Strengths and weaknesses of the House of Commons and the House of Representatives

Strengths and weaknesses of the House of Commons

role of lower chambers

strengths and weaknesses of the House of Representatives

how's the ability to propose amend and reject legislation

uses public bill committees to carefully scrutinise bills

public bill committees are all temporary with MPs lacking expertise on a particular bill

government domination of parliament restricts the ability of the Commons to successfully amend or block bills

do both chambers provide a positive legislative role?

Has the ability to propose amend and reject legislation

separation of powers means it is does not passively accept presidential bills, but is an active legislative chamber

can provide excessive resistance to presidential bills as a result of extreme partisanship

this can lead to ineffective government and federal shutdown during periods of divided government

can use prime minister's Question Time in select committees to scrutinise and challenge the Prime Minister and the government

vote of no confidence can be used to remove the government from office

 the Commons are dominated by the government as a result of the government majority, the whip system and prime ministerial patronage power

votes of no confidence ineffective unless the government lacks an absolute majority of seats

can the lower chambers provide effective cheques on the executive branch

separation of powers makes the House of Representatives an active check on the executive branch

congressional committees investigate presidential action and policy

cheques can become partisan. If the president has a majority in the house this may lead to a lack of scrutiny

 the president may evade restrictions from the house of representatives comma for example comma by using executive orders to bypass the usual need to legislate through Congress

free and fair elections at least every five years

single member constituencies ensure a strong link between MP and voters

first past the post voting is unfair leading to safe seats and disproportionality between votes and seats

there is a lack of social representation, with women and racial minority groups lacking presence in the Commons compared to the population as a whole

are lower chambers sufficiently representative

members of the House of Representatives are extremely sensitive to public opinion as a result of their very short 2 year term

use a single member constituencies like the United Kingdom

first past the post voting can produce unfair results and many safe seats that are not competitive

there is also a lack of social representation in the House of Representatives