Parliamentary Law Making Flashcards
(35 cards)
influences on parliament
there are several influences that lead to parliament deciding what new laws to bring in or what laws need to be changed….
- political influences (gov policy)
- public opinion + media
- pressure groups
- lobbyists
political influences (gov policy)
when a government is formed, it will have a programme of legislation and reforms it wants to carry out
these will have been set out in its party manifesto in which the people voted for in the general election — they have a mandate to carry out these policies
at the start of each parliamentary session, the monarch gives a speech written by the gov to both houses of parliament that announces what particular laws it plans to introduce
for example, the HRA 1998 fulfilled a Labour manifesto commitment to incorporate the ECHR into domestic law
public opinion and media
a strong public opinion is often expressed through the media via television, the internet and newspapers
it can change laws as the government may bow to such opinion
for example, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was a response to the fatal dog attacks of that period
pressure groups
sectional pressure groups represent the interests of a particular section of society such as a profession (e.g. the British Medical Association represents doctors)
cause pressure groups promote a particular cause (e.g. Greenpeace represents environmental issues)
for example, the Snowdrop Campaign was a very successful pressure group campaign that banned handguns following the Dunblane massacre in 1997. they collected around 750,000 signatures on a petition
lobbyists
any individual can lobby (persuade) an MP but there are also professional lobbyists hired by clients
lobbyists highlight concerns and often try to persuade an MP to ask a question in the House of Commons so that the issue gets publicity
can also try and persuade an MP to promote a bill on the issue that they’re concerned with
other influences
- judicial decisions
- law reform bodies
- emergency situations
advantages of influences on law making
POLITICAL — each party makes its proposals known if they are elected, a government majority means that most of the laws it introduces will be passed
PUBLIC OPINION — highlights issues of public concern, freedom of press to criticise gov policy or bring issues to the attention of the government
PRESSURE GROUPS — raise important issues to parliament, they have a wide range of memberships and expertise
LOBBYISTS — bring issues to the attention of MPs, may trigger publicity or debate in parliament, anyone can lobby their MP
disadvantages of influences on law making
POLITICAL — new governments can repeal or alter laws made by a previous one, minority or coalition govs may lead to compromise
PUBLIC OPINION — responding too quickly to high profile incidents may lead to poorly drafted law, media can be accused of manipulating news and creating public opinion
PRESSURE GROUPS — try to impose their ideas on the majority, may have conflicting interests
LOBBYISTS — big businesses use professional lobbyists which gives them more influence than the general public, gives the idea that influence can be purchased, cash for questions scandal
what is a draft bill?
a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law, written by special lawyers known as parliamentary draftsmen
can be introduced in either the Commons or the Lords
however, financial bills must begin in the Commons
what is an act of parliament?
a bill that has completed all the stages in the legislative process and has become law
what is parliament?
the main law making body in the UK, legislation refers to laws made by parliament
made up of 2 chambers; House of Commons (elected body) and the House of Lords (unelected body)
laws passed by parliament are called acts of parliament or statutes, around 70 are passed each year and form the primary source of legislation in the UK
types of bill
public bills
private bills
hybrid bills
public bills
most important type of proposal that can be debated in parliament as they relate to laws affected the general population and changing public policy (e.g. the CRA 2005)
2 types of public bill; government bill and private member’s bill
government bill = introduced by government ministers to change public policy (e.g. 2013 Health and Social Care Act brought about the reorganisation of the NHS and was a gov bill)
private member’s bill = introduced by an individual backbench MP or a member of the Lords, affects the whole population but is much less likely to become law as its hard to find time for these bills to complete the legislative process (e.g. the duty on councils and NHS services to look after people with autism was passed in 2009 and began as a private member’s bill)
private member’s bills (continued)
can be introduced 2 ways:
- BALLOT — 20 private members are selected from a ballot each parliamentary year, those elected can present a bill to parliament, time for debate of these bills is limited so only the first 5 or 6 members in the ballot have a realistic chance of introducing a bill (e.g. Abortion Act 1967)
- TEN MINUTE RULE — any MP can make a speech of up to 10 minutes supporting the introduction of new legislation, this method is rarely successful unless there is no opposition to the bill
private bills
much less common, relate to laws affecting certain groups of people or an organisation
usually sponsored by that organisation as it directly affects them, a group affected by such a bill has the right to petition parliament against it
e.g. University College London Act 1996 which was passed in order to combine a number of medical schools with the University College
hybrid bills
has characteristics of both a public and private bill
relates to laws affecting the general population but certain groups or areas in particular
e.g. the bill to build the HS2 rail link between London and Birmingham is an example of a hybrid bill — affects the whole population but specifically people living near the proposed rail link
what is the legislative process?
a long and formal process that has to be followed before a bill can become an act of parliament
- pre legislative process
- first reading
- second reading
- committee stage
- report stage
- transfer
- third reading
- royal assent
1) PRE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
a bill may originate as a green paper and/or a white paper although this is not compulsory
green paper = an initial consultation document gaining views about proposed legislation from a variety of interested bodies and people, responses don’t have to be acted on but amendments can be made in light of feedback
white paper = a document setting out the governments preferred approach to future legislation, limited opportunity for comment
2) FIRST READING
compulsory, formal introduction to announce the bill in either the Commons or the Lords
the name and main aims of the bill are read out but the bill is not voted on or debated at this stage
3) SECOND READING
crucial main parliamentary debate on the principles of the bill which is followed by a vote that the gov expects to win
must be a majority in favour of the bill for it to progress any further
4) COMMITTEE STAGE
a Standing Committee scrutinises each clause of the bill in great detail, they may propose amendments that can be made if the gov accepts them
a committee usually consists of between 16 and 50 MPs, the gov will usually have a majority in these as members reflect the strength of each party in the Commons
members usually have special interest or knowledge of the subject of the bill being considered
for finance bills the whole house will sit in the committee stage
5) REPORT STAGE
committee will report back to the house after scrutiny
whole house considers the amendments made at the committee stage and may accept or reject them
further amendments may also be suggested
6) THIRD READING
whole house debates and votes on the amended bill
gives a final chance to look at the bill again as a whole with all of its amendments and decide whether it should progress further
a bill is unlikely to fail at this stage, there will only be further debate on the bill if at least 6 MPs request it
7) TRANSFER
bill is transferred and goes through the same stages in the other house
however, in the Lords the committee stage is carried out by the whole house
other house can propose further amendments which the Commons has to accept or reject
the bill can go back and forth between the houses like this for months (up to a year) before it becomes law, this is a process known as “parliamentary ping pong”
