 - Election 66 majority
2005 - Constitutional Reform Act independent judiciary
2007 - Employment rate 74.4%

56
Q

Blair Timeline Failures

A

1996 - Employment rate 69%
1997 - Death of Princess Diana
1998 - Bombing campaign against Iraq
1999 - Intervention in Kosovo
2000 - Intervention in Sierra Leone
2001 - 9/11 attacks stands with President Bush
2001 - Airstrikes in Afghanistan
2003 - War in Iraq
2005 - Election 66 majority
2005 - 7/7 bombing in London underground

57
Q

Prime Ministers and their Premierships

A

1979 - 1990 - Margaret Thatcher
1990 - 1997 - John Major
1997 - 2007 - Tony Blair
2007 - 2010 - Gordon Brown
2010 - 2016 - David Cameron
2016 - 1019 - Theresa May
2019 - 2022 - Boris Johnson
2022 - 2022 - Liz Truss
2023 - Present - Rishi Sunak

UK Politics (6 decks)

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