Romy Maio Parliament structure explained 1. What are the three parts of Parliament? House of commons House of Lords Monarch 2. How many MPs are in the elected House of Commons? 650 3. Who becomes the prime minister after an election? The leader of the party with the most MPs elected after a general election 4. What do cabinet ministers do? Coordinate each government department’s work 5. Who is the ‘opposition’ made up of? Parties not in power 6. What does the Speaker do? Keeps house in order by chairing the debates 7. How many members are in the House of Lords? 800 8. What are the different types of Lords? Life peers, hereditary peers, bishops 9. What do Lords do? Hold government to account by looking at laws and issues in detail using their expertise 10. What is the Monarch’s role? Mainly ceremonial, meet PM once a week to hear what’s going on in parliament + formally agree every new law 11. How does Parliament hold government to account through prime minister’s and ministers’ questions? Give MPs the opportunity to challenge the government’s policies + share views of constituents + public 12. Who can be on a select committee? MPs/lords 13. How do select committees scrutinise the work of government? Look at a subject + make recommendations on improvement Witnesses + public can also give evidence End: committee writes a report 14. How long does the government have to respond to a select committee report? How laws are made 60 days 15. What is a bill? a proposal for new law/change existing law 16. What is a green paper and what is it used for? Presents governments ideas for new policy Open for public discussion 17. What is a white paper and who has to agree to take it forward? Outlines firmer plan for policy Cabinet ministers must agree to take it forward 18. What does the minister responsible for the bill do next? Introduces bill to parliament for debate 19. What do MPs and Lords in Parliament do with the bill? Comment + amend the bill 20. When does the bill become law? Elections and voting Passed to monarch – act of parliament 21. ‘In the UK we live in a democracy’. Explain very briefly what this means. Power is in the hands of people through our right to vote 22. What types of elections can we vote in? General/local/European 23. How often are general elections usually held? Every 5 years, every seat up for grabs, polling day: choose a candidate 24. What activities might a candidate do to campaign in a general election? Political leaflets, public debates, broadcasts, face to face conversations 25. What is a manifesto? Publish declaration of policies 26. Who does the elected MP represent? All constituents 27. Which party forms the government and who becomes the Prime Minister? Most MPs elected = party forms government PM= leader of party 28. What are the three options if there is a hung Parliament? Your voice in Parliament Minority/coalition government created/fresh election held 29. What age can you register to vote? 18+, can register from age of 16 30. How can you contact an MP or a Lord? Visit in local constituency office, travel to houses of parliament 31. How else can you influence decision-making in Parliament? Give two ways. Youth section of a party, join campaign/protest group 32. What happened to King John in 1215? Sealed magna carta – forced him to obey law + set up advisory council 33. What happened in the 1265 Parliament and who was responsible? Citizens met separately to form house of commons + house of lords Simon de Montford was responsible for rebelling against Henry III 34. When was the House of Commons first formed? 1332 35. Who can’t run as candidates? monarch 36. What are the four things that the House does? Debated important issues, makes and reviews laws, represents public, holds government to account 37. Who sits on the front bench? Ministers (cabinet) appointed by PM 38. What does the government do in the Commons? Introduces ideas for new laws/changes to existing ones 39. What does the opposition do? Questions and challenges government 40. What do all MPs do? Split time between house of commons + constituency 41. What two priorities do MPs have to balance? Best for party or local people they represent 42. What is ‘scrutiny’? MPs review policies 43. What did the Life Peerages Act of 1958 do? Introduced women into the house of lords 44. What did the Lords Act of 1999 do? Reduced number of hereditary peers in house and stopped lords passing their seat to their family 45. Who decides on appointments to the House of Lords? Panel to help PM 46. What are the three main functions of the House of Lords? Question + challenge work of government, work w/ commons to shape laws, investigate issues through committees + debates 47. What is a crossbencher? Peers who don’t belong to any party 48. Who sits on the woolsack? Lord’s speaker’s seat 49. How is the party composition of the Lords different from the Commons? No majority for any particular party, party in power doesn’t necessarily have the most seats 50. What is the benefit of the Lords being unelected? Less caught up in party politics, and can concentrate on their 3 main functions
