✅comparative powers

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22 Terms

1
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What makes the HOC powerful?

  •   democratically elected- so has a mandate to change + greater legitimacy + relevance

  • leaders of largest party in commons becomes PM, most ministers come from commons not lords

2
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What makes HOL powerful

  • Less affected by party politics- power through stability, cannot be removed

3
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Common’s exclusive powers that make them more powerful than the HOL

  • Parliament act 1911 + 1949 (right to insist on legislation)

    • HOL can’t block bills- only delay for 1 year

  • Financial privilege

    • HOL can’t block/delay ‘money’ bills- anything that involves govt spending

  • Confidence + supply (power to dismiss executive)

    • If govt loses on the vote on the budget, they must resign

    • Only the HOC can hold vote of no confidence to eject govt

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Confidence + supply =

the requirement that the govt must be able to command a majority in the HOC on the votes of confidence + supply (e.g. the budget), also used to refer to an agreement between the governing party + a smaller party in which the latter agrees to support the govt on key votes in return for policy concessions

5
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Notion of no confidence=

a parliamentary censure motion initiated by the opposition which, if passed, requires the resignation of the government

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Confidence motion=

a motion of confidence in the govt, it may be initiated by the govt as a threat of dissolution, or used to approve the formation of a new govt under the fixed term parliaments act 2011

7
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Conventions that make the HOC more powerful than HOL

  • The Salisbury convention

    • HOL should not vote against any measures that were in a govt’s manifesto as they have mandate

  • ‘Reasonable time’ convention

    • HOL shouldn’t deliberately slow don’t govt bills (for legislative scrutiny is ok tho)

  • Secondary legislation

    • Executive can amend existing primary legislation

    • HOL by convention doesn’t block this

8
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Why the HOL has become more assertive

  • Has become more assertive in the legislative process since the removal of most hereditary peers in 1999,

  • govt defeats in the lords have also become more frequent, the blair + brown

  • Party balance

  • Govt mandate

  • Support from MPs

  • Enhanced legitimacy 

9
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Why the HOL has become more assertive due to party balance

  • In built conservative majority is removed so Conservative govts are more challenged

10
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Why the HOL has become more assertive due to govt mandate

  • Weaker mandates 2010-19 + Truss/ Sunak (as not elected)

  • HOL argued they can legitimately challenge policies not tested by voters

11
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Why the HOL has become more assertive due to support from MPs

  • HOL + backbenchers have started to coordinate attempts to amend legislation

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Why the HOL has become more assertive due to support from MPs enhanced legitimacy

  • Most hereditary peers removed

  • Appointed for expertise, they therefore have reason to challenge

13
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e.g. of how the HOL has become more assertive in the legislative process since the removal of most hereditary peers in 1999,

  • it blocked the sexual offences act 2000+ the hunting act 2004, forcing the govt to employ the parliament act in the following session,

14
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Limits the commons face, that the lords don't

  • Constituency work

  • Stronger whip system

  • Lack of expertise/ experience of many MPs

  • Fear of election/ confidence votes

15
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Input legitimacy

concerns the composition of an institution + its responsiveness to citizens' concerns as a result of participation by, and representation of, the people

16
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  • Output legitimacy

  • concerns the quality + effectiveness of an institution's performance + outcomes for the people

17
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what tyoe of legitimacy does the commons have, and why?

input legitimacy cuz of its composition (it is directly elected + accountable to voters), whereas the lords has output legitimacy because of what it delivers (its scrutiny + revision produce better-quality legislation)

18
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(e.g. of HOL resisting the commons)

In 2022 the HOL voted against 14 amendments in the govt's police, crime, sentencing + courts bill, the Lords had defeated a further 5 amendments on the same bill only days earlier, because of the lords stiff resistance, the defeated amendments couldn't be returned to the commons.

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how does the HOL divide its time?

spends 60% of its time on legislation + 40% on scrutinising the govt

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how many amendments did the HOL consider in 2022

5244 amendments to 100 bills

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where is much of the work of the HOL done?

 outside the chamber in committees

22
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how has the lords had a stormy relationship w the commons in recent years?

the govt was defeated by the lords 128 times in 2021-22, the increasingly polarised politics of post-Brexit UK, has meant that even a majority in the commons doesn't get everything its own way, due to the lords