Parliament, the prime minister and the cabinet

What does the UK’s bi-cameral system mean?

It refers to the two houses of Parliament: the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which together create and pass legislation.

What does the House of Commons consist of?

650 elected MPs, the largest party forms the government, with around 100 MPs becoming ministers. The second-largest party becomes the Opposition with a Shadow Cabinet. The rest are backbenchers. MPs represent their constituents, take part in debates, vote on laws, scrutinise the government, and may serve on committees or introduce Private Members’ Bills.

what is a whip?

A party member responsible for ensuring party discipline, managing votes, and communicating party positions to MPs.

What is Hansard?

the official record of parliamentary business

What is a select committee?

a group of backbenchers that scrutinise the work of particular departments (e.g. the Home Affairs Select Committee)

What is a bill committee?

a group of backbenchers that scrutinise a particular Bill as it passes through the Commons

What does the House of Lords consist of?

The House of Lords consists of about 800 unelected members, including Life Peers, 92 Hereditary Peers, and 26 Church of England bishops (Lords Spiritual). Some members belong to political parties, while “crossbenchers” are independent. It’s one of the largest legislatures in the world, and there are current plans by the Labour Party to abolish or reform it.

what are the stages of passing a bill?

• Green Paper – rough draft the idea sent out for consultation

• White Paper – Firmer outline of the proposed law

• First Reading – Title of the Bill is read out on the floor of the Commons

• Second Reading – Bill is debated in the Commons

• Committee Stage – Bill is scrutinised by a committee of backbenchers

• Report Stage – Committee reports back with recommendations for amendments

• Third Reading – the Bill is debated in its final form

• The Government can impose a “guillotine” to speed up the passage of the Bill

• If the Commons passes the Bill it passes to the House of Lords

• The Lords can suggest amendments that have to accepted by the Commons

• The Lords cannot delay a Money Bill (eg the Finance Bill after the Budget)

• The Lords can delay other legislation for a maximum of 13 months

• Once the Bill is approved it receives the Royal Assent and becomes the law of the land

What forms the executive of the government?

The prime minister and their ministers

What are the main duties of a PM?

• Appointing ministers

• Chairing meetings of the Cabinet

• Meeting the King every week

• Declaring War (nominally the Monarch can do this, but in reality it is the PM)

• Appointing senior judges, Church of England clergy, peerages and other honours

• Recommending the dissolution of Parliament for a General Election

• Attending Prime Minister’s Question Time each week to answer questions from MPs

Writing the King’s speech, outlining the Bills to be introduced to Parliament

What is the cabinet?

The most senior of the PM’s appointed ministers, those ministers that head the department are usually known as secretaries of state

What does collective responsibility mean?

ministers must support the governments policy publicly even if they privately disagree with it

What is individual ministerial responsibility?

The principle that a minister is accountable for their own actions and the actions of their department and should resign if any serious error occurs.

What are civil servants?

permanent employees of the government who are expected to be politically neutral and don’t change at election time, Politicians (Ministers and MPs) decide on policy, the civil servants implement that policy

What is a permanent secretary?

A senior civil servant who heads a government department and is responsible for its administration and budget.