Comprehensive A* politics notes for the UK Parliament. Includes in depth analysis, essay points, and up to date examples for all the areas of this topic: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, scrutiny, representation, legislation and legitimisation. Everything you would need for an A*.
What is Parliament? The British legislature made up of the House of Commons, the House
of Lords and the Monarch.
Structure of the House of Commons - the elected primary Chamber of the UK Legislature:
There are 650 Members of Parliament, each elected as a constituency representative through
a general election.
The proceedings inside the House of Commons are presided over by the speaker - an MP
elected by other MPs in a secret ballot; currently Lindsay Hoyle. They still fulfil constituency
duties but are an apolitical figure and renounce their party affiliation.
Parties appoint party whips who work under a chief whip. One of their main roles is to inform
their MPs about parliamentary business and ensure they vote how the party wants. The Whips
send round a booklet detailing upcoming parliamentary business - a three line whip means
you must absolutely turn up to vote and will be punished if you fail to do so. You do not want
to ‘lose the whip’, effectively been expelled from the party and losing any chance of
promotion. The job of the whip is more important when the government majority is small.
- Conservative MPs who consistently defy the whips are known as the ‘awkward squad’.
- Historically, the chief whip kept a ‘black book’ containing dirt on his MPs in order to ensure they
stayed in line.
- William Wragg claims that whips still do use blackmail in 2022.
- Christian Wakefield alleged that he was told a key project in his constituency - a new school - would
not receive funding if he did not vote in a particular way.
Parliamentary arithmetic is the size of the government majority.
Structure of the House of Lords - the unelected, second chamber of the UK Legislature:
- Since the House of Lords Act 1999 there are now just 92 hereditary peers; peers who
have inherited their Lordship. When a hereditary peer dies, their successor is elected
by all the remaining hereditary peers based on party affiliation. Only in 2011 was male
preference primogeniture removed.
- 26 members are archbishops and bishops of the Church of England, known collectively
as the ‘Lords Spiritual’. Recently leaders of other religions - e.g Chief Rabbi - have been
appointed as life peers.
- The other members of the Lords, known as life peers, are appointed by the Prime
Minister using the Monarch’s prerogative powers. Many are political appointments from
leaders of the major parties. The House of Lords appointments commission decides who
shall be appointed, and can veto unsuitable candidates nominated by party leaders.
There are too many non-party members, known as crossbenchers, for a party to have a
majority. Proceedings are presided over by the Lord Speaker.
How well does House of Commons fulfil the function of legislating?
Public Bills
Parliament passes around 25-35 public bills (bills presented by the government) per session, mostly
relating to manifesto commitments. The government’s legislative programme is set out in the Queen’s
speech.
Private Members Bills
Legislative proposals made by backbench MPs are known as private members bills and can be
introduced in one of three ways.
- Through a ballot where the names of backbench MPs are drawn randomly each session
and allocated specific time to introduce a bill and then discuss it. They have little
, chance of being turned into law, as many fail to attract the quota of MPs needed for a
debate, and others are opposed by the government and filibustered.
- Through a ten minute rule bill. The MP makes a ten minute speech introducing an issue
for consideration but as time is so limited these are usually focused on making a
political point rather than a serious attempt for legislation.
- Through a presentation where an MP presents the title of the proposed bill to the
House, but does not discuss it.
During the second reading of a Private Member’s Bill, any MP can block it simply by shouting
‘oppose’. Sir Christopher Chope did this twice in 2018 to bills that had government support.
Very few private members achieve royal assent. However, if there is an emergency or an
issue with strong public support/public pressure, then a private member’s bill has more
chance of passing e.g:
- The gangmasters act (2004) was passed due to high public pressure/much publicity
after the 2004 Morecambe Bay disaster.
- Murder Act 1965 which abolished the death penalty.
- Abortion Act 1967.
How does a bill progress through Parliament?
1. 1st reading: formal presentation of a bill. There is no debate and no vote. The short title of the Bill is
read out and is followed by an order for the Bill to be printed.
2. 2nd reading: The proposer of the bill presents more details, and the key principles of the bill are
debated. The MPs then vote on whether the bill should progress to the next stage. Only twice since
1945 have public bills been defeated at this stage.
3. Committee Stage: A detailed examination of the bill takes place in a public bill committee. These
consist of between 16-50 MPs, in a microcosm of the Commons (reflecting party-strength in the
Chamber). Since the Wright Commission 2010, committees are now able to bring in ‘expert’
witnesses to give evidence. Members of PBCs are chosen by and introduced on what to do by the
Whips, so government has a tight control on this process. Opposition MPs find it very hard to get
amendments through.
A rare example of an amendment from the opposition getting through was when Labour MP Sarah
Champion managed to get an amendment through regarding child grooming during the committee
stage on the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. It initially said that someone had to be in court twice
for grooming to go to jail, but she amended it to just once.
4. Report stage: PBCs report back to the Commons and the chamber votes on the proposed
amendments. Other MPs can then propose changes which are all considered and then voted upon.
5. Third reading: The final version of the bill is presented, and its contents are debated briefly. The
whole chamber then votes.
6. The House of Lords: The entire process repeats in the second chamber. If the Lords suggest any
amendments they are passed back to the Commons for approval or rejection and can be sent back
and forth between the chambers, often described as ‘parliamentary ping pong’. Once all variations
have been resolved the Lords vote to approve the text.
7. Royal Assent: The bill, approved by both chambers, is sent to the Monarch who gives it royal assent
by signing it into law. Royal assent has not been withheld since Queen Anne rejected the Scottish
Militia Bill in 1708.
The legislative process is not as efficient as it could be. The first reading is entirely ceremonial
and a waste of time. Similarly, the Monarch providing royal assent has no real purpose as the
Monarch has little power to actually reject a bill.
How well does House of Commons fulfil the function of scrutiny?
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