effectiveness of parliamentary representatives in holding government to account

Question 1

The UK parliament has two houses. What are they?

Answer 1

House of Commons
House of Lords

Question 2

Which of the two houses in the UK parliament are unelected?

Answer 2

House of Lords

Question 3

When is the next general election expected?

Answer 3

October/November 2024

Question 4

Who is the head of UK government?

Answer 4

Kier Starmer (Labour)

Question 5

Who is the leader of the opposition in the UK Parliament?

Answer 5

Kemi Badenoch (Conservative)

Question 6

The main purpose of oral questions in the commons is to?

Answer 6

Raise concerns and challenge the government each week.

Question 7

Prime Ministers Question Time is held every Wednesday, when is First Ministers Questions held?

Answer 7

Every Thursday

Question 8

If the government fails to answer a question or query this can ..

Answer 8

make them look weak and provides the opposition with an opportunity to highlight the shortcomings of the ruling party

Question 9

Why can QT help the public be informed?

Answer 9

It is televised weekly and the media have full access to scrutiny in the chamber which can influence public opinions

Question 10

Is the PM/FM briefed on the questions prior to them being asked?

Answer 10

Yes, so they are prepared to answer the questions

Question 11

PMQT is only around ______ and this is not enough time for all questions to be asked

Answer 11

30 minutes

Question 12

PMQs is often the most watched and well attended session in the parliamentary week meaning it gets a lot of media attention and can highlight where the government and the PM in particular is not doing well.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

Having the head of government answer to parliament each week is quite rare in the world so it is regarded as one of the most famous examples of scrutiny and can be quite effective as it is hard for the PM to hide from follow up questions or media coverage?

Answer 13

True

Question 14

How many questions is the leader of the opposition given?

Answer 14

During PMQs the leader of the opposition is usually given 6 questions and opposition leaders and backbench MPs also can pose questions.

Question 15

PMQs has had the opposite effect recently as it has made the opposition rather than the government look ineffective. Why?

Answer 15

Rishi has successfully highlighted Labours ‘lack of plans’ if in power and conflict within the party over the Israel/Hamas war.

Question 16

Why has Rishi Sunak recently come under fire for his retortion to Kier Starmer for having ‘difficulty in defining a woman’.

Answer 16

Not only was this comment unrelated to the topic being covered, but Sunak also made this comment in the presence of recently murdered trans-teenager Brianna Ghey’s mother.

Question 17

Which prime minister is on record for having missed the most number of PMQs?

Answer 17

Rishi Sunak

Question 18

FMQT has been seen to have the opposite effect of holding government to account and instead has been seen to highlight inadequacies of the opposition. Why?

Answer 18

In July 2020 the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Jackson Carlow decided that he was not able to confidently and effectively hold former FM Nicola Sturgeon to account during QT and announced his resignation.

Question 19

Humza Yousaf has had a difficult time in FMQT as of late. Why?

Answer 19

he has been criticised cross-party for his failure to demand the resignation of now former health secretary Michael Mathison over the iPad/data scandal and the continuing failure and demise of the NHS waiting times, employment, and funding crisis

Question 20

Parliamentary scrutiny in both the Scottish and UK parliament can be criticised given the fact that analysts often point to the fact that the FM and PM is too well prepared and briefed on the questions from the opposition?

Answer 20

True

Question 21

What is a committee?

Answer 21

Small groups of MPs who get together to discuss important issues, look carefully at legislation and question government ministers.

Question 22

Why are committees more neutral than QT?

Answer 22

As they are formed of cross party members.

Question 23

Who was forced to resign as Home Secretary after inadvertently misleading the Home Affairs Committee over the Windrush Scandal in April 2018.

Answer 23

Amber Rudd

Question 24

To ensure effectiveness of holding government to account, only backbenchers are entitled to sit on committees?

Answer 24

True

Question 25

Why is the fact that committees send their reports to government before they are published a limitation?

Answer 25

Although the government can’t stop the publication of a report it can delay when it responds to the report. Governments might do this until a time when they thing the publication of the report might get less media attention.

Question 26

What is it argued that committees rely on, especially in Westminster?

Answer 26

Good will

Question 27

What do analysts argue is a limitation of committees?

Answer 27

Analysts argue that they lack any real teeth to compel compliance which risks the legitimacy of select committees being undermined when individuals are able to ignore them at will.

Question 28

What did the Independent report in 2021?

Answer 28

The Independent reported in 2021 that Boris Johnson was 'refusing' to be held to account after pulling out of his appearance three times to the Commons Privileges Committee where he was expected to publicly answer questions on the conduct and decisions made during COVID-19. 

Question 29

What did Boris Johnson call committees in his resignation speech?

Answer 29

Kangaroo Court

Question 30

Why did Boris Johnson call committees a kangaroo court?

Answer 30

Boris Johnson had to resign as an MP after receiving the report from the Privileges Committee finding that he did mislead his own party over number 10 lockdown parties, he didn't agree with these findings.

Question 31

The Criminal Justice Committee, Health, Social Care committees in Scotland have been working together since 2022 to assess what?

Answer 31

The progress made in tackling drug related deaths in Scotland.

Question 32

Does the House of Lords have the same tools as MPs to hold government to account?

Answer 32

YEs

Question 33

What can the Lords do to hold the government to account?

Answer 33

the Lords can ask important and urgent questions of a government minister, hold investigations through committees, make changes to bills and ultimately force the government to defend itself.

Question 34

Why is the fact that Lords are appointed for life an effective factor?

Answer 34

For many this means there is no pressure to act a certain way to keep their job. This can make many Lords less loyal to the parties they belong too and more willing to criticise them. The fact that the Lords is less loyal means that they are also willing to reject new bills coming from the House of Commons in order to force the government to rethink their decisions.

Question 35

Why is it a good thing that the Lords rejecting a bill gets so much media attention?

Answer 35

People start to ask why. This can put the government under pressure and forces it to go on the defensive which often doesn’t look good.

Question 36

What bill is currently being blocked by the Lords despite it being one of Sunak's flagship policies.

Answer 36

The Rwanda Bill

Question 37

Why do the Lords keep blocking the Rwanda bill?

Answer 37

They say it breaches human rights as Rwanda is not considered a safe enough country.

Question 38

Why does the fact that the conservatives have been in power since 2010 impact the Lords abilities to scrutinise?

Answer 38

The longer one party is in power in the Commons the more Lords they get to appoint into the House of Commons. This means that for parties that have been in power for a long time (like the Conservatives) then they are more likely to have allies in the House of Lords.

Question 39

Why does the fact that the Lords are appointed and not elected impact the Lords abilities to scrutinise?

Answer 39

This means they will be very cautious to reject or go against the House of Commons too often which could allow the government of the day to get away with more than if the House of Lords felt it too had been elected by the people with a right and responsibility to challenge and scrutinise the government.

Question 40

How many Fridays each parliamentary year are assigned to Private Members Bills.

Answer 40

13

Question 41

Why is the fact that PMBs are read on Fridays ineffective?

Answer 41

Fridays are a constituency day so not all MPs attend parliament

Question 42

How did COVID-19 impact PMBs

Answer 42

COVID-19 heavily affected the effectiveness of PMBs as during the 2019-2021 the Friday sessions were repeatedly rescheduled and in total only 6 sitting Fridays were set aside for PMBs.

Question 43

Why are PMBs effective at holding the government to account?

Answer 43

PMBs are effective in holding the government to account as they are a useful tool to draw attention to issues that are perhaps thought to be ignored by the government, they can gather support from across the parties in the Commons and can influence decisions that are made by government.

Question 44

What is an example of a successful Labour PMB?

Answer 44

Rose Cooper (former Labour MP) gained cross party, including the support of the government leading to the British Sign Language Act 2022 which legally recognises BSL as an official language in the UK. 

Question 45

in 2021-2022 there were only 13 successful PMBs in the parliamentary session. How many were from Conservative MPs?

Answer 45

11 - showing their dominance in UK politics

Question 46

In November 2020, Scotland became the first country in the world to make it a legal right to have access to ....

Answer 46

Period products . This Member’s Bill, introduced by Monica Lennon MSP, requires that under the Bill: The Scottish Government must set up a Scotland-wide scheme to allow anyone who needs period products to get them free of charge.

Question 47

What did Keir Starmer face in the media during PMQs?

Answer 47

Criticism for accepting gifts

Question 48

Who are excluded from sitting on committees according to the text?

Answer 48

Government payroll members

Question 49

What is one of the roles of committees in Scotland?

Answer 49

To examine bills and decide on amendments

Question 50

What is a criticism of committees in Westminster?

Answer 50

They rely on 'good will' and lack real enforcement power

Question 51

What is one tool the Lords have to scrutinise the government?

Answer 51

Holding investigations through committees

Question 52

What did the Lords argue about the 'Rwanda Bill'?

Answer 52

The UK Government lacked the right to deport asylum seekers.

Question 53

Why are PMB sessions poorly attended?

Answer 53

Fridays are constituency days

Question 54

Who gained cross party support for their PMB British Sign Language Act 2022 in Westminster?

Answer 54

Rose Cooper

Question 55

Why might the time limit given to PMBs affect MPs ability to scrutinise the government in the Commons?

Answer 55

It limits the number of issues that can be addressed

Question 56

The Scottish Conservatives used FMQT to highlight that the SNP had left a generation behind? Referring to what?

Answer 56

SNPs educational failures and the attainment gap being at the widest in a decade (2025)