Evaluate the view that the government’s control over the House of Commons has weakened in recent times.

Question 1

Agree: Increased rebellions and vote of no confidences:

Answer 1

• 2019 Rebellion against Theresa May: MPs voted by 432 votes to 202 to reject the deal, which sets out the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU on 29 March.
• This caused Theresa May to resign in 2019.
• Vote of no confidence: If a government loses a confidence motion it can either resign in favour of an alternative government taking office or it can seek a dissolution. It’s very rare for a government to lose a no-confidence motion. (Boris Johnson in 2020)
• EVAL: Except for the period between 2011 and March 2022, when the Fixed-term Parliaments Act was in place, prime ministers have been able to call a general election whenever they want.
• That means they can *avoid a potential no-confidence vote by simply calling an election.

Question 2

Disagree: Secure majority governments still have power to amend any legislation through their majority

Answer 2

• Whenever parliament does pass a law that restricts their activities, they can simply pass another law to let them ignore the previous law. The Fixed Term Parliament Act, for instance, set a 2/3rds threshold for calling an election early. Unable to reach this threshold in 2019, parliament simply passed the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 with a simple majority to call an early election.
• FPTP system makes it so that an MP can be elected on a minority of the vote locally, and their party win a majority of seats in parliament on a minority of the vote nationally. That majority in parliament means they can pass any law they like.

Question 3

Disagree: Backbenchers are still constrained by party whips and are unlikely to break with them due to the threat of being forced out of the party.

Answer 3

• They ensure not only that MPs support party policy but in turn that backbench concerns are communicated to the party leadership. Whips employ various tools to ensure their MPs toe the party line.
• One recent example of a three-line whip being implemented was during the voting on the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, commonly known as the Brexit deal, in December 2020. The Conservative Party, under the leadership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, issued a three-line whip to its MPs, instructing them to vote in favor of the agreement.
• The three-line whip is the strongest form of instruction from party leadership, and failure to adhere to it can result in serious consequences, including potential expulsion from the party.

Question 4

Disagree: Minority governments are unusual and temporary. Gov still controls parliament.

Answer 4

• In 2019 we returned to a majority Government when Johnson won a majority of 80. This enabled him to pass he Internal Market Act 2020: This act, introduced as part of the government’s approach to Brexit, aims to regulate the functioning of the internal market within the UK.
• Despite nearly 100 MPs rebelling against Johnson’s plans for covid passports, the plan still went ahead.

Question 5

Agree: increased assertiveness from backbenchers in recent years

Answer 5

• One recent example of backbenchers rebelling against the government occurred in September 2020 during a vote on the controversial Internal Market Bill. The bill aimed to regulate trade within the UK following Brexit but contained provisions that diverged from the previously agreed-upon Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union.
• Several Conservative Party backbenchers, including prominent figures such as Sir Roger Gale, Sir Bob Neill, and Damian Green, expressed their concerns about the bill and rebelled against the government by voting against it.