UK Gov Unit 2 - UK Parliament

parliament

the legislative branch. consists of the Commons and the Lords

parliaments are different from presidential systems because the executive and legislative are fused - the PM comes from the legislature and is accountable to them through votes of no confidence

parliament and government are two different things!!

3 jobs:

• legislate

• scrutinise legislation and the work of government

• represent views

house of commons

650 MPs, elected at maximum every 5 years

• supreme legislative authority

• select committees draw from backbenchers and scrutinise work of government departments

• public bill committees consist of MPs

• represents the people

• proposes legislation

• removes the government through no confidence motions

• MPs take part in joint committees alongside lords, which usually cover complex issues, e.g. human rights

house of lords

756 members as of May 2026.

• detailed scrutiny of legislation passed by the commons, amendments

• delays bills they don’t like through those amendments (limited by the parliament acts when it comes to public bills) → assissted dying

• question time with members of gov departments

• select committees which discuss broad issues, e.g. the constitution committee

• lords take part in joint committees alongside MPs, which usually cover complex issues, e.g. human rights

confidence and supply

a smaller party agrees to supply the government with their votes on key issues and vote for the government in no confidence motions

e.g. the DUP and the Conservatives after the 2019 election

salisbury convention

the HoL will not significantly alter or change bills that were manifesto commitments

parliamentary privilege

grants MPs and Lords certain legal immunities incl freedom of speech

helps MPs conduct their duty as part of parliamentary sovereignty without outside interference; they’’re not worried about a defamation suit. encourages transparency

but can undermine court rulings by applying undue or unforeseen media/public pressure, and arugably interferes with the rule of law - the other pillar. parliament is sovereign over this too?

public bill committees

• set up by the commons to examine details of a specific bill

• all bills, except money ones, are subject to public bill committee review. money ones are reviewed through a committee of the whole house

• composition of these committees must now mirror party makeup in the commons, representing more views, but often gov dominates

• hears written and oral evidence from members of the public, which anyone can send in

• debates each clause of a bill and proposes amendments

backbenchers

government backbenchers help the government pass legislation. when they rebel on whipped votes, the whip is often removed. abstentions from votes are a sort of ‘soft' rebellion that don’t directly undermine the gov but still send a message

opposition backbenchers tend to criticise very specific legislation relative to their constituent and personal interests, and support their leader with interventions adding information.

select committees

made up of backbenchers, and scrutinises:

1. the work of government departments

2. other things relating to government policy and public life e.g. the environmental audit committee assesses how environmentally sustainable gov policy is

their democratic mandate - drawn from the commons, chairs selected by a vote amongst MPs and members nominated by parties - gives them significant sway and influence

they expose inefficiency, mismangement

BUT their recommendations are not legally binding, so their power is limited. gov doesnt have to act

His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition

the biggest party after the government. they have 20 days/session to raise issues for debate

liaison committee

the liaison committee consists of the chairs of all the other select committees

they get together 3x a year to question the PM directly in a commitee-style manner

this strikes a good balance between PMQs and say, a humble address; information is clear and decently concise, and not theatrical at all, prompting genuine answers

private member’s bill

• these bills only get 13 days per session where they take precedent. 7 of those minimum are for ballot bills, so 10 min bills and presentations are rarely seen

ballot bill - at the start of each session, MPs can enter their names into a ballot. if chosen, they can propose a bill which takes precedent over over pmbs - has a better chance of becoming law, but creates publicity around the issue and thereby indirectly influences legislature

10 minute rule bill - MPs propose a bill and then have 10 minutes to advocate for it. opponent also gets 10 minutes against. rarely become law because they are lower priority. used to raise profile of an issue and gauge support for it amongst other MPs

presentation bill - any MP can in theory introduce a bill if they give notice. they introduce it but dont give a speech. these don’t become law, and are usually just to start the debate around an issue or show constituents something has been done

government/public bill

enactments of manifesto commitments by the government - these have a widespread effect, and comprise most bills introduced

• e.g. welfare reform bill 2024

hybrid bill

changes to the law proposed by a hybrid bill would affect the general public but would also have a more significant impact on specific individuals or groups

usually used for big infrastructure projects; everyone will use them and have their tax money pay for them, but if you’re living on their path you’re more affected

• e.g. HS2 and the Channel Tunnel

private bill

bills whose goal is to change the law as it applies to a specific local authority or organisation

• e.g. the City of London (Markets) Bill to try and move Smithfield and Billingsgate meat and fish markets to a different location; there’s currently law that fixes them to those sites

urgent questions

MPs can ask the speaker to grant them an urgent question directed towards a government minister

that minister doesn’t have to come; they can send a junior minister instead. but they are obligated to take questions (not just from the MP who submitted the urgent q request)

since brexit, speakers have gotten much more liberal with their allocation of urgent questions

• in the 2010-12 session, 74 UQs were granted

• in the 2024-26 session, 192 UQs were granted

• these sessions were of similar length - 295 vs 280 days

lingering from brexit? or a genuine improvement in strength of our democracy and improved willingness to hold government to account?

the speaker and their roles

the speaker is an MP who mediates debate in the commons

• they authorise urgent questions

• maintain order in the chamber

• break tied votes - this is known as the denison rule, and the speaker votes with the government. this really doesnt happen often - 2 times this century!

• they must maintain political neutrality during their time as speaker

ping pong

the swapping of legislature, with new amendments and wording, between the lords and the commons until they can agree.

prevents rushed legislation but has also been used to delay bills needlessly (assisted dying)

secondary legislation/Henry VIII powers

secondary legislation is created by ministers without full parliamentary scrutiny. this authority is given to them in acts of parliament. it cannot be amended by parliament

• statutory instruments are used to officially do this. they’ll become law on a specified date unless parliament objects (either house), they might need a vote, or might not face any scrutiny

• the secondary legislation scrutiny committee is a Lords committee which analyses the effects of SIs and secondary leg.

• henry VIII clauses in bills give ministers henry VIII powers which they use to enact secondary legislation, mostly through SIs.

humble address

a request for information from a certain government department. they get voted on and amended like any other motion

these are tabled by the opposition, but once passed the information is open source.

the legislative process

Wright reforms

• reformed how select committee chairs + members are chosen to improve strength of their mandate

• established the backbench business committee, which gets 1 day a week (35 per session) to debate on topics proposed by backbenchers

• established e-petitions

BUT

• never implemented the house business committee, which would’ve given backbenchers control over legislative agenda rather than the government

• with the hindsight of brexit, that would’ve been catastrophic. on several occassions, parliament wrestled power from the government but then didn’t know what to really do with it. people with differing views on brexit wouldve slowed the process even more. this committee wouldve made that pervasive, during brexit but also likely after

whips

whips ensure that backbenchers are voting with the government and are aligned on policy and procedure - toeing the party line

they work with the whips of other parties to arrange house business

three-line whips: attendance to the vote is mandatory (like even if you’re ill or not in the country, get to parliament to vote!) and you must vote for the gov - expulsion from the party as a punishment

one and two line whips also exist. try your best to get to the vote, and vote for the gov

types of lords

1. life peers, who are appointed on recommendation of the PM and ‘vetted’ through the HoL Appointments Commission

2. people’s peers, who are made by individual recommendations to the HoL AC. only about 2/year; never really took off as initial group was professionals, not ordinary people as expected

3. hereditary peers, NOW ABOLISHED. the 2026 House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act got rid of the remaining 92, but compromised on 15 Tory + crossbenchers who will be reviewed for life peerages

4. lords spiritual, 26 bishops and archbishops of the CofE

monarchy

the monarch has a (largely ceremonial) role, but it’s an important one to remember!

• royal assent

• state opening (king’s/queen’s speech)

• ceremonial role in inviting new PM to form government

prime ministers questions

an hour and a half session where the PM takes questions from MPs.

• the leader of the official opposition gets 6 questions

• the leader of the second largest opposition party usually gets two

• backbenchers are also picked on by the speaker to ask their own questions

trustee model of representation

voters place their faith in MPs to vote as they think is best for their constituents and with their conscious

this model was how we operated in the 20th century; not so much anymore

delegate model of representation

MPs are messengers for their constituents and their views

this isn’t really ever seen because FPTP creates situations where MPs have the minority of constituent support overall; representing them would go against their party

doctrine of mandate model of representation

MPs exist to carry out the party manifesto, and that’s what voters really vote on at elections

this is most accurate for the 21st century

skeleton bill

bills that have the framework of policy but does not have lots of detail on practical implementation; that comes through secondary legislation and lots of henry VIII clauses

the rate of these has increased since brexit; mostly inflated because of covid.

not democratic, extending the government’s authority w/o parliamentary scrutiny. BUT arguably the government have a mandate? + scrutiny of these bills done by a dedicated HoL committee, ensuring integrity

payroll vote

this is a group of MPs who the government can count on to vote with them as they hold positions subject to collective responsibility - ministers and junior ministers in government. about 100 MPs, some paid and some unpaid for their extra role