Parliament
The Legislative
Don’t forget your triangle
Executive
LEGISLATVE
Judiciary
What is Parliament?
 The Mother of all Parliaments est. 1265
Task
 How does Parliament differ from
Government?
 Can you think of the main functions of
Parliament?
 Is there much of a point to Parliament if the
majority party always controls the agenda in
the House of Commons and the House of
Lords is full of unelected fuddy duddies!
Functions of House of Commons
Representation
Recruitment of
Government
Forum for Debate
Legislation
Scrutiny
Task
 For each function of Parliament write a
definition:- For instance
 Representation: The House of Commons
represents the people of the United
Kingdom, it has been elected by them and is
therefore representative and democratic.
Representation
 Parliament is not truly representative as it is
dominated by White, Middle Class Men
 One of the criticisms levied at the election of Ming
Campbell as leader of the Lib Dems is that he like
Tony and David is a White, MC, Male!!
 Also professions such as lawyers, journalism and
teaching are over represented as they require
good communications skills
Facts and figures
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120 Women MPs in 2001
12 Black or Asian MPs in 2001
70% aged between 40 and 59
2.3rds are Graduates
64% of Cons MPs attended Private School (17%
of Labour and 35% of Lib Dems)
 4/5ths have a professional background, only 12%
of Labours MPs have a manual background
Task
 What is the problem with overrepresentation of White, Middle Class Male
Lawyers?
Constituencies
 HoC consists of 659 MPs, each from a different
area or CONSTITUENCY
 Role of MP: Social Welfare – looking after
housing, health and Social Security problems –
contacting relevant ministry, agency, QUANGO on
their constituents behalf, or asking a question in
Parliament
 Promoters of local interests – i.e. Adam Afriyie’s
policy of preventing night flights to Heathrow
Representation of Interests
 A grey area this one
 Sponsorship of election candidates by Trade
Unions
 Payments of fees to MPs to act as advisers
 Lobbying
 Part-time interests in outside occupations
such as Company Directors
Register of Interests
 A check on declining ethical standards of MPs
 ‘Cash for Questions’ (Mohammed Al-Fayed gave
Neil Hamilton £25k)
 Nolan Committee (1995)
 Appointment of a Parliamentary Commissioner for
standards – i.e. investigation into Neil Hamilton’s
failure to declare hospitality or register cash
payments
 Also Michael Trend former MP for Windsor
claiming allowance for a house in London, despite
spending all his time in Windsor
Legislation
 Green Paper – A consultative document, before
Govt commits to legislation
 White Paper – A firmer statement of Government
intention
 Bill – A bill is a draft Act of Parliament
 Act – Once a bill has been passed through
Parliament it becomes an Act
 Public Bill – Affects the whole country
 Private Bill – Affects only part of the country
Route of Legislation
Green Paper
White Paper
1st Reading
2nd Reading
Royal Assent
House of Lords
3rd Reading
Report Stage
Committee
Stage
Route of Legislation
Green Paper
White Paper
No debate
2nd Reading
Principle debated on floor
Process repeated in Lords
House of Lords
1st Reading
3rd Reading
Amendments Considered
Report Stage
Committee
Stage
Clause by clause in
Standing Committees
Route of Legislation
1st Reading
2nd Reading
The House of Lords can suggest amendments
or reject the entire Bill
The process therefore starts again where The
HoC can either accept or reject these
If a Bill passes through the Commons 3 times
it automatically becomes law – Parliament Act
House of Lords
3rd Reading
Report Stage
Committee
Stage
Task
 Without looking can you recite the passage
of a bill through Parliament?
Private Members Bills
 The Executive has a full role in the origination,
formulation and implementation of a bill
 Parliament has only a negligible role here – except
as a Private Members Bill
 In an annual ballot, 20 members have the
opportunity to introduce their own Bills
 These can be on any issue – Stephen Twigg
initiated a ban on fox hunting in 1997, which failed
– Generally strong social issues with a strong
moral dimension – cut across party lines
Task
 Can you think of any limitations on Private
Members Bills?
Limitations
 They are not to require the use of public money
 Lack of time – only the first half dozen of the 20
bills have any real chance
 The whips can destroy a bill if the Government is
opposed
 Although Private members Bills have succeeded
in changing the law on capital punishment,
abortion, seat-belts in front seats and divorce
Scrutiny
 Governments and therefore the Executive
are accountable to Parliament
 Can you think of the various ways
Parliament can control the Executive?
Main methods of Scrutiny
Questions
Select Committees
Correspondence
with Ministers
Early Day motions
Debates
Questions
 Backbenchers may submit oral or written
questions
 These and the answers are recorded in
Hansard
 Ministers reply to questions daily
 PMQT – MPs may ask one question and
one unscripted supplementary question
Debates
 General Debate – Queens Speech, No
confidence motions
 Adjournment Debates – General
Constituency issues
 Private Members motions
 Emergency Debates
Select Committees
 Scrutinise away from the floor
 Powers to send for papers, persons and
records
 Includes 16 Departmental Select
Committees (DSC’s – Public Accounts,
Public Administration, European Legislation,
Standards and Privileges)
 Part balance reflects floor of House
HoC reform - Task
 Why would the House of Commons need
reforming?
 Can you think of any ways the House of
Commons can be reformed?
 Research - What was the Nolan Committee
and why did it’s findings inspire New
Labour?
Blair’s reforms
 PMQT – moved from 2, 15 minute sessions on
Tuesdays and Thursdays, to 1, 30 minute session
on a Wednesday
 Why?
 Blair now also appears regularly in front of the
Liaison Committee
 Select Committee on reform of the House of
Commons has been set up
 Robin Cook – changed for example the working
day
Task
 How effective has the reform of the House
of Commons been?
The House of Lords
 The British Parliament is Bicameral
 i.e. there are two chambers
 Reform of the Upper Chamber has been a
key feature of the Blair Government
 Why?
Functions of House of Lords
Legislation
Supreme Court of
Appeal
Deliberation
Scrutiny
Legislation
 After Parliament Act (1911), the lords lost it’s right
to delay or amend finance bills
 But, retained the power to delay non-money bills
for up to two sessions (reduced to one in 1949)
 The Lords does not oppose measures included in
the manifesto (Salisbury Convention)
 But, it retains a valuable right to amend bills, with
around 10 000 amendments made in any
Parliamentary session
Deliberation and Scrutiny
 Scrutiny through Select Committees and
questions are more effective than debates
 Select Committees have embarassed
Govts. Such as Unemployment Committee
(1984) and Science Committee (1991)
 The European Committee is much more
effective for scrutinising EU legislation
Supreme Court of Appeal
 What do you think this means?
 The House of Lords, not only contributes to
the law, but also adjudicates on the law
 Do you think this is a contradiction?
Composition
 Who sits in the Lords?
 Formerly Lords Temperal (Hereditary Peers)
and Lords spiritual (Archbishops)
 Life Peerages Act (1958), created Life Peers
 Life peerages are normally retired long
serving MPs – “The House of Lords proves
there is life after death” Grimond
Reform of the House of Lords
 Does the House of Lords needs reform?
 If yes how would you do it?
 Would you abolish the Lords and form a
Unicameral legislature?
 Would the primacy and legitimacy of the
House of Commons be challenged by a
democratically elected Lords?
Labour’s Reforms
 Stage One
– Remove all but 92 Hereditary Peers
– By 2002 there were 217 Cons, 188 Lab, 66 Lib
Dem and 177 Crossbenchers, plus 24
Archbishops
 Stage Two
– Errr haven’t quite figured that one out yet
– Research the Wakeham Report
Commons All-Party Select
Committee
 Formed to issue a report on options for
reform
 Stated that it should sit for a 12 year term
 Reported in 2002, 5 desirable qualities
– Legitimacy
– Expertise
– Representativeness
– Independence
– Absence of domination by one Party
Research Task
 How is the second chamber formed in:– A) The E.U.
– B) The U.S.A.
– C) France
– D) Germany