2.1 - The Structure And Role Of The House Of Commons And The House Of Lords

Question 1

How are members of the House of Commons selected

Answer 1

• chosen through single member constituencies, using FPTP, 650 constituencies
• under the fixed term parliaments act (2011), general elections supposed to happen every 5 years, unless a snap election is called
• if an MP dies, the same process will happen
• most MPs are elected members of a political party
  -roughly 3/4 of MPs are backbenchers

Question 2

What is the make up of the House of Lords

Answer 2

-As of April 2025, 829 members ( not fixed)
- appointed for life (life peers)
- made up of a mixture of party members
- 92 hereditary peers (elected)
- can delay bills from becoming law, cannot prevent the,

Question 3

How is debating major issues a function of parliament

Answer 3

• people expect issues of major importance to be discussed
• parliament becomes the nations focus of attention on these occasions
• if a crisis emerges during a parliamentary recess, it’s not unusual for members to demand parliament to be recalled for the issue to be discussed

Question 4

How is legislation a major function of parliament

Answer 4

• all legislation passes through the HOC and HOL and by a due process
• gives members an opportunity to debate principles of the bill, and detail of legislation
• also allows for potential amendments to be made to legislation during parliament

Question 5

How is scrutinising the executive a major function of parliament

Answer 5

• arguably most important function
• PMQ every wednesday
• laison committee twice a year
• opposition day, where opposition sets agenda, happens 20 days a year
• backbench business committee debates on topics not chosen by the gov

Question 6

How is sustaining the government a major function of parliament

Answer 6

• achieved by governing party holding a majority of the seats in the HOC
• labour got 33.7% of vote, 411 seats, huge majority

Question 7

How is representation an important function of government

Answer 7

• individual Mp’s represent people from their constituencies
  MP’s are held to account by their constituents, may not win next election if they don’t represent their people

Question 8

How is financial scrutiny an important feature of government

Answer 8

• HOC will scrutinise public spending, eg: Rachel Reeves, financial minister scrutinised for cutting welfare by 5 billion
• annual finance bill has to be passed for tax and spending to continue
• public accounts committee, a convention and is chaired by an opposition MP looks at all gov expenditure, can call ministers to appear before it

Question 9

How is redress of grievances a major function of parliament

Answer 9

• citizens can go to parliament and lobby to their MP about an issue that concerns them
• MPs can also put in a request for an urgent question to a minister