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UK Politics > Chapter 6 - 2/7 - The Commons and the Lords > Flashcards

Chapter 6 - 2/7 - The Commons and the Lords Flashcards

1
Q

What sort of Parliament is the UK’s?

A

Bicameral

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2
Q

What is a one-chamber legislature called?

A

Unicameral

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3
Q

What is the reason for a bicameral legislature?

A

It creates a form of check and balance, preventing one chamber having too much power.

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4
Q

How many members does the House of Lords have?

A

Approximately 800

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5
Q

How many hereditary peers are there?

A

92

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6
Q

How many bishops sit in the House of Lords?

A

26

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7
Q

How many MPs are there?

A

650

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8
Q

Who are frontbench MPs?

A

Members of the governing and opposition parties that hold senior roles, given to them by their party leaders.

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9
Q

Who are backbench MPs?

A

These members hold no government post or are not senior members of the opposition. They are the majority of the Commons, accounting for about 500 of the total MPs.

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10
Q

Who are party whips?

A

Officials appointed by party leaders to maintain discipline and loyalty, inform MPs about parliamentary business, and to act as communication between backbenchers and leadership.

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11
Q

What does the Speaker of the Commons do when elected?

A

Give up their party allegiance and act impartially.

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12
Q

What is the Speaker of the Commons expected to do?

A
  • Organise parliamentary business with party leaderships.
  • Maintain order and discipline in debates.
  • Decide who gets to speak.
  • Settle disputes about Parliament’s work.
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13
Q

What are the majority of Lords called?

A

Life peers

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14
Q

Who nominates life peers?

A
  • Leaders of the main political parties, meaning most are political appointments.
  • Members of the public can also too.
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15
Q

Which body assesses nominations to the Lords?

A

House of Lords Appointments Commission.

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16
Q

What does the House of Lords Appointments Commission do?

A

Decides which people shall be appointed; it can veto unsuitable nominees by party leaders.

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17
Q

Why can there not be a government majority in the Lords?

A

There are so many crossbenchers that the government does not have an overall majority.

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18
Q

Who are crossbenchers?

A

Members of the Lords that do not have a party affiliation.

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19
Q

How many Lords were there as of February 2022?

A

767

20
Q

How many Conservatives peers were there as of February 2022, the largest party in the Chamber?

A

256

21
Q

What is the Lord’s equivalent of the House of Commons Speaker?

A

Lord Speaker

22
Q

Who makes laws?

A

Government, not Parliament.

23
Q

What is Parliament’s most important constitutional function?

A

Legitimising proposed legislation, whereby giving the consent of the people MPs’ are there to represent.

24
Q

What is the name of the legislation backbench MPs can propose?

A

Private members’ bill

25
Q

What is the most important political function of Parliament?

A

Holding government to account.

26
Q

In what ways can Parliament hold government to account?

A
  • Questioning ministers (PMQs).
  • Departmental select committee hearings and investigations.
  • Refusing to pass legislation.
  • Passing a vote of no confidence.
27
Q

What are all MPs required to do?

A

Serve on Public Bill Committees where proposed legislation is scrutinised line by line.

28
Q

Can committees reject legislation?

A

No, only the Commons can do that.

29
Q

Why can Public Bill Committees be considered ineffective?

A

The government dominates committees and amendments rarely occur without government approval.

30
Q

What is meant by redress of grievances?

A

When an MP pursues a grievance that a constituent has against a public body; they may lobby ministers or raise the matter on the floor of the Commons.

31
Q

Give 2 examples of recent great debates that transcended party politics.

A
  • 2003 - UK’s involvement in an attack on Iraq (approved).

- 2013 - military intervention in Syria (refused).

32
Q

What is the Salisbury Convention?

A

The convention that the Lords will not obstruct any proposal contained in the government’s election manifesto.

33
Q

When did the Salisbury Convention develop?

A

1940s

34
Q

What must happen to all amendments the Lords propose?

A

They must be approved by the Commons because of the Lords’ democratic illegitimacy.

35
Q

What did the first Parliament Act do?

A

The House of Lords has no control over the financial business of the government.

36
Q

When was the first Parliament Act passed?

A

1911

37
Q

When was the second Parliament Act passed?

A

1949

38
Q

What did the second Parliament Act do?

A

The Lords can only refuse to pass legislation once; they can delay, but not veto, legislation.

39
Q

When does the Lords scrutinise legislation?

A

Mainly through a ‘committee stage’ in which any members can take part and propose amendments; this is the key role of the House of Lords.

40
Q

What does the committee stage of the House of Lords often do?

A
  • Adds clause to protect minorities.
  • Clarify meaning.
  • Remove sections that will not operate effectively.
  • Generally improve legislation.
41
Q

When the Lords delay a piece of legislation, what are they saying?

A

‘Think again. We cannot stop this but we want you to reconsider.’

42
Q

When was the last time the Lords had to be bypassed for refusing to pass legislation?

A

2004 - The Hunting Act. This Act banned fox hunting.

43
Q

What is secondary legislation?

A

Changes to the law being made mostly by government ministers. They do not require the full procedure of going through Parliament because they have been delegated the power previously by a parliamentary statute; they pass through automatically or ‘on the nod’.

44
Q

Who scrutinises secondary legislation?

A

The House of Lords devotes much more time to this than the Commons; the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee considers all secondary legislation.

45
Q

when was the house of lords appointments commission formed?

A

2000

UK Politics (39 decks)

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