Parliamentary law making Flashcards
What are the 4 influences on parliament?
- Political influence e.g. manifesto
- Public opinion / media
- Pressure groups
- Lobbyists, who persuade individual members of parliament to support their cause
Advantages and disadvantages of political influence
Ad - Already outlined what laws they want to pass in manifesto so they have a plan when they are elected
Disad - May alter or repeal previous governments laws, changes in the law is costly
If there is a coalition government then then most likely the majority of the electorate did not vote for the coalition so the government did not reflect the will of the electorate
Advantages and disadvantages of public opinion
Ad - Affected by specific events which may play a role in formulating the law e.g. the dunblane massacre led parliament to ban private ownership of most handguns reflecting public opinion
Disad - government way respond op quickly to high profile incidents which can lead to poorly drafted law e.g. dangerous dogs act 1991 were the wording of the act cause many disputes
Advantages and disadvantages of pressure groups
Ad - Help raises issues to a large number of people as they have larger memberships than political parties and they often raise important issues e.g greenhouse gases
Disad - They seek to impose their ideas when a lot of the time the majority of the public don’t even agree
Advantages and disadvantages of lobbyists
Ad - it brings issues directly to MPs which may lead to a debate in parliament, publicity and maybe even a change in law
Disad - using professional lobbyists can lead to abuse of the process since MPs were paid to ask questions so richer businesses have more influence
What are green and white papers?
Green paper - a consultative document issued by the government putting forward proposals for reform of the law
White paper - a document issued by the government stating its decisions as to how it is going to reform the law
Explain the first and second reading of the law making process
First reading - this a formal procedure where the name and main aims of the bill are read out
Second reading - where the main debate takes place, debate the main principals behind the bill, a vote is also taken using the 2 voting tellers
Explain the committee stage and report stage in the law making process
Committee - detailed examination of each clause of the bill is undertaken by a committee of 16 to 50 MPs
Report - where the committee reports back to the house on those amendments which were voted on in the committee stage. The amendments will be debated and accepted or rejected
Explain the third reading and ‘ping-pong’ in the law making process
Third reading - It’s the final vote on the bill however it is unlikely to fail at this stage
Ping-pong - If the bill started in the House of Commons it goes through the same 5 stage process again in the House of Lords and if they make amendments, it goes back to the House of Commons, this happens until they both agree on the bill
What is royal assent?
The final stage of the law making process where the monarch gives approval to the bill which it then becomes an act of parliament
State the order in which each stage occur in the law making process
Green paper White paper First reading in HoC Second reading in HoC Committee stage Report stage Third reading in HoC Same procedure in HoL Royal assent
What are advantages of the law making process?
Democratic - it is made by our elected representatives
Full reform - acts of parliament can reform whole areas of law in one act which makes law easier to find
Consultation - before a bill is presented to parliament there will have been consultation on the proposed changes to the law which allows the government to take into account subjections and objections to the proposal
What are the disadvantages of the law making process?
Lack of time - doesn’t always have the time to consider all the reforms which are proposed
Long process - with all the different stages, it can take several months to introduce the law, also it may have been altered many times which hinders the clarity of the act
Complexity - difficult to understand, it’s not always possible to include all the detailed rules in an act of parliament
