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Parliament
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Detailed, thorough notes on Parliament based on the suggested Edexcel A-Level textbook
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ParliamentDefinitions
Parliament: the British legislature made up of the House of Commons, House of Lords and the monarch
House of Commons: the primary chamber of the UK legislature, directly elected by voters
House of Lords: the second chamber of the UK legislature, not directly elected by voters
Backbenchers: MPs who do not have a (shadow) ministerial position. They occupy the benches in the
debating chamber behind their leaders. Their main role is to represent their constituencies. They are also
expected to support the leaders of their respective parties
Opposition: the official opposition is usually the party with the second-largest number of seats in the
Commons. Its role is to criticise the government and to oppose many of its legislative proposals. It also
seeks to present itself as an alternative government
Select committees: consisting of backbench MPs, the composition of Commons select committees
reflects the make-up of the Commons; they investigate and report on activities of government
departments. Their counterparts in the Lords carry out topic-based inquiries
Confidence and supply: a type of informal coalition agreement sometimes used in the event of a hung
parliament where the minority partner agrees to vote the government on key issues, usually in exchange
for policy concessions
Salisbury convention: the convention whereby the House of Lords does not delay or block legislation that
was included in a government’s manifesto
Legislative bills: proposed laws passing through parliament
Public bill committees: committees responsible for looking at bills in detail
Parliamentary privilege: the right of MPs or Lords to make certain statements within parliament without
being subject to outside influence, including law
Parliament (Westminster), dating back to the 13th century, is at the centre of the UK political system. The UK has
a 'bicameral' parliamentary system - a parliament with two chambers.
The structure and role of the House of Commons and House of Lords
Members of the House of Commons are chosen through elections to represent single member constituencies. As
the 2015 general election, there were 250 constituencies. The number of candidates seeking election has risen to
3971 by 2015 (an average of 6 per constituency). Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, general elections are
supposed to be held regularly, at the end of a fixed five year parliamentary term; an early general election can be
held if the government lose a vote of no confidence and the parliament cannot form another administration
within 14 days, or if 2/3 MPs support the motion of calling an early election (which Theresa May called in June
2017). If MPs dies or retired during a parliamentary term, the vacancy is filled by holding a bi-election.
Most MPs are elected as members of a political party. Only one independent, Lady Hermon, was elected in 2010
and 2015. Sometimes an MP might resign or be expelled from a party, and serve out the rest of the term as an
independent (e.g. UKIP's only MP, Carswell, left in March 2017). The majority of MPs are backbenchers; the rest
are frontbenchers, either member of the government or 'shadow' ministers, with the Shadow Cabinet lead by the
leader of the opposition.
The House of Lords does not have an upper limit on the size of its membership (in late 2016, there were 809
peers). There are three main categories of peer: hereditary, life and 26 'Lords Spirituals' (who sit in the Lords for
, historical reasons, as the Church of England is the official church of the British state. The main functions of the
Commons and the Lords are passing legislation, scrutiny of the executive, and providing ministers.
Passing legislation is the most important function of parliament. Parliament is the supreme legislative body
in the UK, with authority to pass or amend laws on any subject. The House of Commons has exclusive power
to give consent to taxation and the Lords are not allowed to interfere with the passage of 'money bills'.
Most legislation is initiated by the government and there is limited opportunity for backbench and
opposition MPs to propose measures of their own. Parliament mainly reacts to measure but before it by the
executive and is rarely able to defeat or significantly amend legislation; to succeed, solid opposition from
opposition parties and rebels is required (e.g. Cameron was defeat in March 2016 on plans to extend Sunday
trading).
The adversarial nature of the party system (where the opposition constantly confronts and challenges the
government) is reinforced by party whips. They are responsible for ensuring that MPs attend parliamentary
votes (divisions) and for granting leave of absence if their vote is not essential. They issue MPs with a written
instruction to attend, which indicates how important it is to be present; the most important votes are
underlined three times. Government whips may offer the prospect of ministerial posts in order to encourage
and reward loyalty, as well as impose sanctions on those who do not accept the party lines. Persistent rebels
may have the whip withdrawn, meaning they are suspended from the party; this can also happen in cases of
misconduct. Smaller teams of whips operate in the Lords.
Governments can use the argument of overriding necessity to push through legislation (e.g. the 2005
Prevention of Terrorism Act – consisted of control orders for individuals suspected of terrorist offences –
completed all its stages in 18 days). Only a small number of bills are so poorly drafted that they are virtually
unworkable (e.g. critics argued that the 1991 Dangerous Dog Act, which called for prohibiting certain breeds
of dog, should have targeting irresponsible owners).
Parliament has a responsibility to exercise oversight of the executive’s actions. The opposition seeks to hold
the government to account and expose its errors. Ministers have a duty to explain and defend their policies
in parliament. Most ministers sit in the Commons, with Theresa May's first Cabinet containing only one Lord;
however, government departments are represented in the Lords by a junior minister, whose role is to
oversee the passage of business though the upper house.
The function of scrutiny is performed thought questions to ministers, select committees and debates.
Question to ministers may call for oral or written answers; PMQs happen weekly in the Commons but it is
highly criticised for being theatrical and largely a point-scoring exercise dominated by the prime minister and
the leader of the opposition. Select committees shadow individual government departments in the
Commons. Debates can be impressive set piece events (e.g. the House of Commons debate in August 2013
where Cameron's government was defeated on its proposal to undertake military action in Syria). Since
2010, the creation of the Backbench Business Committee has given MPs more power to shape the agenda by
allowing them to choose the topic for debate once a week. Debates in the Lords are given credit for their
high quality but they rarely influence the course of events.
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