Parliament

Question 1

What is Parliament ?

Answer 1

Compromised of the Commons and Lords which possesses supreme legislative authority. It scrutinises the work of the government and ensures it represents the diverse interests of the UK

Question 2

What is House of Commons ?

Answer 2

• Responsible for passing legislation in the form of a vote before it is forwarded to the Lords and Monarch.
• MPs are democratically elected to represent their constituents at a government level.

Question 3

What is House of Lords ?

Answer 3

• Scrutinises legislation, holds government to account, considers and reports upon public policy.
• Lords are not democratically elected and earn a seat on merit.

Question 4

Front Bench MPs ?

Answer 4

Often the spokespeople for the party and have the most importance in terms of duties to the house and so sit in the front row.

Question 5

Back Bench MPs ?

Answer 5

• MPs that are not government or opposition spokespeople but still have been elected to the house by constituents.
• They hold less importance than the spokespeople so sit on the benches further back in the house.

Question 6

Party Whips ?

Answer 6

Whips are MPs or Members of the House of Lords appointed by each party in Parliament to help organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. One of their responsibilities is making sure the maximum number of their party members vote, and vote the way their party wants.

Question 7

The Speaker ?

Answer 7

The speaker is an elected MP who acts as a neutral referee within the house that keeps order and makes sure rules are followed.

Question 8

Leader of Opposition ?

Answer 8

The Leader of the Opposition is the title given to the leader of the political party in Parliament that has formed the Official Opposition meaning 2nd most seats after the election.

Question 9

What are the Functions of the Commons ?

Answer 9

Legitimation - Process of making laws by vote to get consent
Accountability - Gov are accountable for serving the people and must give reason for decisions
Scrutiny - Any proposed legislation is examined by MPs who may amend
Constituency Work - MPs serve best interests of electorate
Representation of Interests - Interests of society may be affected by policy and MPs protect these
National Debate - MPs have opportunities to debate things they see as an issue

Question 10

What are the types of Peers in the Lords

Answer 10

Life Peer - Members appointed for life by Monarch on advice of PM
Archbishop / Bishop - 26 CofE are members
Hereditary Peers - 92 remaining lords inherited from their fathers after 1999

Question 11

What is Independent Appointment Commission ?

Answer 11

Neutral committee that review nominations to the Lords by the PM and are finalised by the monarch

Question 12

How have powers changed over time in the Lords ?

Answer 12

Pre 1911 - Veto any bills
1911 Parliament Act - Cannot vote down money bills and only delay for 2 years
1945 Salisbury Convention - Lords cannot oppose bills from manifesto
1949 Parliament Act - Only delay for 1 year
1958 Peerage Age - Created life peers
1999 HOL Act -Reduces hereditary peers to 92
2000 Independent Appointment Commission - Neutral committee appoint members
2005 Constitutional Reform Act - Ended judicial role and created supreme court

Question 13

Positives of the Lords ?

Answer 13

• Commons get final decision on legislation
• Scrutinises and improves legislation line by line
• Not motivated by promotion opportunities like the Commons
• Experts in their field
• Many made peers on merit
• Often ex MPs meaning they have experience in politics
• Cross-benchers aren’t politically involved
• Lords can bring their own views and passions into the house to create change and use their links

Question 14

Negatives of the Lords ?

Answer 14

• Attendance often low - Baroness D’Souza said that some peers ran into the house to say they attended then ran back out
• Members old and maybe incompetent (Oldest member is 99)
• Unelected and undermines democracy
• Not representative of British public (Old, white, rich, males)
• Can only delay and not reject bills
• After a year they cannot delay any longer
• Hereditary peers don’t sit on merit instead luck
• £300 a day in expenses can be claimed from taxpayer
• Normal people cannot enter the Lords as they cannot afford having no salary

Question 15

What are the functions of the Lords ?

Answer 15

• Scrutinise Legislation (committees)
• Power of Delay (for 1 year)
• Scrutinise secondary legislation
• Debate issues (25% of sittings)
• Scrutinise the work of the government (around 12 committees)

Question 18

How are people appointed to the HOL ?

Answer 18

1) Five Possible Ways:
- Direct Ministerial Appointment by PM - 2023 Sunak appointing Cameron
- Top up Appointment by Party Leaders - Johnson nominated donor Peter Cruddas and ignored HOLAc
- Dissolution Honours by Party Leaders - The longest serving MP, Clarke, was appointed by Johnson
- Resignation Honours by outgoing PM - Truss appointed 3 Lords, one including Matthew Elliott a Lobbyist ???
- Non-part Political Life Peers by HOLAC - In 2015, Bird was appointed as life peer

2) HOLAC vets all nominations and advises PM on appointments.
3) The PM can ignore any advice.
4) Monarch then signs off.

Question 19

Positives of HOL Appointments ?

Answer 19

• HOLAC vet all nominations
• Allows more people to access the cabinet like Cameron in 2023
• Lets people like Ken Clarke to be rewarded for their long careers
• Rewards people for exceptional work in their lives like Lord Bird
• Appointments can be made by people not in government to allow for inclusivity

Question 20

Negatives of HOL Appointments ?

Answer 20

• PM can ignore HOLAC advice
• Many appointments are favouring friends
• Buying influence is common like Peter Cruddas
• Resignations Honours list are often long
• Tactical appointments undermine democracy like Cameron being made Foreign Secretary
• PM has more appointment opportunities (4)
• Same amount of nominations no matter how long served (Truss = 45 days)

Question 21

What are the types of Legislation ?

Answer 21

Public Bills - Bills presented by the government
Primary Legislation - Major legislation either changing law or granting powers to devolved bodies to create secondary
Secondary Legislation - Under powers granted by primary, which other bodies can interpret and make regulations without parliament approval
Private Members Bill - MPs enter ballot to present their proposed bill which is debated and rarely passed to law
Private Bills - Bills presented by individuals outside of parliament who apply

Question 22

How are bills passed ?

Answer 22

• Bill created in either HOC/L
• Goes through 1st & 2nd reading, then committee stage, then Report Stage, and finally 3rd reading
• Bill passed to the alternate house where the process is repeated
• Returned to original house to either confirm or revise
• If confirmed, the bill is given royal assent and made law

Question 23

When do the Lords not get a say in Bills ?

Answer 23

• According to Salisbury Convention, Lords cannot veto any bill included in the government manifesto
• After a year of delaying the Commons get the final decision whether or not to pass the bill

Question 24

Positives of Legislation Process ?

Answer 24

• Allows for constructive criticism between the houses
• Many opportunities to criticise
• Committees are experts
• All MPs can vote

Question 25

Negatives of Legislation Process ?

Answer 25

- Lords are unelected and have a say in law - Lords have a lack of power as they can delay for only a year and are affected by Salisbury Convention - Majority in Commons mean laws can be passed too easily

Question 26

How do Backbench MPs have influence on legislation ?

Answer 26

- Can defy whips - Propose private members bills (PMB) - Propose a 10 Minute Rule Bill - Serve on Public Bill Committees - Propose amendments to bills

Question 27

Evidence backbench MPs effective ?

Answer 27

- They are not tied by ministerial responsibilities - Can lead parliament in Back Bench Business Committees and adjournment debates - Defying the whip in 2019 meant that Theresa May lost the support of her party and she resigned - Can press the party if they do not want to move up the ranks and instead represent their constituents

Question 28

What are the roles of the Opposition ?

Answer 28

- Forcing the government to justify decisions - Highlighting mistakes of the government - Present alternative ways to run the country - Being ready to form government - Defending the interests of all society

Question 29

What are Opposition Days ?

Answer 29

The control of the parliamentary agenda is passed over to opposition parties on 20 days of the calendar with the aim to provide alternative ideas on running the country.

Question 30

What is PMQ’s ?

Answer 30

A weekly session which gives all MPs the chance to ask scrutinising questions to the PM in an effort to invoke change

Question 31

How effective are the Opposition at holding the government to account ?

Answer 31

- The methods used allow all members of the commons to voice their own opinion as well as that of the party and constituency - There are many opportunities to do so with 20 opposition days and weekly PMQs - When being selected for a slot to ask a question at PMQs the ballot is completely random and favours no party - PMQs has turned into point-scoring where tripping up the PM is valued more than asking constructive questions - Opposition days cannot make actual change and just act as a means to collect ideas which the government is likely to ignore due to differing political views

Question 32

What are the types of Select Committees ?

Answer 32

- Departmental Select Committee - Investigate department efficiency. - Public Accounts Committee - Scrutinises value for money of public spending. - Liaison Committee - Consists of chairs of all committees which the PM appears before twice a year. - Backbench Business Committee - Dominate agenda for one day per week to debate key issues.

Question 33

How are Select Committees effective ?

Answer 33

- The PAC decided test and trace was a poor idea and it treated the taxpayer as an ATM machine - They stood up for the public. - A committee decided that the Windrush Scandal was foreseeable and criticised the Home Office and implored a full review of the immigration policy - Priti Patel accepted. - They can set up inquiries, produce reports and request persons papers/records. - Operate independent of party politics. - Committees shine more light than PMQs or Ministers and urgent questions.

Question 34

How are Select Committees ineffective ?

Answer 34

- There was no response to the PAC on test and trace there other than criticism for spending £22b. - Other than a few changes to the Home Office, there were no punishments for the Windrush Scandal. - They have no enforcement powers and limited time/resources. - Opposition is provided with funding and a position in parliament to hold the government to account anyway. - Need to operate independent of parties to be successful which is hard.

Question 35

What are the types of Questions which scrutinise government ?

Answer 35

Oral Questions - Ministerial Questions on Mon to Thurs for an hour - Written Questions with a week to respond - PMQs where MPs can bob Urgent Questions - Question sent in and speaker decides if it is urgent enough. - If so the relevant minister has to reply on the same day Questioning in Select Committees

Question 36

What are the types of debates that scrutinise the government ?

Answer 36

Standard Debate - MP submits motion which is debated and other members vote either Aye or No to make a decision. Early Day Motions - Motions submitted to the house with no fixed date meaning many are discarded. - Used to record views of individual MPs and draw support for certain areas. - Only 6 or 7 motions reach 200+ signatures and in 2016-17 1,205 were tabled. Adjournment Debates - A half an hour slot is used for a backbencher to present a debate chosen by the speaker on a Thursday or by ballot. - Once the minister has replied then the MP cannot speak again and the debate is over.