Studied by 22 people
What is an elective dictatorship?
The ability for a government to dominate parliament means it is an “elective dictatorship”
What means that the executive is accountable to the HOC?
Parliamentary sovereignty- since the HOC represents the will of the British people
What is the impact of government controlling parliamentary business?
It limits the opportunity for the opposition to debate government legislation
Why do public bill committees result in opposition being unable to amend legislation at committee stage?
Public bill committees are compromised of the majority party and are heavily whipped
What can a gov with a large majority rely on?
The support of their MPs
How can the government change the law without parliamentary scrutiny?
Secondary legislation
How can the government ensure loyalty to the government?
Extensive powers of patronage- “payroll system”- backbenchers will want to advance their career
Why does the PM not have to consult parliament on the use of British military forces?
Prerogative powers
Which PM used this prerogative power to enact air strike on syrias chemical installations without approval of parliament
Theresa May
What does the Salisbury convention state?
HOL should not attempt to stop gov legislation on legislation mentioned in manifesto
What does the authority of the Prime Minister depend on?
The unity of their party and majority
Who took advantage of divisions in labour from 1979?
Margaret Thatcher
What aided the result of Tony Blairs land slide election in 1997?
Labour was united around Blairs third way with a majority of 179 seats
What were conservatives divided on during 1997 election?
The EU
Why was Blairs influence in decline by 2005?
Controversies surrounding the invasion of Iraq in 2003- majority in 2005 fell significantly
What was the result of May calling a snap election in 2017?
Lost majority and had to rely on support from DUP
What did the establishment of the backbenchers business committee in 2010 lead to?
Allowed backbenchers to determine the issues they wish to debate for 35 days each parliament
Since 2010, who has elected the chairs of select committees and membership of select committees?
Chairs elected by a secret ballot by all MPs and membership elected b a secret ballot within each party, previously the whips had selected the chairs and membership of select committees
Which is the most important committee in parliament ?
The Public Accounts Committee
What is the role of the public accounts committee?
Scrutinises the effectiveness with which the government spends the publics money
What did the chair of the public accounts committee in 2018 say about the governments use of money in policing?
That funding needed to be going where it is most needed
What has the executives authority been reduced by?
The convention that states the HOC should be consulted on the commitment of British forces to military operations
Fixed term parliaments act (2011) - Now repealed however
How is the convention that HOC should be consulted on the commitment of British forces limited?
In 2018 Theresa May used prerogative powers and dint consult parliament- not legal requirment
What can the HOL’s claim since reform?
Greater expertise and can therefore confidently oppose government legislation
From 1999 to 2010 how many defeats did labour suffer in the HOL?
450 defeats
Why did the Lords claim they could oppose George Osborne cutting tax credits despite this being a financial matter?
Osborne tried to pass this through secondary legislation
What was the HOL highly proactive about opposing in 2018?
The governments EU withdrawal bill 2018
What is an example of a PM not pursuing military action due to HOC vote?
2013, Cameron did not deploy military strikes on the Syrian government following its alleged use of chemical weapons- Cameron was defeated and did not follow through with military strikes
What are the three main ways parliament can hold executive to account?
If they have smaller majority
House of Lords (revising chamber)
House of Commons (committees)
Note 
Flashcard (21)