How Important Is The
Size Of Government?
- A very important factor in the relationship between the legislature and the executive
- FPTP delivers a working majority for the party that wins the most votes
- A government with a large majority is able to push legislation, utilise whips and control the parliamentary timetable
- Large majority = less likely that other commons parties can make amendments or defeats bills
- Backbenchers should influence policy but this is now limited because of the majority
- Big majority means that backbenchers are more likely to rebel.
Minority
Governments:
- Biggest party will govern alone
- They could persuade a smaller party to support the winning party on the budget and the Queen’s Speech
- Known as ‘confidence and supply’
- Relatively stable in the short term as the other parties may not want an election
- Difficult to sustain one for a long-term
- There have been four: Willison, Callaghan, Major, May
Coalition
Government:
- Two or more parties form the government, reaching a formal agreement on legislature and cabinet posts.
- The last one was between the Con and Lib Dems: Healthy majority of 79, parliamentary votes on tuition fees, nuclear powers
- The Lib Dems blocked the HOL reforms and the Con blocked the constituency boundary reform
In
What Ways Has Parliament Become Effective:
- Become enhanced in recent years
- Select Committees thought of: Select committees’ members, BBBC, e-petitions for Parliament
- PM must get consent from Parliament before calling an election
Rebellion
from 1990:
- John Major: Maastricht Treaty, gun control, VAT on fuel
- Blair/Brown: Invasion of Iraq, tuition fees, detentions of terrorists, racial act, Gurkhas
- Cameron/Clegg: 35% rebellion – the highest ever, biggest was EU vote where 81 rebelled. Also rebelled was HOL reforms an attack Syria
- May: Sunday trading laws
Parliament
& Brexit:
- MPs sought to rebel
- Some say that a referendum is an advisory rather than binding
- Supreme court said that the government cannot activate article 50 without Parliament, 494 for, 122 against
- Minority government means its hard
- EU law = UK law then it could be amended, this would strengthen the executive. There may be differences between the HOL and the Commons.