MPs, Peers, HOL and Commons

• House of Commons

  • MPs and the speaker sit in the HOC
  • 650 MPs - determined by boundary commission
  • Sinn Fein doesn't take its seats
  • Most powerful of the chambers
• House of Lords

  • HOL contains about 800 members
  • Most are life peers but 92 hereditary peers remain
  • Bishops as well
  • Upper house
• Lords

  • Can act as a check on the commons
  • Some government bills start in the HOL and are usually non-controversial
  • Lords can reject a bill but after a year it is passed
  • Lords also scrutinises secondary legislation
• MPs and Peers

  • Vote on legislation
  • Sit on parliamentary committees
  • Serve as a gov minister or in the opposition frontbench
  • Make media appearances
  • Introduce their own bills to parliament
• MPs further role

  • Serve all their constituents
  • Hold surgeries where the public can meet them and raise issues. Known as Redress of grievances
  • Selecting the party leader
  • Providing democratic legitimacy to Gov
  • Undertaking in Backbench rebellions
• Peers further roles

  • Peers add a specialised insight into debates since they come from a wide range of backgrounds
  • Maintaining independence - crossbenchers which are non political party peers
  • Advising on legislation, it can't fully block legislation due to it not having a democratic mandate
• Redress of grievances

  • The right of citizens to get injustices fixed
  • Example: constituent might try to get their MP to put pressure on a government department to treat complaints more fairly
• FrontBench MP

  • Members of Gov/shadow cabinet
  • Sit on the front benches
  • Expected to vote in line with the government
• BackBench MP

  • Don't have to be in a ministerial role
  • Sit on the BackBench
  • There's more leeway with voting against their party
• Parliamentary privilege

  • Freedom of speech - MPs can be sued for what they say in the HOC but immune in the chamber
• EDMs - Early day motions

  • Motions submitted that have no fixed date and few gain media attraction and debated
  • Draws attention to specific events on campaigns
  • Used to put views of MPs on record
• Public Bills

  • Universally applicable to everyone and all organisation
  • Most legislation comes under this
• Private bills

  • Usually promoted by organisations and private businesses to give themselves power beyond existing law
  • Only change the law for specific individuals and organisations
  • MPs can also bring private bills up thought a Ballot, 10 minute bill or a presentation
• Government Bills

  • Created and promoted by the government, normally to fulfill manifesto promises
  • Government members should typically support these bills
• Hereditary peers

  • Those who belong to the aristocracy and they're inherited entitlement
  • 1999 HOL act removed all but 92 hereditary peers
  • By-elections are held when a peer resigns or dies
  • 1963 peerage act allowed peers to renounce their position and allowed women to be peers
• Life peers

  • Life peerages act 1958 have the PM to appoint life peers
  • Role lasts for life
  • Independent HOL appointments commission recommends people as non-party peers
  • Accusations of cronyism
• Lord spiritual

  • Made up of the Archbishops of York, London, Durham and Winchester
  • No party affiliation
  • Seats are on the gov side of the lord's
  • Align with the king because he's the head of the church
• Peers

  • Paid £323
  • They don't have a salary because they're employed and have expertise
• Limitations of the HOL

  1911 parliament Act - can't veto financial bills and can delay bills for 2 years

  1949 - can only veto bills for a year and after that year it gets passed

  Salisbury doctrine - can't reject secondary legislation if it's in the parties manifesto and can't remove the gov prime power