UK Politics Parliament Flashcards
Functions of Parliament
- 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
Branches of Parliament
House of Commons is elected
House of Lords is appointed
The Crown is inherited
Strengths of the Speaker
- Neutral prevents bias
- Doesn’t take part in votes
- Represents Parliament as a whole
- Holds MP’s to account
Weaknesses of the Speaker
- Can’t represent their constituency
- In the position for a long time
- Could have internal bias
- Difficult to hold to account
Strengths of the Whip
- 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
Weaknesses of the Whip
- 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
Ministers / Front Benchers Strengths
- 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
Ministers / Front Benchers Weaknesses
- No longer represent their constituents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
Leader of the Opposition Strengths
- 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
Leader of the Opposition Weaknesses
- 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
Back Benchers Strengths
- Backbenchers are increasingly important
- Introduce private member bills
- Represent constituents
- Backbenchers need to be listened to if they are to help pass bills
Back Benchers Weaknesses
- Do not have a role in government or shadow cabinet
- Can rebel against the government
Strengths of the House of Lords
- Scrutinise government
- Appointed therefore not subject to political whim
- Hereditary Peers work harder to show that they belong there
- Experts
Weaknesses of the House of Lords
- Appointed lack of democratic legitimacy
- Appointed so they don’t turn up
- Hereditary peers still exist
Parliament Act 1911
Limited Parliament’s veto powers allowing them to only delay primary legislation by 2 years.
Parliament Act 1949
Reduced delaying to only 1 year.
Salisbury Convention
Constitutional convention whereby Lords cannot oppose a second or third reading of a government’s manifesto promises.
Life Peers Act 1958
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.
House of Lords Act 1999
Decreased the number of hereditary peers to 92 aimed to be the first phase of many in democratising the Lords.
Lord Spirituals
This refers to the 26 Bishops that sit in the Lords because of their position within the Church of England.
Hereditary Peers
This refers to the 92 hereditary titles in the Lords these titles are passed down to the children of the Lords.
Life Peers
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.