Executives relationship with the legislature

Majority government

Doesn’t need opposition MPs to vote for the bill

large enough majoroities can pass bills even in the event of backbench rebellions

Tony Blair suffered a record number of backbench rebellions but was never defeated in the commons from 1997-2005

Timetabling

Executive controls the commons timetable and decides which bills to consider and how much time to allocate for a debate

20 opposition days where opposition parties decide agenda. 17 for the official and 3 for the rest

Public bill committees

reflect the composition of the commons so gives government control to reject majority of amendments in the commons

minority government

makes the commons a much stronger check on the executive

Theresa May’s Brexit deal rejected 3 times in 2019

Cameron suffered multiple defeats in the coalition on House of Lords Reform and air strikes in Syria

The House of Lords

No single party majority

government needs support from opposition peers and crossbenchers in order to pass legislation

The 2023 Illegal Migration bill was unamended in the commons but 28 amendments were made in the Lords

Limited power due to parliament acts and Salisbury convention