parliamentary representatives holding goverment to account

introduction

Within the British democratic system, parliament plays a key role in scrutinising the government and holding them accountable for any decisions they make. It could suggest that parliamentary representatives are effective in holding the government to account, to a certain extent. There are many ways in which representatives can hold the government to account, including working in select committees, Question time and the House of Lords. Ultimately this response will show how scrutiny in the committees is the most effective.

question time - point

MPs asking questions during question time (PMQs) is an effective way of holding the government to account

question time explain

This means that MPs can put their or their constitutes questions directly to the government ministers during question time. This leaves ministers under pressure to defend themselves. These debates are also streamed live for the general public to see such as BBC parliament channel, creating a large impact.

question time example

For example, as Kemi Badenoch is the leader of the second largest party in the house of commons, she will frequently ask the government questions every wednesday at 12pm, concerning issues such as the NHS funding, immigration and the cost of crisis living.

question time analysis

This could be argued to be an effective method of holding the government to account as each question time is publicly broadcasted allowing not only the MPs but also the general public to scrutinise the government. This allows for the government to make changes to policies or actions, in the best interest of the public, so they can avoid questions which may make them appear bad or unpopular

Question time rebuttle

However, it could also be suggested that this is a less effective method of scrutinising the government as the majority of questions are from the governing party and are constructed to improve the appearance of the government to the public eye.

question time explain 2

This means that most of the MPs asking their questions are from the same party so they are more likely to ask easier questions compared to the opposing parties. There are also not enough seats in the house of commons for 650 MPs and so only a handful are able to ask the government direct questions.

question time example 2

For example in 2021 while boris johnson was under a lot of pressure from the labour and snp parties, conservative mps asked questions such as “Will the prime minister thank vaccine volunteers?” despite the prime minister being involved in an investigation against a possible criminal conviction earlier that day

question time analysis 2

Therefore the scrutiny of the government is limited through question time, as the Prime Minister has already prepared a response to the proposed questions which has been meticulously drafted and therefore limits the extent that the government are out on the spot and held directly accountable.

question time link

Overall, while PMQs are publicly broadcasted, which allows for the general public to scrutinise the work of the government, they are ultimately an ineffective method of parliamentary representatives holding the government to account due to their dramatisation

select committees point

MPs scrutinising the government in committees is also an effective way to hold the government to account.

select committees explain

There are many committees for different issues. The members of these committees question ministers carefully they look at the legislation, discuss important issues and hold investigations. Since the committee membership cannot be members of the government, they often use their position to put significant pressure on the government to account for their actions and change or amend their policies.

select committees example 1

For example, Yvett Cooper (home affairs committee) through her questions, exposed that the government didn’t know how many people were coming into the uk during covid 19

select committees analysis 1

This means that the relevant minister can be questioned for longer as there is no time limit while still being televised. This is an effective way of parliamentary representatives forcing the government to take accountability for those actions.

select committee rebuttal

However, it could be argued that select committees are limited in their effectiveness as usually the government can depend on a majority of members in each committee supporting them. As the makeup of the committee membership is based on the number of MPs per party in the house of commons, a government with a majority in the house will also have a majority in each committee.

select committee explain 2

This means that most committee members are also members the same governing party, meaning they may not scrutinise the government too vigorously as they don’t want to embarrass their leader.

select committees example 2

For example, most members of each committee are now conservative MPs as they won a majority at the 2019 election.

select committees analysis 2

An MP from the same party as the government may be reluctant to expose malpractice or irregularities in the government as they wish to be part of the government. MPs are often rewarded for loyalty by being given promotions into government and ministerial positions.

select committees link

The work of committees are very important and can be used as a major criticism to the government however depending on the finite they may be biased and go easy on the government as they want to stay loyal.

house of lords

Finally, MPs can scrutinise the government by using the house of lords.

house of lords explain

Since the lords are the highest promotions available and most MPs are looking for a promotion to the lords, they don’t look for promotions or ministerial positions so they may feel less restricted on their ability to speak out when they think something is wrong with their party’s position.

House of lords example

For example, Lord Heseltine, previously a minister in OM Thatchers conservative government, strongly criticised the party’s brexit position

house of lords analysis

Therefor, the house of lords is an effective way to hold the government to account as the lords do not need to be biased on loyalty as they’re at the place they want and do not need any more promotions and can speak their mind about what they think is right.

house of lords rebuttle and explain

however it could be argued that the lords are limited in their effectiveness of holding the government to account as the commons can overturn any amendment that they pass. They can delay the passing of a bill but not block it all together.

house of lords example 2

For example, the house of commons overturned all the amendments made to the EY withdrawal bill that has been introduced in the lords. this included an amendment that gave MPs the power to block Brexit.

house of lords analysis 2

Therefor, despite the House of lords having some notable successes in amending legislation and highlighting problems with government bills and policies, in practice it is difficult for them to make a real impact on the legislation passed by a government, especially if that government has a strong majority.

Final conclusion

Although there are many different ways to scrutinise the government, select committees is the most effective. Committees line the lords offers specialised expertise however unlike the lords, committees have different party members from different parties present. Committees like in the commons give members the chance to directly question the government. However unlike the commons committees are made from different parties do they have the most chance of scrutinising the government the most.