Parliament

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  • Created by: tgrev
  • Created on: 21-04-17 19:37
3 Features of the House of Commons
1. Made up of 650 MP's 2. Government forms a majority 3. MP's represent constituent's interests
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3 Features of the House of Lords
1. Junior partner of the commons 2. Made up of 92 hereditary peers, 26 archbishops and bishops and several hundred life peers
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3 Functions of both houses
1. Granting approval legislation 2. Calling government to account 3. Debating key political issues
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3 Functions of the Commons
1. Represent constituents 2. Vetoing legislation in extreme circumstances when considered against national interest 3. Removing illegitimate government from power
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3 Functions of the Lords
1. Delaying legislation to force reconsideration 2. Representing various causes and interest of society 3. Proposing amendments to legislation to improve it
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3 Features of Parliamentary Govt
1. Fusion of powers 2. Government draws authority from Parliament 3. Government is directly accountable to Parliament
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3 Features of Presidential Governement
1. Separation of powers 2. President accountable to the people 3. President does not sit in legislature
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3 Reasons why government dominates Parliament
1. Government can claim mandate from people 2 Governments normally enjoy a majority a support in the commons 3. Party loyalty is strong
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3 Ways in which Parliament can control govt
1. Parliament is sovereign 2. Commons can remove a govt through vote of no confidence 3. Parliament can amend legislation
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3 examples of Parliament defiance
1. 1979 vote of no confidence James Callaghan Labour 2. 1994 VAT rise defeated 3. 2008 detention of terrorist suspects
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3 Natures of departmental select committees
!. 11-13 backbench MP's 2. Oversee work of Govt departments 3. Critical of govt work and are influential
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3 Natures of Public Accounts Committees
1. Chaired by opposition backbencher 2. Investigates financial aspects of govt 3. Highly influential and often critical
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3 Natures of Legislative committees in the commons
1. 15-40 Backbenchers 2. Consider proposed amendments to legislation 3. Have govt majority
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3 Natures of Legislative committees in the lords
1. 15+ members 2. Contain peers who are experts 3. Subject to weaker party discipline
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Representation in the commons
Pro - Most MP's active in representing constituents Con - Not socially representative
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Calling govt to account in the commons
Pro - MP's regular question minsters Con - PMQ's are not very effective
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Scrutiny in the commons
Pro - D.S.C very effective Con - MP's have little time to scrutinise legislation
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Legislating in the commons
Pro - Operates well and laws are respected Con - Ancient process of passing legislation = inefficient
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Deliberation in the commons
Pro - Seen as the best in debating current issues e.g Iraq War Con - Little time to prep debate on ;legislation
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Checking govt power in the commons
Pro - Commons retain power to veto legislation Cons - Party loyalty leads to lack of challenge
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Representation in the Lords
Pro - Lords more representative then Commons Cons - Unelected and unaccountable
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Calling govt to account in the Lords
Pro - Peers more independent then MP's Cons - No D.S.C so no valuable means to call govt to account
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Scrutiny in the Lords
Pro - Can be more effective then the commons Con - Cannot propose legislation changes as Commons can overturn them
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Legislation in the Lords
Pro - Laws must be passed to legitimate through the lords Con - Cannot provide legit legislisation
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Checking govt power in the Lords
Pro - As uncontrollable can act independently Con - Govt can bypass the Lords
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3 Positives of MP's
1. Strongly rep interests and grievances 2. D.S.C have good reputation for calling govt to account 3. MP's can be effective at questionnaire ministers
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3 Cons of MP's
1. Party loyalty = party policy winning over constituents 2. MP's on legislative committees are ineffective due to whips 3. Whips = strict discipline
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3 Positives of Lords
1. Peers are independent 2. Many peers are experts 3. Many campaigning peers do effective work for pressure groups
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3 Cons of Lords
1. Have minimum back up on research 2. Limited powers 3. Lack democratic legitimacy so less authorised
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3 impacts of EU membership on Parliament
1. EU law is superior 2. UK laws cannot contradict Eu law 3. Some areas have been taken out of parliaments hands
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What were the 2010 reforms on the commons?
1. Backbench business committee set up to select topics
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What were 3 of the 2010 proposed reforms on the commons?
1. House of commons business committee to be set up 2. Redraw constituency boundaries 3. Constituents given the power to recall MP's if there is a misconduct of power
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3 reasons why reforms are proposed?
1. Restore respect 2. Make the commons accountable 3. Make voting power in constituents more equal
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What were the 4 Options for House of Lords reform?
1. Complete abolition 2. Completely appointed 3. Completely elected 4. Partly elected, partly appointed second chamber
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3 Advantages of Abolition
1. Save money 2. Streamline legislative process 3. Remove obstructions for govt
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3 Advantages all appointed
1. Useful knowledge can be brought in 2. Ensure political and social balance 3. More independent
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3 Advantages fully elected
1. Democratic 2. Members fully accountable 3. would have more authority
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Advantage of mixed
enjoy advantages of both
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3 Disadvantages of abolition
1. Lost of important check on govt 2. It would deny political engagement 3. Loss of expertise
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2 Disadvantages of appointed
1. Too much patronage power 2. Undemocratic
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3 Disadvantages of Fully elected
1. Maybe too influential and obstruct govt 2. Maybe unnecessary 3. May be apathetic if faced by too many elections
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Disadvantage of mix
Suffer from same problems as alternatives
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

3 Features of the House of Lords

Back

1. Junior partner of the commons 2. Made up of 92 hereditary peers, 26 archbishops and bishops and several hundred life peers

Card 3

Front

3 Functions of both houses

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

3 Functions of the Commons

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

3 Functions of the Lords

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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