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Full notes on 'Chapter 6: The UK Parliament', Elliott & Thomas, Public Law textbook (4th ed, 2020, Oxford $31.75
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Full notes on 'Chapter 6: The UK Parliament', Elliott & Thomas, Public Law textbook (4th ed, 2020, Oxford

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  • Course
  • Constitution And Administrative Law (LAW1220)
  • Institution
  • University Of Leeds (UoL)
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Whole Chapter 6 ('The UK Parliament') covered from Elliott & Thomas' Public Law textbook (4th ed, 2020, Oxford. NOTE: Section 1 ('Introduction') has been omitted as it does not tell significant information. The essence of the chapter begins in Section 2.

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  • December 29, 2021
  • 16
  • 2021/2022
  • Other
  • Unknown

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  • uk parliament
  • parliament
  • democracy
  • elections
  • voting
  • voting system
  • reform
  • political parties
  • election funding
  • fake news
  • house of commons
  • house of lords
  • parliamentary privilege
  • committees
  • legislations
  • ty

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24/11/21


Elliot and Thomas – Chapter 6 – The UK Parliament

2. PARLIAMENT: AN OVERVIEW
 History dates back to 13th c
 Crossbenchers (non-party affiliates) in HL; opposition in HC
 Frontbenchers in HC = government and shadow Ministers
 HL = 815 (88 hereditary peers, 701 life peers, 26 bishops; 26% are in paid govt posts); no role in
forming govt; less party political; same scrutiny measures as HC; revising chamber and can ask the
HC to think again over legislation; veto and delay of legislation; limited role as to finance
 HC = 650; 140 MPs are part of the government; political culture; scrutiny through questions,
debates, select committees; legislature tied with executive; debates important issues, but much of
the time MPs’ behaviours in the HC are ritualistic, pointscoring and unproductive in terms of
achieving policy improvements; financial privilege of checking and approving govt spending



3. PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY
3.1 Why democracy?

 System in which people have a decisive say over how and by whom they are governed
 Dictatorship = means of audacity to seize power and rule by brute force rather than consent
 Particular normative view of the human condition = every individual should be recognised as
autonomous and that all people are equally valuable in moral terms; in theory everyone should be
allowed to do whatever they want with their lives, but in practice the system of government
provides a framework within which autonomy of individuals can be reconciled with the existence of
an ordered civil society in which people are able to peacefully coexist
 Autonomy of the person translate into the autonomy of the people
 Mill (19th c English philosopher) argued that the interests of the ‘excluded’ are ‘always in danger of
being overlooked’
 Democracy has a practical benefit: stimulates intellectual endeavour in the governing system and
the broader of experience of more politically active people produces better views and results
 Representative democracy = elections; reduced due to crossing a ballot paper every 5 years or so
 Participative = public participation beyond elections; direct democracy referendums; supply of
information to the public
 Not important as to whether a country is democratic/non-democratic, but what level of democracy
it possesses



3.2.2 Calling a general election

 Septennial Act 1715 = general elections to be held every 5 years
 PMs until 2011 were able to call an election whenever they wanted = enables them to hold an
election at a time of their choosing, but also reflected in that government required the ongoing
confidence of the HC
 Simple ‘no confidence’ majority triggers a new election

,24/11/21


 The PM of the 2010 Coalition lost the discretion to decide when to call an election = good because
there is no valid reason why the PM should have the power to determine the election date
 Practical problems of no confidence votes = Coalition partner can withdraw and join the opposition;
can come in important times, e.g. the 2019 December elections
 5-year elections under the Fixed-terms Parliaments Act, but if 2/3 of MPs support a proposal to hold
an election or the govt loses a no confidence vote and does not form a new govt in the next 14 days
=> a govt cannot trigger a general election



3.2.3 Voting and standing in elections

 People from the widest possible range of background to stand for election and vote in elections
 UK/Commonwealth/Rep of Ireland citizens aged 18+ on the day of their nomination can stand for
HC elections
 Judges, civil servants, members of the armed forces, police, public office-holders are disqualified
from HL membership
 Corrupt, bankrupts, illegal practitioners and HL members cannot sit in the HC + prisoners and people
with certain mental health issues
 Historically, only land-owners could only vote; the majority of people were disenfranchised
 Representation of the People Act 1918 = election system per person, not by land
 ECtHR held in 2006 that the ban over prisoners was an indiscriminative violation of the right to vote
in elections or stand in elections



3.2.4 The voting system

 FPTP system; likely that a constituent candidate can have less than 50% of the vote
 Doubtful whether FPTP meets the equality criterium; e.g. in East Ham Labour won 70% in 2010 and
the Cons 15 per cent => what’s the point of voting  Bolton West Lab 18,327 votes to 18,235 Cons
votes
 Plurality of vote not majority of vote important for constituency elections
 Criticism: disproportionate seats-votes allocation; system dominated by 2 parties; smaller parties
(e.g. Lib Dems) lose
 2017 elections; Cons 13.6 mil votes and 317 MPs; Libs 2.4 mil votes and 12 MPs => 6 x votes and 26
x seats
 Since the 1960s no party has come close to 50% of votes
 2015 = general election = SNP won 50% of Scottish vote and 95% of Scottish seats; 5% = 3 Scottish
unionist MPs
 Constituency boundaries are important factors = e.g. if a city area is widened to include a Cons sub-
urban territory, then Labour might lose votes; called ‘gerry-mandering’ after the US state governor
Elbridge Gerry
 Boundary Commissions for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; HC recommends
Electoral Commissioners for appointment by the Queen; not affiliated with a party; review
boundaries every 8-12 years

, 24/11/21


 Constituencies will be lowered from 650 to 600; constituencies range from 22,000 to 108,000
electors; proposal for no less than 71,031 and no more than 78,507



3.2.5 Reform

 Growing dissatisfaction with politicians; falling voting turnouts; low political activity among youth
 Proposal to schedule elections on Sundays and allow Internet voting
 Proportional representation = vote for party not an individual candidate; % of votes = % of seats and
each party has a list of ranked candidates it sends to fill in the % of seats
 PR system = no constituencies; no link between MPs and constituents; encourage a profusion of
small parties => likelier for a coalition to happen; used for EU Parl elections
 1997 = Blair created the Jenkins Commission to review the voting system
 Alternative vote system = voters rank constituency candidates in order of preference; second round
of no more than 50%; if no majority after a round => most unpopular candidate is left out and his
votes are distributed to the others
 Lib Dems will benefit from a PR system
 AV can encourage a broader constituency base, but create more disproportionate outcomes than
FPTP
 Additional member system = Sco Parl and Welsh Assem = two votes – one for an individual rep and
one for party; the party seats make the system more proportionate; Jenkins Com proposed that 80-
85% of HC seats be filled with ind can and the remainder by party
 Referendum in 2011 rejected the AV system; 19 mil votes (42.2% turnout); 13 mil NOs and 6 mil
YESes; only second referendum in UK history
 After the 2009 MPs tax expenses scandal, the govt proposed that if 10% of one constituency’s
electorate calls an MP to a by-election, he should take part in one; can be done when the MP
receives a custodial sentence, is suspended from HC for 10 sitting days or more or the MP is
convicted of providing false or misleading information for allowances claims = too restrictive; MPs
for Peterborough and for Brecon and Radnorshire were recalled to by-elections



3.2.6 Political parties

 People are unlikely to get far in politics unless being in a party as the party determines govt
members and runs perpetual campaigning
 Provide voters a meaningful way of influencing membership of the government as parties bind
together like-minded people = imagine what would happen if 650 independent candidates were
sent
 Two-party system is getting weaker and weaker: in 1950 Lab and Cons attracted 89% of the vote;
67% in 2015
 Devolution distracts votes from the two-party system and hands them over to smaller parties, e.g.
SNP
 2019 = 72% of people think the system needs a great deal of improvement

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