1. WEEK : 3 The Legislature Joy Johnson

2. Readings Morrison essential public affairs for journalists Ch 2
Peter Dorey Policy Making in Britain
Governing with a Coalition, Bogdanor Ch 6/7
Anthony King The British Constitution
Developments in British Politics, Heffernan, Cowley & Hay Ch 3
Coalition Agreement
The Politics of Coalition, Hazell and Young, Ch 6

3. Issues for this week Composition and role of the Commons
MPs backbenchers
Reforms of the Commons
Role of the Lords
Reforms (incl. Est. Supreme Court)
Stages in both houses for passage of a Parliamentary Bill
Who are the key players?
What are the procedural events in both Houses

4. FUNCTIONS OF LEGISLATURES
EXECUTIVE
Support government
Provide ministers
Consider legislation
Scrutinise decisions
PARLIAMENT
CITIZENS

5. EXECUTIVE – LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS
Majority status + Party discipline = Executive
dominance
Hung parliament – coalition government
Minority government - whipping MPs to get votes through
Minority government – confidence and supply
No confidence vote
Absence of party discipline  Bargaining with MPs
for support (Britain in mid-19th century)

6. THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENT
Provides link between electoral preferences and government decisions
Coalitions within the Coalition
When there is majority government means opposition MPs have little power
Constraint on government is from own side
Where government depends on coalition building, legislature tends to be stronger viz a viz the executive (but is it?)

7. MP’s Expenses scandal Rocked Parliament Rebuild trust
Reform of the House of Commons
Reduce the power of the whips

8. Reform of the House of Commons
members and chairs of select committees now elected by fellow MPs not appointed; reduced the power of the whip.
Deputy Speaker and chairman of ways and means elected – not only deputises for the speaker but takes the chair for the budget statement.
2 other deputy speakers – one Tory one Labour

9. Speakers’ team

10. Definition of Ways and Means
The phrase 'ways and means' comes from a committee of the House of Commons which used to consider the 'ways and means' of raising tax revenue for the Government.
Nowadays, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior MP who is also one of the Speakers' three deputies
The Budget debate is always chaired by the Chairman of Ways and Means.

11. Speaker – order order
Controls the Chamber
Tensions

12. Attempting to control the House

13. SELECT COMMITTEES Background Established in 1979
Public Accounts Committee; Foreign Affairs Committee
Number of reports: = 193
= 323
= 472
Weaknesses
Cannot compel attendance of ministers/officials
Reports not mandatory
Lack resources
Reform - Membership now elected
Whatever reality the media refer to them as powerful

14. Select committees Shadows government departments
Has the power to call for witnesses and papers
Evidence taking in public

15. Foreign Affairs select committee
Dr. David Kelly questioned on whether he was the source for the BBC journalist on government dossier on Saddam Hussein

16. Most humble day of my life

17. BSkyB bid and special adviser

18. Revising legislation
Public Bill committee (formerly standing committees) scrutinises and amends Bills as they progress through the stages before becoming Acts. Can be bypassed with agreement of the Speaker and become Committee of the Whole House
(p37 Morrison)

19. 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

20. Business in the House
Business questions to the Leader of the House on Thursday morning
Government business
Some opposition days
Ministers summoned to the House to answer questions outside of regular question time

21. Urgent Questions
MPs can apply to the Commons Speaker for permission to ask an Urgent Question in the House that same day.
Recent example – executive pay

22. Statements to the House

24. Passage of a Bill
A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a change to an existing law
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 is then presented to the Queen for approval.
Known as Royal Assent
Once given Bill becomes an Act of Parliament

25. Passage of a Bill
Readings in the Commons Chamber – 2nd reading opportunity for debate
Scrutiny – committee stages report stages
Guillotine
3rd and final reading
See diagram below

26. Business in the House

28. Useful link

29. Key actors The Speaker Leader of the House Chief Whip
Chairs of Select Committee
Usual channels (conversation between govt and opposition)

30. Non elected actors
The Serjeant at Arms is responsible for security and keeping order within the Commons part of the parliamentary estate.

31. Clerk of the House

32. Black Rod

33. House of Lords Revising Chamber Scrutinises bills line by line
Can result in ‘Ping Pong’ when a Bill goes between Commons and the Lords
Shouldn’t usurp the business of the Commons
Parliament Act

34. Lord Speaker 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

35. Constitutional crisis averted but Lords now more assertive

36. Archaic terms brought back to life
Constitution reform bill on electoral reform and reducing the number of MPs saw archaic terms brought back to life
Coalition accused Labour opposition of ‘filibuster’
Labour accused coalition of political ‘gerrymandering’

37. LEGISLATIVE PROCESS 1st READING 2nd READING 1st READING COMMITTEE
REPORT
COMMITTEE
3rd READING
REPORT
3rd READING
ROYAL ASSENT

38. NON-ASSENTING HOUSE OF LORDS?
Lords amend Bills
: 29 defeats (eg. 42 day period of detention without trial)
If Lords amend a Bill …
Government backs down; or
Rejects amendment
Nuclear option: Parliament Act
War crimes (1991) Euro Parliament elections (1999)
Age of consent (2000) Fox hunting (2004)

39. POWER RELATIONS WITHIN PARLIAMENT
Commons dominant over Lords
Executive dominant over legislature
Blair not defeated in 1997, 2001 parliaments
But defeated four times in 2005 parliament:
- Terrorism Bill
- Incitement to Racial & Religious Hatred Bill
Government dominant over Opposition
Of 170 ‘sitting days’, just 20 controlled by opposition

40. PARLIAMENT’S (WEAK) SCRUTINY ROLE
“Scrutiny of government by MPs and peers is neither systematic nor rigorous. The quality of information provided to Parliament by ministers and civil servants is variable. Parliamentary inquiries have a poor record in locating responsibility for failures by the executive, ensuring that government acts upon them and following up recommendations for improvement.”
Greg Power, ‘Making Government Accountable’ (2001)

41. EFFECTIVENESS OF PARLIAMENT IN GAINING INFORMATION
Not effective
Balance
Prime Ministers Questions 8%
71%
-63%
Opposition debates
23%
47%
-24%
Department Questions
25%
40%
-15%
Ministerial statements
45%
20%
+25%
Written Questions
41%
16%
+35%
Select committee hearings
84% 3%
+81%
Source: Rush (2005), Tab 9.14

42. SUMMARY Formally, parliament is ‘sovereign’
In practice, executive dominant over legislature
But is legislature weaker today?
- Concessions forced by backbenchers
- Assertive House of Lords
- Better scrutiny, via Select Committees
large government majorities exacerbate executive dominance
Coalition work in progress

43. STRENGTHENING THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
Select Committees
Increase their staffing/budgets
One day per week for reports to be debated
Opposition
Increase in funding for opposition to enable greater research
Sources: Power (2001), Norton Commission (2000)

44. REFORM OF HOUSE OF LORDS
1911
Veto became delay
1949
Delay reduced to one year
1958
Life peers introduced
1999
Hereditary peers removed (except for 92)
2000
Royal Commission on Lords Reform
2012 Clegg concedes defeat and abandons House of Lords reform

45. New Labour
House of Lords reform – Tony Blair abolished hereditaries (except 92 elected by their peers)
The rest appointed
Parties seeking parity to avoid defeat in the Lords

46. WAKEHAM’S PROPOSALS
Powers Retain the ‘suspensory’ veto; no ‘absolute’ veto
Composition Wakeham concerned about direct election So most members to be appointed; minority (c15%) to be elected

47. Lords in full ermine
Proposals for wholly or partly elected second chamber

48. Reform of Lords (2)
Coalition agreement) to produce a wholly or mainly elected second chamber, using proportional representation (PR) system.

49. Reform of House of Lords
Debate on sovereignty – primacy of the House of Commons
Outside experts lost if there were to be elections
Unlikely opponents
Clegg defeated – Cameron too much opposition from his own backbenchers wouldn’t support

51. David Steel’s Bill Possibility of limited reform of the House of Lords
former Liberal Democrat Leader Lord Steel currently going through Parliament.
allow peers to retire, ban those who were imprisoned from returning to the red benches and give the authorities tougher powers to suspend members....

52. Separation of Powers

53. Supreme court

54. Issues Consequences of the coalition
Has the nature of the House of Lords changed
has reform of the Lords hit the buffers

55. Next week
Role of the Prime Minister