democracy 1 - parliamentary representatives

paragraph titles

questions and debates, voting on bills, select committees, house of lords

when does PMQs occur?

every wednesday at 12pm

how many questions can the leader of the opposition ask?

6

how is PMQs effective?

gives parties a chance to make the PM/government look bad and gains the party attention

how is PMQs ineffective?

the PM can ignore questions and has questions set up to make themselves look good

how can an MP ask a question?

by entering a ballot and being chosen out of all mps who entered, or by bobbing during question time

what did Rishi Sunak confront Keir Starmer about during question time?

removal of Winter Fuel Payments, which went ahead anyway

what must happen for a bill to become a law?

HOC and HOL must both vote

is rebelling in a small majority party or large majority party more effective?

small majority

example of an effective rebellion vote

22 conservative MPs rebelled against Rishi Sunak over the vote on compensation for NHS infected blood scandal victims

example of an ineffective rebellion vote

53 Labour MPs rebelled against Keir Starmer and the removal of Universal Winter Fuel Allowance

what is a select committee?

a small group of MPs from different parties that come together to look at a specific issue and make recommendations to the government

what % of select committee recommendations are taken on board?

40%

why are select committees ineffective?

people or companies can refuse to show up, they are also proportional to parliament so the largest party has the most members in the committee

example of a company and a person not showing up

viagogo refused to turn up and as PM Boris Johnson didn't turn up 3 times in a row

how are members chosen for HOL?

appointed by the PM for expertise in a specific area. some are linked to a party and some are independent

what is a positive about HOL looking at bills?

they have more time and expertise to look at a bill

what kinds of bills can HOL not vote on?

manifesto and financial

why can't HOL vote on these types of bills?

Salisbury Convention

2 examples of independent HOL members

Baroness Michelle Mone and Lord Alan Sugar

how many times did HOL defeat Tories over 2023-24?

over 40 times

what bill did HOL vote against multiple times, but ended up passing anyway?

Rwanda Safety Bill

which method is most effective?

HOL

which method is least effective?

select committees