Parliament unit 2 aqa

Government and Politics unit 2- Parliament

Parliamentary government- key features

Executive and Legislature are fused; members of govt. are found in the legislature
The government is accountable to Parliament, which can remove government through a vote
of confidence (aka motion of no confidence)- and thus dissolve parliament
Parliamentary elections decide…

govt, which did not have a parliamentary majority, was defeated in a motion of no
confidence initiated by the opposition.

Composition

The HoC is a democratically elected chamber consisting of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs). Each
MP is elected in a single member constituency by the first-past-the-post electoral system. The…

The Salisbury Convention states that the HoL should not reject or wreak bills that are in the manifesto
of the governing party. It does not have the force of law as it is a convention; it arose in the 1940's as
an acceptance that the unelected HoL should not interfere…

Parliament is the legislative branch, this term reflects parliament's primary function ­ law making.

The legislative process

A bill is draft legislative proposal that is debated in parliament. When a bill has completed the
legislative process and becomes a statute, it is known as an Act of Parliament. The most…

Royal Assent ­ when a bill has completed all its stages in both houses, it must have Royal
Assent before it becomes an Act of Parliament. This is when the monarch agrees and signs
the bill to become an Act.

Other bills

In addition to public bills, two other types…

accountable to parliament. Ministers who mislead parliament may be required to resign. Scrutiny
of the executive is done through:

Question Time- MP's question government ministers on the floor of the house. Leader of the
opposition, leader of the thirds largest party and backbenchers (most questions they ask are
provided by…

shortlist in 1997/'05/'10, this ensures that a women candidate will be selected in a
constituency.
Ethnic minorities- 2010; only 26 black and minority ethnic groups elected, only 4% of the
house compared to 8% of the population.
Age- MP's usually 35-55 (averaged at 50 in 2010). Younger and older underrepresented…

The size, or absence, of a majority for the governing party in the HoC is an important factor in the
relationship between the legislature and executive. The first-past-the-post electoral system often
delivers a working majority for the party that wins most votes in a general election. A government
with a…

The 1999 reform of the HoL strengthened the upper house and helped it become more assertive in
the legislative process. In the first decade since the removal of all but 92 hereditary peers, the HoL
inflicted more than 400 defeats on the government ­ compared to seven defeats in the…

parliament etc. An independent Parliamentary Standards Authority was created in response to the
expenses scandal

Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition pg205

The 2010 coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats included provisions
for reform of the HoC. The key proposals were:

Fixed term parliaments ­ parliament will have a fixed 5…