Unit 2: The Structure & Role Of Parliament Flashcards
What makes up the legislative branch in the UK?
Parliament - (House of Commons and House of Lords)
What makes up the executive branch in the UK?
Government (Prime Minister, Cabinet, Select Committees)
What makes up the judicial branch in the UK?
Courts of Law (Supreme Court)
Is there a separation or fusion of powers in the UK?
Fusion of powers - one can be in 2 branches at once
5 key facts about the House of Commons?
- The speaker presides over dates in the chamber, selects MPs to speak and maintains order - Lindsay Hoyle
- The number of MPs can change based on reviews of parliamentary constituencies - there are currently 650
- A whip is appointed e.g. Alan Campbell is the current chief whip of the Labour Party
- There are backbenchers and frontbenchers
- Members are awarded parliamentary privilege but no member is above the law
What are all of the speakers roles?
Presides over dates in the chamber
Selects MPs to speak
Maintains order e.g. calls ‘order’ when its necessary such as during the Brexit debate where Speaker Bercow called order on numerous occasions
May suspend MPs who break rules
Votes only if there is a tie
What party does the speaker of the House of Commons belong to?
The speaker must always remain non partisan and thus impartial
Who is the current speaker of the House of Commons?
Lindsay Hoyle
What are the whips main roles?
To ensure that MPs are attending parliamentary votes
To issue instruction on how MPs should vote
Enforce discipline within the parliamentary party
What are backbenchers?
Most of the MPs who have no ministerial or shadow ministerial posts, they are likely to be more independently minded and will vote as they wish e.g. Zarah Sultana partook in a rebellion when she voted in favour of scapping the 2 child benefit cap and voted against the Labour Party even though she’s a member of it as she was more independently minded
What are frontbenchers?
Ministers and shadow ministers, the shadow ministers role is to mainly scrutinise the role of the main cabinet
What are the 2 most important elements of parliamentary privilege?
- Freedom of speech
- Exclusive cognisance
What is exclusive cognisance?
The right of each House of Parliament to regulate its own proceedings and internal affairs without interference from any outside body
5 key facts about the House of Lords?
- Members are awarded parliamentary privilege but none are above the law
- It is the worlds second largest chamber with 800 members including the Lord Spiritual
- Life peers are the largest category of members and hereditary peers are known as elected peers
- No party has a majority now when prior, the conservatives took the whip prior 1999
- A number of major proposals for membership reform have been made since 1999 but all have failed
Who are the Lord Spiritual?
2 archbishops
24 senior bishops
ALL FROM THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
Who are life peers?
Members who are appointed by the prime minster for life, they are recommended by an independent commission
What is meant by elected hereditary peers?
Peers chosen by a house ballot, election by their party or royal appointment - they were created as a result of the removal of hereditary peers (those who become peers based off of inheritance)
How much of the House of Commons is women?
40% of the current House of Commons
How much of the House of Lords is women?
29% of the current House of Lords
What are the similarities between the jobs of both houses?
-Vote on legislation
-Debate
-Scrutinise the government using committees
-May have a role in government or shadow government
What are the differences between the jobs of both houses?
-Commons deal with constituency casework and help constituents with redress of grievances
-Select candidates for party leadership (in the labour and tory) who the party membership then vote on
-Commons decide which legislation is passed as Lords can be overruled by the commons
-Commons can remove the government with a vote of no confidence - the parties can vote out leaders e.g. Liz Truss 2022
-Lords are unelected and dont represent any people
-Lords provide an independent voice in party as around 25% of them are cross benchers so they dont represent parties
-Lords play an important role in revising of amending legislation
What are the members of the House of Commons called?
Members of Parliament
What are the members of the House of Lords called?
Peers
What are the 3 types of peers?
Elected hereditary peers
Life peers
Lord spiritual
What are the 4 House of Lords reforms made before 1999?
House of Lords Act 1999
The Peerages Act 1963
Life Peerages Act 1958
Acts of Parliament 1911 & 1949
Key facts about the House of Lords act 1999
Ended right of all but 92 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the lords
Prior to this the House of Lords has more than 750 hereditary peers who inherited their title
Transformed hereditary peers to elected hereditary peers which are elected by their parties - the parties pick peers from a list of hereditary peers to appoint
No party now has a majority whip - ended torys historical predominance in the lords
Number of life peers has increased to more than 650 from between 1997 and 2016
Key facts about the Peerages Act 1963?
Allowed hereditary peers to renounce their titles and membership of the lords e.g. Alec Douglas Home (14th earl of home) left lords and became PM in 1963
Allowed women hereditary peers to sit in the lords e.g. 2024 - 29% of the house is female
Key facts about the Life Peerages Act 1958?
PM had the right to appoint members to the upper house for life, their title cannot be inherited - they become the largest category of lords (691 of them in 2024)
Increased diversity and professionalism due to life peers as they include former MPS (20% of members of the lords are ex MPs)
Key facts about the parliamentary acts of 1911 and 1949
Lords could only delay bills for only 2 years due the 1911 act
After the 1949 act, could delay bills by only 1 year
Ended the possibility of the lords being able to block any laws passed by commons - restricting their power of veto
What are some of the differences between the House of Commons and the House of Lords based on its members and their identity?
Age
Education
Gender
Ethnicity
How is the average age of the peers and MPs an area of difference between the members?
Commons - 50 years
Lords - 71 years
How is the gender of the peers and MPs an area of difference between the members?
Commons - 263 women (highest number ever) - 40%
Lords - 228 women - 29%
How is the education of the peers and MPs an area of difference between the members?
Commons - 23% attended private schools, 20% attended Oxbridge, 62% educated in comprehensives, 10% didnt go to uni, 8% of cabinet went to private school
Lords - 70% were privately educated, 95% have a university degree
How is the ethnicity of the peers and MPs an area of difference between the members?
Commons - 14% represent ethnic minorities - reflects the percentage of ethnic minorities in the UK
Lords - 6% represent ethnic minorities
Bill
A proposal for a new law or a change to a current law that is yet to complete the parliamentary legislative process, the most common bills are public bills
Act of Parliament
A law passed by Parliament that has completed all of the stages of the legislative process and got royal assent
Green paper
A detailed report of government proposals that is published in order to provoke discussion
White paper
A report that has a variety of options within it about a bill that are waiting to be clarified
What are the stages of the legislative process?
- First reading
- Second reading
- Committee stage
- Report stage
- Third reading
- House of Lords stages
What is meant by the first reading in the legislative process?
The formal presentation of the title of the bill on the floor of the house by a minister from the responsible department - no debate or vote at this stage
What is meant by the second reading in the legislative process?
The main debate on the principle of the bill
The government minister explains and justifies the objectives of the bill
The shadow minister responds and backbenchers contribute to the debate
If the bill is contested, a vote is taken
Government defeats at the second reading stage are extremely rare - occurred only twice since 1945 e.g. in 1986 - Sunday Trading Bill was defeated by 14 votes
What is meant by the committee stage in the legislative process?
Bills are sent to public bill committee e.g. renters rights bill committee in October 2024
Detailed scrutiny takes place and amendments are made to each clause - done to improve the bill
A new public bill committee is produced for each bill and is named after it, they make take advice from experts and the public, they can interview witnesses - the majority in commons holds majority in committee
Decisions of who is on the committee may be done due to party loyalty and not experience chosen by the whips
These are highly partisan and many MPs attend for the sake of attending
Bills of constitutional significance are scrutinised on the floor of the commons in a committee of the Whole House
What is meant by the report stage in the legislative process?
Amendments made in committee stage are considered by all of the commons
They may accept, reject or alter them
MPs that aren’t in the committee may make amendments at this stage
What is meant by the third reading in the legislative process?
Debate on the amended bill on the floor of the house
No amendments are permitted anymore
What is meant by the House of Lords stage in the legislative process?
The bill is sent to the House of Lords
The 5 stages are repeated
If amendments are made in the lords, the commons can agree, report or amend them - Parliament ping pong - happened in 2010 and 2012 when the commons overturned a series of the lords amendments on legal aid and welfare reform
If an agreement is not reached, the government decides whether to accept the changes made by the lords or not
When should a public bill pass these stages?
Public bills must pass all 6 of these stages in one session of Parliament but the commons may vote to carry over a bill and complete it in another session
Parliamentary ping pong
When the House of Lords and the House of Commons go back and forth with a bill
What does EVEL stand for?
English votes for English Laws
After the bill has completed all 6 stages, where does it go?
To the monarch to get royal assent and officially become Law of the Land e.g. one of the first bills that received royal assent were the Budget Responsibility Act 2024
When was the EVEL in force? Who gave effect to EVEL?
From October 2015 to July 2021 - The House of Commons Standing Orders gave effect to the EVEL
What did the EVEL process affect?
All government bills except for some technical bills like the consolidation bills but didnt affect private members bills
What actually was the EVEL?
A policy that made laws effecting only England were approved by MPs from those areas as Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish were allowed to vote on English bills but English MPs couldn’t have a vote in what happens in those areas - the speaker decided which bill should be applied to the EVEL and could occur at any stage of the legislative process
Why was the EVEL removed?
It was divisive, unnecessary and complicated - there was a desire to focus on unity between the nation of the UK particularly after Brexit - thought it was divisive between MPs based on geography
Positives of the EVEL?
It was step towards balancing political influence - only MPs from the area the bill affected could vote and select committees were chosen from the number of MPs it would affect
Private members bill
Public bills introduced by MPs and Lords who are not government ministers - their purpose is to change the law as it applies to the general population
Advantages of Private members bills?
It can make a difference
It’s democratic
Allows people to raise campaigns relevant to their constituency
Big changes made e.g. abortion legalised by this
How is it decided which Private Members Bills are heard in Parliament? What other ways can a MP secure themselves a hearing of their bill?
Raffle that is done a week after state opening, deputy speaker says who wins
MPs can also queue at the clerks desk and ask for a time slot with a first come first serve basis
What are the negatives of the PMBs?
If the bill isn’t that popular among the majority of MPs, it will not be heard and has no chance
Whether to go for something controversial or not as a more controversial bill may be seen as radical and may not be supported
Primary legislation
Main laws passed by the authoritative legislative bodies, these can be called statute law and an example of it is acts of parliament
Public bill committee
A committee created by the House of Commons for each bill at the committee stage to examine the bill and make amendments to it
Secondary legislation
Law created by ministers under power given to them by an Act of Parliament - used to fill in the details of primary legislation to provide practical measures that enable the law to be enforced and operate in daily life e.g. PSPOs
Reasons why the legislative process is effective?
Has worked for hundreds of years and no demand for change
The passing of laws must be difficult to avoid tyranny and dictatorship
There have been laws passed which have expanded the rights of citizens
Allows for the Commons to be more powerful - democracy and representation = important
No wording of the bill can go unexamined due to the committees and all of the reading sessions thus ensuring bills can be scrutinised
Reasons why the legislative process is not effective?
May give too much power to the House of Lords
The bills require a majority so ethnic minorities may not have enough representation in parliament to pass bills in their favour
Backbenchers have very little power to propose bills
There may be a lot of back and forth so bills may take a long time to do
There is a large number of bills proposed and there is a tight schedule not allowing for scrutiny to take place well - some of these bills are broad (e.g. workers rights bill) but are overlooked as scrutiny isn’t good
Parliamentary scrutiny
The role of parliament in examining the policies and the work of the executive, holding it to account e.g. prime minister question time, the opposition and select committees
What are the 3 routes of Parliamentary Scrutiny?
- Parliamentary Questions
- The Opposition
- Select Committees
What is Parliamentary Question Time?
Parliamentary time, including prime ministers question time in which backbenchers and opposition frontbenchers ask oral questions to government ministers
Are Parliamentary Questions planned?
Yes - the Parliamentary timetable includes question time sessions for ministers of each government department
Reasons why Parliamentary Questions are effective?
The leader of the opposition, the leader of the third largest party and backbenchers question the PM in PMQs
Frequent, direct scrutiny
Backbenchers can raise constituency matters e.g. Will Forster raising matters of council debt as the Woking MP
The leader of opposition or the shadow ministers may try to shape the agenda or highlight policy failure
The leaders of the opposition may ask questions sent in by the public e.g. Jeremy Corbyn in 2015-2016
Reasons why Parliamentary Questions are not effective?
Many backbenchers ask questions drafted by the whips which are intended to flatter rather than probe
35,000 written questions in the 2015-2016 session compared to 3,600 oral questions answered
The questions tend to be political rather than based on statistics and are rather theatrical - the speaker has to usually call order to calm down the questions - e.g. during Brexit where Speaker Bercow called order multiple times
What is the Oppositions role in scrutiny?
Consists of the largest party in the House of Commons that is not the government
The leader of the opposition has the right to respond first to the PM on major statements and asks 6 questions during PMQ (Prime Minister Question Time)
Appoints the shadow cabinet
Current leader of opposition: Kemi Badenoch
Reasons why the Opposition are effective in scrutiny?
Opposition should oppose the governments legislative proposals and force votes and table amendments
May support some government measures as has to produce its own policies - formulates its own opinions
Leader of opposition respons to the PM questions first and appoints shadow cabinet who can scrutinise the minister of the same department that is in the Governments Cabinet
Reasons why the Opposition is not effective in scrutiny?
The opposition has limited opportunities to set the agenda in parliament, have 20 days in the parliamentary year to debate on bills (17 allocated to official opposition)
The government enjoys significant institutional advantages in Parliament than opposition e.g. opposition relies on short money for funding since 1975 like when labour had £6.8 million in short money
Opposition may be divided after having lost a general election e.g. when Jeremy Corbyn allowed Labour MPs free votes on crucial issues like the air strikes on Syria
What is a Select Committee? Examples?
A committee responsible for scrutinising the work of a government, notably of a particular government department e.g. media, culture and spot select committee and health select committee
When were Departmental Select Committees created? Why? How many were there in 2016?
Departmental select committees created in 1979 to scrutinise policy, administration and the expenditure of government departments
21 departmental committees in 2016 e.g. treasury select committee
What has an effect on the membership of the Select Committees?
Membership reflects the party balance in the Commons - chairs of committees are allocated to parties according to their relative strength
Reasons why Select Committees are effective?
Made up of experts e.g. former secretary or state for health Stephen Dorrell is in the Health Select Committee
Can summon witnesses, examine restricted documents and question ministers & civil servants
2015-2016 - held 700 meetings and produced almost 100 reports
Many recommendations are actually accepted by the government
Election of chairs and members of MPs has enhanced independence of select committees
e.g. ‘News of the World’ was closed in July 2011 after the culture, media and sport committee investigated it and where its owner - Murdoch - admitted a cover up had taken place to hide the scope of the phone hacking
Reasons why Select Committees are not effective?
Some witnesses may not provide full or frank evidence
MPs have been accused of being overly aggressive in interrogations
Government doesn’t have to accept recommendations of the committees - 40% of select committee recommendations are accepted government with a majority in the commons will have a majority in the committees
Some members dont attend regularly
During the questioning of culture media and sport select committee on phone hacking in 2011, Colin Myler (former editor of newspaper) and Tom Crone (Legal manager) misled the committee by answering questions falsely
What is the case study on the culture, media and sport select committee? Reasons why it was and wasn’t effective?
There was an enquiry into phone hacking on the ‘News of the World’ - it was hacking celebrities, politicians and members of the royal family, revealed in 2011 that a schoolgirl who was murdered called Milly Dowler was hacked
Reasons it was effective: ‘News of the World’ was closed in July 2011 after 168 years of publication, Murdoch admitted a cover up had taken place to hide the scope of the phone hacking, questioned 4 witnesses
Reasons it wasn’t effective: during the questioning, Colin Myler (former editor of newspaper) and Tom Crone (Legal manager) misled the committee by answering questions falsely
Representation
The action of speaking or acting on the behalf of someone else
What are the 3 theories of representation?
- Delegate model
- Mandate model
- Burkean/Trustee model
What is the delegate theory? With an example.
-an individual is elected to act on behalf of others so they shouldnt follow their own judgement or preferences but vote as constituents wish
-e.g. 2016 Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd promised to support Brexit in Commons if he were re elected in 2017 even though it went against party policy and his own views, but he did it to represent his constituents as they were mainly leave - he resigned the party whip as a result
What is the mandate theory? With examples.
-advocates that elected officials are there to represent and carry out party policy from manifestos, it argues that the party not the actual MP wins the seat so the MP should vote in favour of their party
-2019 - David Gauke - ex Conservative MP and Justice Secretary - expelled in 2019 for opposing a no-deal Brexit - ran as an independent in the South West Hertfordshire but lost
-this doesnt always stand e.g. Jeremy Corbyn was a Labour MP and previous Opposition Leader of Labour but was expelled from it, he still stood as an MP for Islington North as an independent and won
-there are some cases where backbenchers rebel from party policy e.g. 139 Labour MPs rebelled against Blair in 2003 against Iraqi invasion and in 2024 where 7 Labour MPs voted to scrap the 2 child benefit cap
What is the Burkean/Trustee theory? With example.
-created by MP Edward Burke in the 18th century - felt representatives should employ personal judgment and knowledge to serve public interest even if constituents disagree (opposite of delegate)
-constituents trust trustees (elected officials) to represent them
-e.g. Nick Boles - former Tory MP - represented a leave constituency but supported remain
-there are ‘votes with conscience’ - votes are based on common good like on issues of abortion, euthanasia or same sex marriage (happened in 2013)
-has been weakened due to party whips and party ties
Bicameralism
A type of legislature divided into two seperate chambers and houses like the hosue of commons and the House of Lords, the UK has bicameral legislature e.g. the chambers must both work together to pass legislation, and both play a role in scrutiny
Royal assent
The monarch of the UK must sign off a piece of legislation for it become an Act of Parliament, it is very rare that a monarch will say no and reject legislation, it is simply a convention now e.g. the most recent bill that has received royal assent is the Budget Responsibility Act 2024
Salisbury convention
It emerged from working arrangements reached during the Labour government of 1945-51, it ensures that major govenment bills can get through the lords when the government of the day has no majority in the lords, it means the lords does not try to vote down a second or third reading
What were the 4 House of Lords reforms attempted after 1999?
Free vote 2003
White paper 2007
House of Lords Bill 2012
House of Lords reform act 2014
What was the free vote 2003?
Where MPs had a free vote on 7 options of reforms on the Lords proposed by a parliamentary joint committee but non got majority support
What was the White Paper 2007?
Proposed a hybrid house
50% appointed and 50% of lords elected, a series of votes on this were held and ultimately, a wholly elected House of Lords was approved by MPs alongside an 80% elected option
BUT the lords supported a wholly appointed (not elected) house and the act failed
What was the House of Lords bill 2012?
Proposed a chamber of 360 elected members, 90 appointed members, 12 bishops and 8 ministerial members
The MPs approved this but 91 conservative MPs rebelled and Labour indicated it would vote against the bill
The government abandoned it
What was the House of Lords reform act 2014?
Allowed peers to resign voluntarily and further legislation in 2015 allowed members convicted of crimes to be expelled or suspended
ONLY REFORM AFTER 1999 THAT WORKED
Regress of grievances
The right to make a complaint to, or seek the assistance of one’s MP without fear of punishment or reprisals - traced back to the bill of rights and the Magna Carta
Constituency surgeries
MPs meet regularly with their constituents at surgeries, where they can discuss matters of concern, meet their MP and it gives an opportunity to the MP to help resolve the issue and be more aware of issues in their area
APPG? Example?
All Party Parliamentary Group e.g. All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness - brings together parliamentarians to scrutinise and make recommendations for ending homelessness. Its purpose is to put tackling homelessness at the top of the political agenda and its mission is to help the government deliver an end to all forms of homelessness
Who is someone who never rebelled in their time in parliament?
Michael Gove
