Congress - Comparing Congress & Parliament

Working of the Houses:
Congress:	Parliament:
No government programme of legislation exists	A government programme of legislation dominated the agenda
Level of party discipline is lower	High levels of party discipline
Thousands of bills introduced in any session	Few bills passed into law
Individual members introduce pieces of legislation	Most bills passed into law
Limited number of bills introduced in a session	Committee stage after second reading
Committee stage comes before floor debate	Non-permanent standing committees and non-specialist members
Permanent standing committees with policy specialists	Bills considered by two houses consecutively
Bills considered concurrently	Lower chamber is dominant
Two chambers have equal power	Royal Assent is no longer held.
POTUS has significant veto powers

Oversight:
Congress:	Parliament:
Standing committee hearing	Select committee hearings
Select committee hearing	Prime Minister’s Question Time
Confirmation of hearings	Liaison committee hearing
Ratification of treaties	Correspondence with ministers
Impeached by the upper house	Tabling of early day motions
	Vote of no confidence

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Lower Chambers:
House of Representatives:	House of Commons:
Strengths:	Strengths:
Has initiative power on all money bills	Powers
Draws up articles of impeachment	Presence of the executive
Power of standing committees	Power of backbench MPs
Strong constituency links because of a two-year term	Select committees
	Prime Minister’s Question Time
Weaknesses:	Weaknesses:
Executive branch members can appear only in committees, not on the floor	Party strengths unreflective of votes at general election
POTUS rarely, if ever, gives direct evidence	‘Punch and Judy’ politics at PMQs
Shares legislative power with the Senate	Overly dominated by the government
Short election cycle	Unrepresentative in terms of gender
Gridlock, partisanship and possibility of divided government	Strong parties can mean weak constituency representation

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Upper Chambers:
Senate:	House of Lords:
Strengths:	Strengths:
Exclusive power over confirmation of appointments	Membership is somewhat more representative of UK society
Exclusive power over treaty ratification	Expertise and experience of members
Sole power to try cases of impeachment	Lack of strict party discipline
Regarded as recruitment pool for POTUS and VPOTUS	Quality of debate
Six-year terms	Members not subject to the whim of constituency pressures
Equal power in legislation with the house.	Continuity
Weaknesses:	Weaknesses:
Executive branch members can appear only in committees, not on the floor	Lack of democratic mandate
POTUS rarely, if ever, gives direct evidence	Has mostly delaying powers regarding legislation
Shares legislative power with the Senate	Seen as a chamber of political failures and retirees
Gridlock, partisanship and possibility of divided government	Government often lacks a majority
	Presence of Anglican bishops.

Similarities and Differences In Both Legislatures:
Similarities:	Differences:
Both are bicameral	Congress: Both houses elected, Parliament: One house elected
Different parties may control each house	Congress: Two equal houses, Parliament: Lower chamber dominates
POTUS/PM’s party may not have control in both houses	Congress: Only two parties represented, Parliament: Multiple parties, especially in the Commons, represented
Both houses have a role in passing legislation and in oversight of the executive	Congress: Executive branch excluded, Parliament: Executive branch included
Much work done away from the chambers in committees	Terms of Office: 2 years in the HOR, 5 years in HOCs. 6 years in the Senate, life-tenure in HOLs
Oversight function conducted by the standing committees in Congress and by select committees in HOC.	Size of upper houses: Senate – 100, HOL - ~800. Also lower house in UK is significantly larger in the UK
All elections done via first-past-the-post	Senate has oversight powers unknown to the HOLs (e.g confirmation of appointments)
	Each American has three representatives in Congress (One in the House and 2 in the Senate), Brits have one representative in Parliament.

Parliament - Relationship between Parliament & The Executive

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.

Parliament - Scrutiny Function

What Is Scrutiny:

• Role of parliament in examining the policies and the world of the executive and holding it to account

Parliamentary Questions:

• The most profile event is Prime Minsters Question Time (PMQs) which takes place at noon every Wednesday
• Leader of the Opposition askes 6 questions and 1 from backbenchers – the PM must then answer these questions
• Backbencher may raise a question about a constituency matter but government backbenchers have questions drew from whips and the PM knows what they’re likely to be and he/she will have notes for the questions.
• Leader of the opposition tries to shove the agenda or to highlight a policy failure
• The speaker has tried to get more backbenchers questions into PMQs and he has also tried to reduce the noise.
• Corbyn has tried to change the gladiatorial style to insure there are more questions about a constituents’ life.

What Role And Significance Does The Opposition Have:

• The Labour Party is Her Majesty’s Official Opposition
• There are special privileges including additional salary, 6 questions in PMQs and the right to have the first response to major statements first. He or she appoints a shadow cabinet to follow the real government.
• The opposition oppose much government legislative and they force policy retreats
• Much of the money for the opposition comes from donations
• As the shadow cabinet are following the government they also form policy which can be used in manifestos as if they were actually in government – an alternative government in waiting
• Opposition can get 20 days on the parliamentary timetable where they can set the agenda.

Select Committees:

• They extend and enhance parliamentary scrutiny of the executive
• Aims to hold government accountable for policy and decision making and supporting Parliament in submitting legislation and government spending
• 11 members all of whom are backbenchers’ MPs who are chosen by a secret ballot under AV

Parliament - Debate, Recruitment & Representation

Debate:

• MPs expressing their views to try and influence policy
• Held at the end of day on current events and government action
• Emergency debates that require ‘urgent attention’ can be held but the speaker and MPs must approve it. There were 4 in 2010-2015 and 4 in 2015-2016
• Most are poorly attended, at the time of crisis they provide drama
• Debates have increased since the introduced of Grand Committee, Select Committee, BBBC
• BBBC allows backbenchers to shape parliamentary timetable, pitches ideas from select committees an e-petition. Government mostly ignores the motions passed e.g laws votes
• e-petitions that have more than 100k signatures are debated e.g fuel prices.

Recruitment Of Ministers:

• Communication Skills: Effective communicated is important, however, TV rather than Parliament is a key area where this is shown
• Experience: 227 new MPs in 2010, 98 new in 2017. People with managerial, leaders and organisation. 1 in 5 work in politics before they become an MP. A career in politics who haven’t done much outside of politics widens the gap between voters and MPs.
• Conformity: Loyal MPs have better prospects in the ministerial office than rebels. However, the strengthening of select committees offers a few career role.

Representation:

• Delegate Model: An individual authorised to act on behalf of others who are bound by clear instructions. Unlikely to be a consensus among voters. Views of the majority would be hard to issue
• Trustee Model: Individuals who have the formal responsibility for the interests of another once elected they are free to decide on how to vote. Strong most elite view because the MPs claim they know everything
• Constituency Model: Expected to protect and advance the collective interest of the constituency. Regular surgeries mean individual issue has been raised in the Commons. 35% of people are happy with the way the MP does their job
• Party Representation: Not elected for personal beliefs but parties. Have to strike balance between representing the party and the local constituency.
• Descriptive Representation: Occurs when the legislative mirrors the society it represents. Parliaments should represent the country. The UK has focused on women, women MPs have risen since then reaching 208 in 2017. But still, only 32% of the Commons is female when 51% of the country is the female.

Increasing The Amount Of Women:

• All Women Shortlists: Introduced in 1997 from Labour, it was essentially a gender quota which required a constituency party to select women as parliamentary candidate. This boosted the number of women in Parliament. Equality guarantee.
• Priority List: Constituency required to draw up shortlists of which at least half of the people are women. Was dropped after it did not work but the culture was there and the number is slowly increasing.

Other Areas:

• Ethnic Diversity: BAME MPs rose from 41 to 52 in 2017 but that is only 8% of Parliament compared to 14% of the population
• Age: Young and older people are underpresented in the Commons, most aged between 35-55. Mhani Black was 20 when she was elected – the youngest MP ever
• Sexual Orientation: 45 of them in 2017, the highest ever
• Education: 29% of the MPs went to a fee paying school compared to 7% of voters, number has been on the decline for years
• Social Class: Manual labour MPs have fallen, business men are Conservatives, public sector workers are Labour

Parliament - Legislate Function

• Parliament have a number of functions which include: legislation, scrutiny and accountability, debates, recruitment and ministers and representation.

How Is Parliamentary Sovereignty Under Threat?

• PS is where Parliament have absolute power, but it has come under pressure from constitutional reforms including: devolution, referendums, human rights and the EU.

Stages Of Passing A Bill:

In the HOCs: First reading second reading committee stage  report stage third reading  Goes to the HOLs where the same happens above consideration of amendmentsRoyal Assent

3 Routes Of A Private Members Bill:

1. Ballot: Names of those who want the bill go into a draw and MPs seek help from lobbyists to get the bill popular. These usually don’t get any further than this unless they have popular support.
2. Ten Minute Rule Bill: MPs have 10 minutes to make a speech to introduce the bill or to talk about an aspect of the bill, few get past this stage because 10 minutes is not enough
3. Presentation: MPs present a bill on the floor of the house by introducing the name of the bill.

What Is Secondary Legislation:

• Also knows as delegation it is when laws are made by ministers who have been granted the authority by an act of Parliament rather than a law made by Parliament. These are usually done by taxation and immigration.

How Does The Government Dominate Parliament Business:

• Government bills: Most bills are from the government; private member bills have little chance of success.
• Parliamentary Timetable: Government controls much of the timetable in Parliament and use a ‘guillotine motion’ to cut the time available.
• Payroll Vote: Because government members are paid, if they don’t vote in favour of the government they can get sacked or have their job role taken away or they may not get paid so they usually vote in favour of the government.
• Party Discipline: The whip ensures that the government proposals are rarely defeated and amendments are accepted.

Parliament - House of Commons vs House of Lords

What It Means:
B	Both provide ministers: Governments are answerable to both houses, ministers in each. 85 can be recruited, 20 from the Lords
A	Authority Transferred: Reform Acts (giving more votes) increased Common’s legitimacy. Parliament Acts (delayed from 2 years to 1 year) restricted to the Lords power,
D	Democratic Credentials: Commons is where everyone have the vote, Lords is hereditary
L	Legislative Role: Lords can only delay for one year now. Accept amendments more because the Lords have more time
O	Outspokenness of Members: Commons are told what to do by whips because they need a job, Lords not reliant on party, usually retired and have no salary to lose
S	Scrutiny: Commons have select committees, debates and PMQs. Most backbenchers will not disagree with government because they’re in the same party. Lords have the same but they attract little publicity
E	Equal Debates: Commons are partisan and restricted to 10 mins, Lords have no restrictions and have no barriers.
R	Representativeness: Commons, yes but FPTP makes the commons politically unrepresentative. Lords are elderly and life peers are nominees of the PM. Life peers are the voice of a interest group.
S	Sidelined Together: Power has moved from constituents to MP, or to the EU.

Differences Between Hereditary Peers And Life Peers:

• Hereditary: A member of the HOLs who since 1999 has been selected from those who inherit the title.
• Life Peers: Members of the HOL that have been appointed to the chamber for their lifetime, PM can appoint them more than hereditary peers.

The 1999 Act:

• Ended the right of all by 92 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords
• New category of ‘elected hereditary peers’ from a party or a cross bench

Parliament Act 1911:

• HOL can only delay for 2 years, but changed to 1949 to one year
• Been used 4 times: War Crimes 1991, European Parliamentary Elections, Sexual Offences, Hunting Act.

Salisbury Convention:

• HOL won’t block legislation if it was in the manifesto because the partisan peers can block if opposition are in government. Because they do not have legitimacy.

Reasonable Time Convention:

• Government needs to pass legislation in quick time, Lords have unlimited times but they must not block for very long or on purpose for the good of the public.

A More Assertive HOL:

• Becomes more assertive since the removal of hereditary peers
• Government defeats in the Lords have become more common – many on judicial review or constitutional matters
• 2010-2015, 99 defeats on welfare and judicial
• Of every 4/10 defeats one was accepted by Blair and Brown

Should The Lords Be Wholly Elected?
Yes	No
Has legitimacy	Conflict as both houses have legitimacy
Confident in scrutising the government	Provides gridlock
Challenge the dominance of the executive if PR was the voting system	Retain expertise and independence of crossbench peers
More representative if PR was the voting system	Problems with party that arise in the Commons would happen in the Upper House too.

Parliament - House of Lords Factsheet

Composition By Party And Gender:

	Life Peers	Hereditary	Total
Conservative	204	49	253
Labour	197	4	201
Liberal Democrats	98	4	102
Crossbenchers	143	32	175
Bishops	0	0	26
Other	37	1	39
Total	679	90	796

Functions Of The House Of Lords:

• Legislation – Bills have to go through various stages in both Houses before they receive Royal Assent to become law. The House of Lords spends most of its time in the chamber (60%) on legislation. It examines and revises bills from the Commons, carefully checking government proposals and making changes through debate on amendments.
• Checking and challenging the government: Questions enable Members to seek information and raise issues of concern about government policy and activities. Question time takes place in the chamber at the start of business (Monday to Thursday) and lasts for 30 minutes. In addition to this, debates are an opportunity to discuss important public policy issues and draw the government’s attention to concerns. More than 100 debates take place over the parliamentary year on a huge range of subjects.

Key Dates:

• 1911: Deprived Parliament from having its absolute power to veto bills which he commons want to pass.
• 1949: Reduced the powers that the House of Lords can delay certain types of legislation for a certain amount of time. This was done by amending the Parliament Act 1911.
• 1958: The Life Peerage act allowed the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords. And the creation of life peers from the monarch.
• 1963: The Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permitted women peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, and which allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed.
• 1999: Got rid of the all but the 92 heredity peers from the upper house as part of New Labour reform.
• 2014: An Act to make provision for resignation from the House of Lords; and to make provision for the expulsion of Members of the House of Lords in specified circumstances.

Salisbury Government:

• The Convention ensures that major Government Bills can get through the Lords when the Government of the day has no majority in the Lords. In practice, it means that the Lords does not try to vote down at second or third reading, a Government Bill mentioned in an election manifesto.