Parliament

set up of the parliament

• made up of a bicameral legislature, dividing into 2 chambers - house of commons and house of lords

• the speaker presides over the house of commons and ensures the rules of the house are observed in an impartial manner

• frontbenchers are the pm and other govt ministers

• backbenchers are all other mps in the governing party who do not hold ministerial position

• official opposition is the largest opposition party in the commons who have a shadow cabinet

• whip system enforces discipline within the party

• hereditary peers are members of the aristocracy who had inherited their titles in the house of lords (no longer exist)

• life peers are peers whose appointments are typically done by the pm

• lords spiritual are the 26 archbishops and bishops from the church of england who sit in the house of lord

main functions of the house of commons

legislation

• house of commons must agree to enact a bill if it is to become law

• a bill is formally presented to parliament at its first reading

• mps then have opportunity to debate main principles of a bill at second reading

• following second reading, a bill is scrutinised in detail by mps on a public bill committee

• debated again the sent to house of lords where same process takes place

• if all stages have successfully gone through, a bill receives royal assent and becomes law

providing ministers

• mps can prove their abilities in the legislature so can persuade the executive to work in the executive office

• parliamentary system restricts the choice for front bench ministerials

• pm also selecting the govt from backbenchers gives them significant patronage power - this reduces debate and encourages conformity

scrutiny and debate

• mps debate legislative programme and enable them to weigh up likely impact of public bills

• also debate private members bills

representation

• 650 mps that represent different parts of the uk, so that interetss of all british public represented

• mps should work hard to represent their constituency well, however some people complain that it isn’t a good reflection of today’s society, as most of mps are privately educated white men

legitimation

• legitimation remains parliament’s main constitutional function, with parliamentary bills requiring consent of commons before they can be enacted

• commons has right to approve the budget, and consulted over committing british forces to military action

• how well commons fulfills its legitimising role is controversial, as uk doesn’t have a codified constitution determining exact powers of commons in relation to govt

how a bill becomes law

• must pass through both house of commons and lords

• govt ministers support bills

• take bills apart “line-by-line”

• amendments made by mps

• if most mps and lords disagree, bill doesn’t go through

• parliamentary “ping pong” - bill goes between lords and commons of making amendments, debating etc. until agreement is reached

• royal assent - both house of commons and lords agree and send the bill to be approved by the monarch to pass legislation

private members bills

• a bill introduced by an mp who is not a minister

• drawing of the lot of numbers to get picked to display legislation

• first stage in voting lobby

• winner of the ballot chooses time slot and most likely to get their legislation to become law

process of private members’ bills

ballot

• have best chance of being law, as they get priority for bill limited amount of debating time available

• names of members applying for a bill are drawn in a ballot

• first 7 ballot bills are most likely to get a day’s debate

ten minute rule

• often an opportunity for members to voice an opinion on a subject or aspect of existing legislation, rather than a serious attempt to get a bill passed

• members make speeches of no more than 10 mins outlining their position, which another member may oppose in a similar short statement

presentation

• any member can introduce a bill in this way

• members formally introduce the title of the bill but do not speak in support of it - they rarely become law

two main types of parliamentary committee

• select committee - scrutinise govt depts and other areas such as economics

• general committee - previously known as public bill committees

*much of work of house of commons and house of lords takes place in committees, made up of around 10-50 mps or lords - these examine issues in detail, from govt policy and proposed new laws, to wide topics like the economy

select committees

• group of members from all parties, with each party electing members to sit on committees, in percentage of party percentage in govt

• scrutinise specific depts or overall

• can devote several weeks or months examining a particular issue, compared to a short debate in chamber for show

• produce report with recommendations

• chair is elected by mps across parliament

• put out a press release

• much more consensual, work across parties

• interrogate the evidence and get evidence from range of parties

• very important role in parliament

*some may argue that committees are gaining too much power, however their recommendations are ignored in the majority of the time

advantages and disadvantages of select committees

• select committee work can highlight govt weakness and put pressure eg. house, communities and local government select committee report in 2018 on importance of private rented sector encouraged govt’s build to rent programme, which increases number of homes available for rent

• select committees ask govt ministers and public officials many lengthy questions

• don’t have power over legislation and aren’t able to make changes to laws

• cannot force govt ministers to appear before them which weakens how well they can scrutinise

• questions are not always effective in examining an issue in depth

• majority are members of govt party, which can limit mps criticism of govt ministers

general committees

• sessional committees deal with a particular issue and last from 1 parliamentary session to the next

• special enquiry (ad hoc) committees also investigate specific issue but are set up for specific time period

• eg. secondary legislation scrutiny committee is sessional committee that plays valuable role in highlighting when statutory instruments are so badly worded or poorly drawn up they may not achieve their purpose

• small number of joint committees of house of commons and lords

role of opposition parties

• hold government to account

• scrutinises legislation

• opposes govt

• raises issues

• look carefully at what govt wants to do - can agree or oppose

• force govt to explain and justify its policies and decisions

• highlight shortcomings of way govt is running country

• present alternative proposals to those of govt if appropriate

• to make itself ready to be alternative govt if current govt defeated at next general election

opposition parties significance

opposition parties should:

• ensure govt justifies its legislative programme and executive decisions

• create a public debate by providing reasoned arguments why they can’t support decisions of govt

• in case of biggest opposition party, known as His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, be prepared to provide an alternative govt-in-waiting in case pm seeks early dissolution of parliament

• use their various frontbench spokespeople to focus on govt dept they are shadowing, exposing failures of policy implementation

• leader of opposition uses opportunity of weekly pmqs to present themselves as having political stature to be pm-in-waiting

respective powers and functions of two houses

commons

• examination and approval of financial affairs of govt

• complete veto of legislation in certain circumstances

• dismissal of a govt by a vote of no confidence

• select committee examination of the work of govt depts

• final approval for amendments to legislation

• has sovereign powers

• remains sovereign even when govt has mandate from electorate

• mps can defy party whips if choose

lords

• examines secondary legislation and making recommendations for further considerations

• delays primary legislation for up to 1 year

• lacks democratic legitimacy

• cannot obstruct govt’s mandate manifesto commitments

• cannot dismiss govt with vote of no confidence

• cannot regulate financial affairs

• is constrained by threat of reform or even abolition

• can propose amendments but can be overruled by house of commons

• as members of lords don’t have same constituency duties as mps, can devote more of their time to scrutiny

• not elected or bound by a party’s manifesto, so more able to act independently

• large number of crossbenchers also makes it more difficult for govt to dominate house of lords