parliament and executive

• Parliament interacts with the executive through scrutiny and holding the government to account
• Parliament looks at what the government does, the role of ministers, and whether policies have been carried out properly
• Parliamentary privilege


  MPs have complete freedom of speech and are protected from libel laws
• Backbenchers


  MPs who are not on the front benches of the government or opposition
• Backbenchers are sometimes considered "lobby fodder" - their job is to vote with their party
• Factors keeping backbenchers in line

  • Promise of future office
  • Whips
• Backbenchers in the House of Lords

  • More likely to be independent experts
  • Less constrained by party
• The significance of backbenchers depends on the government's parliamentary arithmetic
• Backbench rebellions have increased in recent parliaments
• Urgent questions


  Questions backbenchers can raise about issues they are unhappy about
• Raising issues does not necessarily lead to policy changes
• Backbench Business Committee


  Gives backbenchers more say in the parliamentary agenda
• The Backbench Business Committee's impact is debated
• Select Committees


  • Responsible for scrutinising government departments
  • Members chosen for expertise
  • Can summon witnesses and request documents
• Select Committees can have a significant impact through their inquiries
• The 2016 energy and industrial strategy committee was highly critical of Sir Philip Green and said he had to solve the problems of the BHS pension scheme
• Select committees can make a difference and can be quite wide-ranging, looking outward at what's going on or looking inward and picking holes in what a department is doing
• Select committees


  • They give detailed examination of government policies and actions
  • They have the ability to question ministers and civil servants, including pre-appointment hearings for figures like the governor of the Bank of England
  • They can request government documents, though these are sometimes heavily redacted or not provided at all
  • Around 40% of their recommendations are accepted by the government, directly impacting what departments do
  • The chairs and members are elected, showing enhanced independence since 2010
• Arguments that select committees do a good job

  • They give detailed examination of government policies and actions
  • They have the ability to question ministers and civil servants
  • They can request government documents
• Arguments that select committees do not do a good job


  • The government has a majority on all the committees, so they may not get the hardest ride
  • Attendance on select committees is not compulsory, leading to high turnover and lack of expertise
  • They cannot propose policy, and the government can often ignore their recommendations
  • Ministers or civil servants may not answer all questions or provide all requested documents
  • The inquiries can be overly confrontational, leading to ineffective scrutiny
• The opposition can criticize the government's actions, but they can't stop the government from pushing through policies due to the parliamentary arithmetic
• The opposition receives 'short money' to provide them with the necessary support to hold the government to account, but this was reduced in 2015 as part of austerity
• Prime Minister's Questions is a weekly opportunity for the opposition to hold the Prime Minister to account, but it often descends into political theatre
• Corbyn and May were considered poor performers at Prime Minister's Questions, while Starmer was expected to do well due to his background as a prosecutor, though the format is different from a law court
• Prime Ministers like Blair have found Prime Minister's Questions to be a 'terror-inspiring, courage-draining experience', even for good public speakers
• There is debate over whether strong performances in Prime Minister's Questions translate to higher approval ratings for leaders
• Ministerial question time tends to be more effective scrutiny than Prime Minister's Questions, with more detailed and better-backed-up answers from ministers
• The majority of parliamentary questions are written questions, which are less visible but play a bigger role than oral questions