Why has the House of Lords become more significant? Flashcards
Why wasn’t the House of Lords particularly significant?
It contained a large majority of hereditary peers, many of whom didn’t attend or had a passing interest in its proceeding and there was a permanent in-built majority of Conservatives - since a large amount of hereditary peers were Conservative.
Why did large government opposition result in the House of Lords becoming more significant?
Large government majorities in the Commons became normal, enjoying majorities of over 100 in the elections of 1983, 1987, 1997 and 2001. This meant opposition in the Commons was weak so members of the House of Lords therefore felt it was their duty to bolster parliamentary opposition to make up for the Commons’ weaknesses.
Why did the more active membership result in the House of Lords becoming more significant?
An increased proportion of its membership began to take their roles more seriously, attending regularly and making themselves specialists in certain fields of policy. To some extent this is the result of party leaderships selecting professional politicians for the Lords to a greater degree.
Why did the reform of the House of Lords mean it became more significant?
The reform of the Lords in 2000, removing all but 92 of the hereditary peers, gave the Lords greater authority. It was still not a democratic body, but at least it was seen as more politically and socially representative of the country.
How did the coalition government result in the House of Lords becoming more significant?
The coalition government lacked a true democratic mandate as its political programme (the ‘coalition agreement’) hadn’t been presented to the electorate in 2010. This meant the unelected House of Lords could argue that the coalition government had also not been elected. This gave it considerable freedom to challenge coalition policy in the national interests. It became, in a sense, a second opposition.
Why has the stronger ‘rights culture’ in the UK resulted in the House of Lords becoming more significant?
Especially since the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law in 2000. The Lords, which contain many lawyers and human rights experts, has taken upon itself the role of guardian of individual rights against governments that have been accused (whether justifiably or not) of being too dictatorial.
