holding uk gov to account

• Example 1- In early October 2022, Liz Truss was criticised by Keir Starmer due to her handling of the British economy after the announcement of the mini budget. 
• Prime Minister’s Question Time happens every Wednesday afternoon for 30 minutes. This allows MPs, from all political parties, the opportunity, if selected, to ask the PM questions in order gain answers to what the government are doing. This can be in relation to country wide issues or issues that relate closely to their constituency.
• Additionally, this often causes embarrassment to the governing party and can damage their reputation if they are unable to fully answer the questions asked or provide a reasonable explanation for their actions. 
• Example 2- In late 2021, Boris Johnson faced extremely scrutiny from Sir Keir Starmer, as well as other MPs, due to the Conservatives Christmas party held during lockdown in 202
• However, although MPs have this opportunity not all are able to be selected to speak and the behaviour displayed by MPs can often make PMQs pointless as rather than it being about getting answers to questions it is an arena for cheap political scoring points. Furthermore, the PM cannot be held to account in this way during Parliament recess 
• For examples, in 2020 the PM Boris Johnson avoiding being held to account after his decision to prorogue Parliament, meaning PMQs were cancelled, and he could not be scrutinised at that time on the Brexit deal. 
• This shows that the Parliament can’t successfully hold the gov to account as the PM can extent recess periods, which means they avoid answering questions at PMQTs and cannot be scrutinised for their actions. 
• MPs are able to vote on different pieces of proposed legislation (laws) or other matters the government controls. MPs are often expected to vote in a particular way, supporting their party. As the current government is Conservative it is expected that MPs will vote with the PM. To hold the PM to account many MPs will vote against the PM if they don’t agree or are trying to prove a point. 
• For example in 2013 MPs voted against a government motion urging British military involvement in Syria – this went against the wishes of the PM. 
• Furthermore, depending on the level of rebellion and the issue being voted on, it can have wider consequences and call the entire government into question
• For example, in 2019 the Conservative Party rebelled against the gov. several times regarding the Brexit deals offered, which resulted in a General Election. 
• This highlights that Parliament can successfully hold the government to account as if MPs do not agree with the Government, they can choose to vote against them, which can result in the Government not getting what they want and having to rethink their policies. 
• However, although MPs have the ability to vote anyway they chose, there are methods in place to try and restrict this freedom and force them into voting with the government. The 3 line whip system can make Parliament ineffective as this system promotes MPs to vote in a particular way that they are told by their Party Leader. If MPs do not vote the way they are told to this can result in them losing their party privileges or even kicked out the party. 
• Example 3– Conservative MPs were whipped to vote with the party against the ban on fracking law in 2022. 
• This shows that the Parliament can’t successfully hold the gov to account as the MPs can be pressured into voting in favour of Government policy as they will face consequences if they do not and might not be able to progress to higher levels in the party. 
• The House of Lords (H of L) is the second chamber of the UK Parliament with over 800 members who scrutinise proposed legislation due to the range of expertise they have. These members are not elected by the public, but are appointed by the government to their position. Once a bill has passed the first stage in the House of Commons (Parliament) it goes to the H of L to be voted on. A bill can either be passed, amended or defeated. 
• For example, In 2019 the H of L pushed through a bill urgently to prevent a no Brexit deal. (which went against what PM & Con gov wanted) 
• Moreover, The H of L can take time to review bills and gather evidence before making a judgement on them. If they do not feel a bill will have a positive impact on the country then they can defeat it, meaning it will not become a law. There is no limit to how often they can do this. 
• For example, between 2017 and 2019 the H of L defeated 70 bills proposed by the Conservative government as they did not believe they were in the best interest of the UK population. 
• This highlights that Parliament can successfully hold the government to account as the House of Lords can block government bills that they do not feel will benefit the country, which forces the government to evaluate their bills and make changes in order to get the House of Lords to pass it. 
• However, the H of C has supremacy over the H of L. This is because the H of L can only delay a bill for a maximum of 1 year so the government can simply wait the time to overturn the decision. Furthermore, the PM appoints many of the members to the H of L, which can mean they have more influence, as they might be more willing to vote in favour of the government. 
• For example, between 2019 and Nov 2021, Boris Johnson appointed 83 new Lords, meaning he potentially increased support for government legislation as the government at the time was Conservative, suggesting similar support for ideas. 
• This shows that the Parliament can’t successfully hold the gov to account as the PM can appoint members to the House of Lords, which increases their chances of support in that Chamber and means they are more likely to have their legislation passed.