RMO Parliament Flashcards
(11 cards)
Parliament - structure
- bi-cameral (two chambers)
- House of Commons - senior chamber, legislation
- Monarch - not allowed in Commons, required for royal assent
- House of Lords - scrutiny
Parliamentary government and sovereignty
Government
- executive (gov) drawn from majority party in legislature (Parliament)
- can only govern with parliamentary consent
Sovereignty
- Parliament the supreme law making body - can make any law it wants, which cannot be overturned by judges, and cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors
Parliamentary functions
- legislation - must be passed through both houses, democratically legitimate
- scrutiny and accountability - examines work/policies of government, requires ministers to explain and justify their actions
- debate - MPs express their views and try to influence policy in a range of debates on current events/government actions
- recruitment of ministers - must be members of either Commons or Lords, ensures gov ministers have experience in politics
- representation - individual MPs attempt to represent the people in their constituency, meaning they’re accountable, also represent their parties
Legislative process
Green paper - draft
1st Reading - formal presentation of the bill, no debate or vote
2nd Reading - main debate on bill, gov minister justifies bill, if contested, vote is taken
Committee stage - detailed scrutiny and amendments
Report stage - amendments considered by Commons
3rd Reading - debate on amendments, no further ones can be made
“The other place” - whole process repeated in other chamber (usually the Lords) - any amendments must then be considered by Commons (parliamentary ping-pong)
Royal Assent - King must approve
PMBs and secondary legislation
PMBs
- submitted by MPs who aren’t government ministers
- rarely become law but do generate publicity around an issue, which may indirectly influence policy
- most famous ones legalised abortion and abolished the death penalty
Secondary legislation
- primary legislation - Act of Parliament, can’t be contested by court
- secondary legislation - legislation is delegated to a government department by Parliament
- mostly procedural, as can be challenged by courts
- doesn’t go through legislative process
Scrutiny methods
Questioning
- gov ministers face questions from MPs on the floor of the house
- PMQs - PM questioned by opposition/3rd largest party leader and backbenchers - theatre rather than scrutiny?
Committees
- hold government accountable for policy and decision making
- support Parliament in scrutinising legislation and gov spending - accept around 40% of recommendations
Debate/opposition
- MPs express views and try to influence policy in a range of debates on current events and gov actions
- Backbench Business Committee (BBBC) gives MPs opportunity to shape agenda
- Petitions Committee considers public e-petitions
Select Committee - example
International Relations and Defence Committee
- inquiries - implications of the war in Ukraine for UK defence eg validity of Russian threat and UK readiness, influence of new technologies on modern day warfare; the Arctic - geopolitical tensions, UK access, security
- oral evidence - Former CDS, importance of air superiority; Nick Childs - maritime significant driver of Russo-Ukrainian war due to Black Sea
- reports - Sept 24, “Ukraine: A Wake-Up Call” - represented NATO failure, exposed weaknesses in NATO/UK military strength
Composition of the Lords
- 805 sitting, no party has an overall majority
- are whipped, however whips less effective as Lords is a secondary job
- each gov department has a minister in the Lords, so the Lords can scrutinise the actions of this department
- Salisbury Convention - Lords cannot block or wreck legislation promised in party manifesto
- 1949 Parliament Act - Lords can’t block legislation approved by the Commons
Lords more assertive?
- Labour gov 97-10 suffered 7 defeat in the Commons but 400+ in Lords
- May defeated 69 times
- Lords have no majority therefore must be united on a moral and intellectual front, leading to more defeats in the Lords (no effective whip system)
- life peers therefore more expertise
Lords reform?
- input legitimacy - Commons as directly elected therefore representative and legitimate
- output legitimacy - Lords as performs its role as a revising chamber to produce better outcomes so output makes it legitimate
Reforms - 1999 - House of Lords Reform Act - Blair, max hereditary peers 92, replaced with life peers
- 2012 - Lords Reform Bill - committee established to propose wholly/partially elected Lords - abandoned as Tories wouldn’t support it
- 2014 - Lords Reform Act - peers removed for non-attendance, right to retire/resign
Effectiveness of Parliament
Extent of governing party unity
- if more united, parliamentary power diminished - elective dictatorship
- if not united, will seem dysfunctional/factional - weak, increases parliamentary power
Size of government majority
- if larger majority, more unity, therefore parliamentary power diminished
- if small majority, strong scrutiny eg PMQs, committees, so more parliamentary power
Strength of opposition
- if opposition stronger, more parliamentary power due to more balance/scrutiny
- if weaker, don’t look like an alternative government, so less parliamentary power
Impact of Lords
- more independent/cross-benchers, less loyalty therefore better debate
- unofficial opposition - scrutiny/accountability
- champion civil liberties/human rights
- therefore parliamentary power increased
