JN 302 British Government and
Politics
The House of Commons and the
House of Lords
Lecture Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Parliament and the House of Commons
Party Loyalty and the Whip System
Question Time and Debates
Passage of a Bill
Committees
Roles of MPs
House of Lords
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Power vested in the Houses of
Parliament and specifically the MPs
elected to the primary legislative
chamber: the House of Commons.
 Parliament provides link between
electoral preferences and government
decisions.
 Bicameral legislature: Commons and
House of Lords.
 Commons now has 650 MPs
representing constituencies of
65,000 (average).
 http://www.parliament.uk/about/ho
w/
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Parliamentary Sovereignty:
 Parliament (body of MP’s following election) can make
laws;
 Can also repeal laws;
 Any one Parliament not bound by the actions of a
predecessor; and
 (it is the sovereignty of Parliament that the Euro
sceptics claim the European Union threatens).
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Layout of House of
Commons mirrors (and
reinforces) adversarial
process with Government
and Opposition benches.
 History of
conservative/radical or
reformist struggle: Royalists
and Parliamentarians, Whigs
and Tories, Liberals/Labour
and Conservatives.
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Commons chaired by the
Speaker – John Bercow.
 Speaker presides over votes
and debates, restores
‘order’ to the House,
chooses MPs to speak.
 Drawn from elected MPs
but discards party allegiance
in post.
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 (Recalling last topic)
 Parliamentary Privilege:
 Constitutional principle fundamental to the working of
the Parliament;
 Allows MPs and peers to raise issues on the floor of the
Chambers without fear of prosecution or defamation.
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 MPs are not however above
the law
 http://www.theguardian.co
m/politics/2010/mar/11/mpsexpenses-chargesparliamentary-privilege
 Expenses scandal (2009)
broke by Daily Telegraph
journalists after leaks and
FOI requests.
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Claims on house
renovations, second homes,
employment of family
members.
 Claim of £1,645 for ‘duck
island’ by Conservative MP
Peter Viggers.
 Resulted in resignation of
Speaker Michael Martin, and
resignations of Ministers
and MPs.
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Gordon Brown commissioned inquiry by Sir
Christopher Kelly resulting in changes such as:
 Establishment of Independent Parliamentary Standards
Authority (IPSA) to evaluate expenses and salaries;
 Banning MPs from employing family members;
 Scrapping the ‘additional costs allowance’ (ACA) subsidy
relating to second homes.
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Expenses scandal eroded public trust in Parliament,
and MP salary levels still generating public debate:
 http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/11/mpspay-watchdog-recommends-salary-rise
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 Business in the House
 The main business in the Commons is usually a set-piece
debate on some area of government policy, often
involving a series of motions and orders, or a stage of a
new bill.
 MP questions must be submitted three days prior to
Question Time session.
 Government business.
 Some opposition days (20 in each session).
 Ministers summoned to the House to answer questions
outside of regular question time.
1. Parliament and the House of Commons
 House business timetable
set by the Leader of the
House – Andrew Lansley.
2. Party Loyalty and the Whip System
 Whips – individuals charged with ‘whipping into line’
back benchers when an important debate or vote
occurs.
 The party whip – refers to an MP or peer’s ‘membership’
of his or her parliamentary party.
 Three-line whips – most important votes where
attendance and voting on party lines is compulsory.
2. Party Loyalty and the Whip System
 Current chief whip: Sir
George Young. Appointed
after resignation of
Andrew Mitchell and
‘plebgate’ affair.
2. Party Loyalty and the Whip System
 MPs do have degree of autonomy and Governments
have lost votes in Commons debates:
 http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/30/ca
meron-mps-syria
 http://www.channel4.com/news/cameron-facescommons-vote-on-europe
3. Question Time and Debates
 Opportunity for MPs to quiz PM
and senior departmental
ministers about policy decisions
and workings of their ministries.
 PM’s question time is
Wednesdays between 12 and
12.30. Departments answer
questions on a fortnightly rota.
 At least one hour a day when
Commons is sitting.
 Backbenchers only allowed
single question. Opposition
leader is allowed six questions.
3. Question Time and Debates
 In addition to Question Time there are:
 Written questions – more detailed and forensic
questions that can yield information for MPs and their
constituents, (and also journalists).
 Urgent questions – (previously private notice
questions). Used for important issues that have just
arisen. Do not require usual 3 day notice.
3. Question Time and Debates
 Other forms of Commons scrutiny of executive include:
 Early day motions (EDMs) – enables backbenchers to
highlight issues of concern, does not lead to debate but
can pave way for private member’s bill;
 Adjournment debates – half-hour debates at end of sitting
day;
 Urgent debates – debates take place within 24 hours; and
 E-petition debates – 100,000 or more signatures on
petition refers it to the Backbench Business Committee –
used by public interest groups.
4. Passage of a Bill
 A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a change to an existing
law.
 Prospective legislation outlined in Green and White Papers.
 It can be introduced in either the House of Commons or
the House of Lords.
 Once a bill has been examined and debated and both
Houses agree on the content it then receives Royal Assent.
 Once given Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
4. Passage of a Bill





1st reading: actual reading out of title of Bill
2nd reading: opportunity for debate
Committee stage
Report stage
3rd reading: reviewed and debated in final intended
form.
 Guillotine – Leader of House restricts time for specific
stages of Bill or ‘Programme Orders’ – sets fixed
number of sittings for Bill’s passage.
5. Committees
 Select Committees – permanent established in 1979,
scrutinise the workings of individual government
departments and Parliament itself – example Public
Accounts Committee (PAC) - http://www.parliament.uk/pac
 Has the power to call for witnesses and papers.
 Evidence taken in public.
 Elections of Chairs and members – reduces power of the
whips.
 http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/committees/select/
5. Committees
 General Committees – includes public bill committees
(formerly standing committees) that scrutinise bills,
and grand committees that deal with impact of
legislation on nations and regions.
 Joint Committees – comprised of MPs and Peers.
6. Roles of MPs
 MPs represent concerns and interests of all
constituents.
 Principal duties of MPs:
 Holding weekly ‘surgeries’ in their constituencies;
 Writing to ministers to try to resolve grievances of
constituents;
 Asking written or oral questions at Question Time;
 Introducing private members bills, etc.
7. House of Lords
 Revising Chamber:
Scrutinises bills.
 Shouldn’t usurp the
business of the
Commons.
 Undemocratic status.
7. House of Lords
 The Lord Speaker elected by peers.
 She or he:
 is elected for five years - and can
serve no more than two terms.
 presides over the proceedings of the
Upper House
 cannot call Members to order or
select who speaks
 Role formerly (until 2006)
performed by Lord Chancellor but
changed after Constitutional Reform
Act 2005.
 Current Lord Speaker is Baroness
D’Souza.
7. House of Lords
 House of Lords Reforms
 Parliament Act 1911 – Replaced Lords’ power of veto
with a right merely to delay Bills for a maximum 2 yrs
(now two parliamentary sessions over 13 months).
 House of Lords Act 1999 – 92 hereditary peers
allowed to remain (90 voted by fellow peers) plus 10
new life peerages (not elected).
7. House of Lords
 House of Lords then comprised of:
 26 Lords Spiritual, 598 Lords Temporal (27 Law Lords,
2 non-elected hereditary peers, 90 elected hereditary
peers, 477 life peers)
 Clegg’s failed House of Lords Reform Bill 2012:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19149212
7. House of Lords
 Most recent appointments:
 http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/01/hou
se-of-lords-new-peerages