STRUCTURE and role OF PARLIAMENT

Question 1

what type of system is the uk parliament

Answer 1

-bi cameral
-meaning it has two chambers

Question 2

how many constituencies are in the uk

Answer 2

650=650mp

Question 3

what are most of the mps called

Answer 3

• back benchers

Question 4

who are back benchers

Answer 4

• mps who don’t sit on the front two benches
• and isn’t in power

Question 5

what does the speaker in the h of c do

Answer 5

• is an mp who manages and chairs debates in the chamber
• elected by other mps

Question 6

what does the membership of the h of L look like

Answer 6

• life peers
• hereditary peers
  -bishops

Question 7

what are most lords

Answer 7

• life peers ( 675 in 2018)
• life peers are lords who hold the title for a lifetime but cannot pass title to children

Question 8

what act changed all members being hereditary in the lords

Answer 8

House of Lords act 1999

Question 9

how are lords selected

Answer 9

• House of Lords appointment committee can appoint members to h o l who are not aligned with. any party
• the pm can also appoint members through patronage powers EG gordon brown appointing lord sugar 09

Question 10

what are the core functions of the commons

Answer 10

-scrutiny
-debate
-legislation
-representation
-legitimisation

Question 11

function of commons: scrutiny

Answer 11

• commons can scrutinise the executive
  -mps can question gov ministers on actions + have the power to remove ministers and gov from power (motion of no confidence)

Question 12

types of scrutiny: pmqs

Answer 12

-held every Wednesday where the pm gets questioned

Question 13

types of scrutiny: select committee

Answer 13

• departmental select committees scrutinise gov departments + ministers

Question 14

functions of commons : debate

Answer 14

• mps debate major issues of importance to voters and country
• debate legislation

Question 15

functions of commons: representation

Answer 15

• mps must protect the needs and interests of people in their constituency in parliament
  -mps make voting decisions on laws which appeal to their constituents

Question 16

function of commons :legislation

Answer 16

-commons make legislation that are binding to all uk citizens
- parliament is the supreme lawmaking authority in the uk

Question 17

what type of bills are introduced by mps

Answer 17

-private members bills

Question 18

function of commons: legitimisation

Answer 18

• House of Commons approves important decisions and has used its legitimacy function to stop or change governmental actions

Question 19

example where commons has used its legitimacy function

Answer 19

• 2013 the commons voted against military intervention in syria which was proposed by the gov

Question 20

effectiveness of functions: representation age

Answer 20

-commons fails to represent the uk social make up,
- 52% commons are aged over 50 while only 2% are under 30

Question 21

representation of commons ethnicity

Answer 21

8% of mps elected in 2024 were from ethnic minorities background
- whilst 14% of the uk pop are from ethnic backgrounds

Question 22

representation of commons education n

Answer 22

• 25% of mps went to Cambridge + Oxford

Question 23

representation of commons gender

Answer 23

2023 225 female mps were elected which despite being all time high is only 35% of mps

Question 24

effectiveness of commons law making function

Answer 24

• the process of making laws can take a long time and has to pass through a number of stages and both houses before coming law
• • party whips means MPS cannot always freely debate and vote in laws because the party whip tells them to vote alongside party line

Question 25

which law took over a year to pass

Answer 25

assults on emergency workers act 2018

Question 26

how many people protested in London against the war in iraq

Answer 26

750k in 2003

Question 26

effectiveness of commons legitimisation function

Answer 26

- house of c has legitimated gov action which has not been in the best interest of the public - EG war in iraq legitimised by commons despite public opposition

Question 27

effectiveness of scrutiny function for commons

Answer 27

-pmq can be said to lack power to properly scrutinise gov - as pms avoid answering the question directly

Question 28

functions of the lords

Answer 28

- legislation - scrutiny -representation - investigating public policy

Question 29

functions of lords : legislation

Answer 29

- lords proposes amendments to bills during the law making process - lords can delay the passage of a bill for a year if they do not agree with the bill

Question 30

functions of lords : gov scrutiny

Answer 30

- takes place in the form of Witten and spoken questions put to gov through debates over policy

Question 31

functions of lords: investigating public policy

Answer 31

- select committees In the lords conduct investigations into policy areas by hearing evidence from a range of experts - EG economic affairs committee

Question 32

function of lords:representation

Answer 32

- lords represent expertise from across society -lords also represent different political views (280 cons + 210 labour)

Question 33

effectiveness of lords functions being FULFILLED: law making

Answer 33

- bills are debated in depth and passed through a number of processes (goooood scrutiny) -house contains experts who can provide valuable input into review of bills

Question 34

effectiveness of lords functions being FULFILLED: scrutiny

Answer 34

- questioning of gov happens for 30 mins each day mon-thur -lords also submit written questions to the gov ( 7k questions were put through to gov in 2017) -no single party controls the lords, increasing non partisanship

Question 35

why does lords not having a constituency a benefit

Answer 35

- they can spend more time scrutinising gov

Question 36

effectiveness of lords functions being FULFILLED: representation

Answer 36

- members of lords represent and advocate for diverse groups - eg baron bird advocates for homeless

Question 37

effectiveness of lords functions being NOT FULFILLED: legislation

Answer 37

- h o l is not able to stop legislation passing through which it disagrees with ( can only delay or propose)

Question 38

what convention states that lords cannot block any legislation proposed In the elected governments manifesto

Answer 38

- salisbury convention

Question 39

effectiveness of lords functions being NOT FULFILLED: scrutiny

Answer 39

- some members of the house don't fufill their role in parliaent -only turning up to receive their expenses

Question 40

how many lords only turned up to recive their expenses in 2017

Answer 40

- 277 lords claimed large expenses despite only speaking 5 times or less

Question 41

effectiveness of lords functions being NOT FULFILLED: representation

Answer 41

- members are not elected by public(chamber doesn't directly represent civis) -there are still 92 hereditary peers who inherit their title (undemocratic )

Question 42

how many members of lords are over 70

Answer 42

-over half

Question 43

what is the problem with religion being in the lords

Answer 43

- no other religious representation other than church of England bishops

Question 44

how many members are in select committees

Answer 44

up to 11

Question 45

what do lord select committees do

Answer 45

- investigate specialist subjects taking advantage of the lords expertise and greater amount of time compared to mps -eg economic affairs committee

Question 46

what do selet committees do

Answer 46

- group of mps or h o l members that ivestigate and srcutinse gov work in public interest

Question 47

what does the compisition of select committees look like

Answer 47

- generally relfects the make up of the commons -EG home affairs committee made up of 6 cons and 4 labour and 1 snp

Question 48

how does select committees epform their scrutiny role

Answer 48

- designated select committee scrutinisng each gov department -they can all on ministers to be questioned

Question 49

example of select committe ministerial questioning

Answer 49

- phillip hammond being questioned by treasury select committee about brext 16-19

Question 50

cons of select committee

Answer 50

- they do not have power over legislation and are not able to make changes to laws - cannot force ministers to appear before them