Lesson 26 Flashcards
Simple majority
Most votes
Absolute majority
More than 50% of votes
What percent of the vote is the average MP elected on?
40%
FPTP is a winner takes …
Winner takes all system
1 party wins and the others, no matter how close they were, don’t get any representation
Who is the current speaker?
Sir Lindsay Hoyle
Does the House of Lords have a size limit?
No.
Currently at 800 members
What 2 types of people can be in the Lords?
Barons and Lords
What is a key difference between life and hereditary peers?
Life peers can transfer their titles to their offspring
But hereditary peers can
Key religious members of the HofL?
26 archbishops and bishops
Known collectively as the ‘Lords Spiritual’
They are unable to be removed (like hereditary peers) as they’re not life peers
When did John Bercow become speaker?
2009
What happened to the speaker before John Bercow?
Michael Martin
Forced to resign (first ever speaker forced to do this)
Due to covering up of MP’s wrongdoings
During the expenses scandal
How did John Bercow reform parliament?
Relaxed the Commons dress code
Allowed pregnant and unwell MPs to vote by proxy
Helped oversee a new grievance procedure for allegations of harassment and bullying
What in Reading University led to accusations that John Bercow wasn’t impartial?
2017
Reading Uni
Told students he voted remain
What did John Bercow do that hastened the demise of Theresa May?
He stopped Theresa May holding a third ‘meaningful vote’ on her Brexit deal - a decision that forced her to effectively abandon the agreement she had spent months negotiating and hastened her demise
On several occasions, what did John Bercow allow Backbenchers to do?
Take control of the Commons timetable
To block a no-deal Brexit
