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Ascendant Assemblies in Britain?
Rebellions, Reforms and Inter-Cameral
ConflictRichard Whitaker 1
+
Author Afliations
Lecturer in European Politics, University ofLeicester
THE relationship between assemblies and government is
central to the nature and uality ofrepresentative
democracy! "ver the course of#$$% a reduced government
ma&ority in the 'ommons, a more active HouseofLords
and plans (or re(orm ofthe )elsh Assembly will ma*e (or
lively relations between the e+ecutive and assemblies in
ritain! The presence ofmany Labour -Ps who were
rebellious in the previous Parliament means that we can
e+pect to see members voting against the government on
contentious issues, although this may be tempered by the
greater costs ofsuch action under a reduced governmentma&ority! The government.s smaller 'ommons ma&ority may
also put -Ps in a stronger position to push (or re(orm ofthe
chamber! The HouseofLordsis li*ely to continue /e+ing its
muscles, especially given the suggestions by the Liberal
0emocrats that their peers may not (ollow the alisbury
'onvention!#2ollowing the government.s white paper on the
sub&ect, there will also be discussions about a possible(urther shi(t ofpower away (rom )estminster to the 3ational
Assembly (or )ales 43A)5! The aim ofthis short piece, the
6rst of(our commentaries in the current volume, is to set
out this theme ofthe rise ofparliaments and assemblies in
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ritain in more detail and to e+plain why it is worth (ollowing
over the months to come!
The articles will loo* into the government.s relationship with
bac*benchers in the Houseof'ommons and with members
ofthe HouseofLords, as well as considering
)estminster.s relationship with the new assemblies! 7n
particular, the )elsh Assembly.s powers will be under
discussion during the ne+t 1# months (ollowing the
government.s publication ofa white paper, etter
8overnance 2or )ales in 9une #$$:! The commentaries will
concentrate on ritish cases as, although the 3orthern7reland Assembly might be up and running in #$$%, this is (ar
(rom certain, and in any case, the peculiarities ofthe
province would probably warrant a series ofarticles
dedicated to 3orthern 7reland alone! The (ollowing section
discusses the possibilities (or alterations to the balance of
government;parliament relations in a parliamentary system
and provides some arguments as to why a strongerparliament would be bene6cial! 7 then go on to identi(y the
circumstances that ma*e this topic worth pursuing closely in
the light ofevents over the ne+t year!
3e+t ection
Executivelegislative relations in parliamentary systems
2rom a normative perspective, the power oflegislatures visLoyalty to the party
leadership is essential (or advancement to (rontbench and
possibly governmental of6ces! 7n addition, the public.s
disli*e ofdivided political parties provides an electoral
incentive to avoid roc*ing the boat! 7n parliamentary
systems, governments can ultimately (orce bac*benchers
into line with the threat ofa vote ofno con6dence and the
associated uncertainty ofan election, should the
government be de(eated! All ofthese (actors mean that
substantial reductions in the dominance ofthe e+ecutive are
unli*ely to be achieved under the current constitutional
arrangements in ritain! The (ailure ofthe 'ommons in -ay
#$$# to support a more independent method ofchoosing
select committee members and chairs provides recent
evidence ofthis structural problem! )ithout a (undamental
re(orm ofthe ritish system ofgovernment to separate
parliament (rom the e+ecutive, we cannot e+pect to see -Ps
wielding the degree ofpower held by members ofthe U
'ongress, (or instance!
3evertheless, much can and should be done within the
current system to increase parliament.s ability to scrutinise
government legislation and to hold the government to
account (or its actions, especially in the light ofrecent
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re(orms! 2or e+ample, there could be more use ofspecial
standing committees which can ta*e evidence as part of
their legislative deliberations! This could be carried out in
combination with a shi(tof
the committee stage to thebeginning ofthe legislative procedure which, as comparative
research has shown, increases the ability ofcommittees to
control the /ow ofin(ormation! ?'arrying out more scrutiny
oflegislation in dra(t (orm and doing so through bodies that
combine the (unctions ofstanding and select committees
would also improve parliament.s position vis
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plagued by a lac* oftrust in the political class!
Previous ection3e+t ection
Why this topic now?
Although we should not e+pect to see large
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inta*e ofLabour -Ps, with two oftheir number having voted
against the government on the 7dentity 'ards ill in 9une
#$$:!117( it remains true that, li*e recidivist of(enders, -Ps
who have had their 6rst tasteof
disloyalty have little reasonnot to rebel in (uture,1#then we can e+pect to see more
revolts ta*ing place this session! Having said that, small
ma&orities can also ma*e (or more cohesive parties, given
that the costs ofrebellion are higher when the chances of
bringing down the government increase! ut lair.s reduced
ma&ority still means that bac*benchers are in a stronger
position compared with the previous two terms, to ma*e
demands ofthe government regarding the content of
legislation and the power ofparliament!
econd, the government remains committed to supporting
re(orm to improve parliamentary accountability and scrutiny
led by the success(ul -odernisation 'ommittee.1>and has
included a bill on Lordsre(orm in the ueen.s speech! There
is unli*ely to be any movement on the latter in thisparliamentary session, although a Law Lordsruling on the
1F11 Parliament Act might change things in the longer
term!1?The ruling, made in "ctober #$$:, states that there is
nothing in the Act that restricts it (rom being used (or
(undamental constitutional change, the implication being
that Lordsre(orm could be at least theoretically pushed
through using the Parliament Act!
7n the 'ommons, the -odernisation 'ommittee will no doubt
continue to press (or re(orm ofthe houseover the ne+t
session! The 'ommons. Liaison 'ommittee, made up ofthe
chairs ofeach ofthe select committees, has previously
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published critical appraisals ofthe relationship between the
e+ecutive and select committees under the title hi(ting the
alance!1:7n the : years since the second ofthose reports, it
seems that muchof
the modernisation.of
recent years, (ore+ample, carrying over ofbills and changes to sitting hours
and the parliamentary year, is aimed primarily at improving
the efciency ofparliament and its image in the eyes ofthe
public! 0ebates over sitting hours are li*ely to continue,
given the in/u+ ofnew -Ps arriving a(ter the #$$: election,
including more women than ever be(ore! ut &udging by the
popularity ofEarly 0ay -otions calling (or alterations, it
seems li*ely that some -Ps may lobby (or an end to the
system ofmorning sessions! 1%
uch concern with efciency should be distinguished (rom
attempts to improve parliament.s ability to scrutinise
government legislation! 7n this regard, progress has been
much slower and, (or the reasons set out earlier, is li*ely to
continue to be incremental at best!1D
7n this regard, it will beworth monitoring the publication oflegislation in dra(t (orm
and the use ofspecial standing committees to see whether
the government.s commitments to these innovations
continue into lair.s third term!
Third, the HouseofLordshas shown itsel( more willing to
de(eat the government since its re(orm in 1FFF, when all but
F# ofthe hereditary peers were removed! The numbers ofgovernment de(eats in the Lordshave /uctuated in the last
(ew sessions but are consistently higher than they were (or
the #$ years prior to the 1FFF HouseofLordsAct when, (or
most ofthe time, they ranged between 1$ and #$ per year!
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The last three sessions have seen the Lordsin/ict de(eat on
the government , %? and >D times, respectively!
2urthermore, the 'onservative ma&ority, which Labour could
previously blame (or its tussles with the upperhouse
, is nolonger present! "n the contrary, Labour now has a plurality
ofseats in the Lords, with the group ofLabour peers having
grown considerably since 1FFD! Against this re(ormed
House, the government has had to use the Parliament Act
no less than three times, most recently in order to push
through the ban on (o+hunting in 3ovember #$$?! Along
with a greater propensity to vote against government
legislation, peers are also attending more (reuently, with
:$G ofmembers having attended %:G or more ofthe
sittings in #$$>;$?!1"n top ofall this, 'harles Iennedy and
Lord -c3ally, the Liberal 0emocrat leader in the upper
house, have indicated that the party.s peers might not
(ollow the alisbury 'onvention under which legislation
derived (rom a government.s mani(esto is not bloc*ed in the
upper chamber!1FThus, i( previous trends continue, we can
e+pect to see a highly active HouseofLordsand (urther
inter
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to seriously threaten government de(eat! As set out above,
the 7dentity 'ards ill has also seen Labour -Ps voting
against the government and is awaiting its report stage in
the 'ommons! The 7mmigration, Asylum and 3ationality illis passing through the lower houseand may yet prove
controversial! 7n the light ofthe London bombings in 9uly
#$$:, 'harles 'lar*e has published dra(t legislation to
combat terrorist activity, including plans to e+tend police
detention powers and tac*le those inciting terrorism!
Attempts to achieve cross
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statute without having to create )ales
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committees i( the Assembly so decides! These changes raise
interesting uestions about the eJect ofe+ecutive;
legislative relations on committee wor*! 7n particular, would
they allow (or a more independent parliament to emergethat is capable ofmore eJectively assessing the wor* of
ministers and holding them to accountK "r will this be
cancelled out by the eJect ofremoving the plenary.s ability
to threaten ministers with withdrawing their delegated
powers, as is possible under the current arrangementsK##The
)elsh Assembly.s own committee on the )hite Paper has
set out a number ofconcerns along these lines, many of
which are li*ely to structure the debate on this legislation
over the ne+t parliamentary session!
Previous ection3e+t ection
Modes ofgovernmentassembly relations in 2006
The potential developments described above can be
summarised by brea*ing down the broader notion of
government;assembly relations into the component parts
identi6ed by Anthony Iing in his seminal article on the
topic!#>Iing pointed out that the usual discussion of
e+ecutive;legislative relations tends to hide the comple+ity
ofthe relationship between governments and other actors in
parliamentary systems! 7n the ritish conte+t, he set out
three modes ofrelations among the actors in parliament!
The inter
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the other, governments need bac*bench support to ensure
the passage oflegislation! The opposition mode mani(ests
itsel( in the classic adversarial con/ict between government
and opposition, one which may be (ought alongside intra, pp! :D;D%!N?7ngvar -attson and Iaare trVm, Parliamentary
'ommittees. in Herbert 0Wring 4ed!5, Parliaments and
-a&ority @ule in )estern Europe, 'ampus Xerlag,
2ran*(urt, 1FF:!
N:'ited in Holyrood 7nspires -oderniser 'oo*.,
0aily Telegraph, 11 eptember #$$1!
N%0avid Arter, The cottish Parliament A
candinavian, -acmillan,
asingsto*e, 1F?, p! FM ee also 2rancis Pym, The
Politics of'onsent, Hamilton, London, 1F?, p! D!
N1$7n absolute terms, 1:> ofthe #1 Labour
rebels (rom the #$$1 parliament have returned to the
'ommons! ee Philip 'owley and -ar* tuart,
0issension amongst the Parliamentary Labour Party,
#$$1;#$$: A 0ata Handboo*, www!revolts!co!u*, #$$:
(or details ofthe rebels!
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N11Iaty 'lar* and Linda @iordan rebelled on the
second reading and programme motion votes on the
7dentity 'ards ill on # 9une #$$: 4see
www!revolts!co!u*5!N1#2or more on this point see Philip 'owley, The
@ebels How lair -islaid His -a&ority, Politico.s,
London, #$$:, pp! 1>>;?!
N1>Labour Party, ritain 2orward 3ot ac* The
Labour Party -ani(esto #$$:, www!labour!org!u*, p!
11$!
N1?9udgements9ac*son and "thers 4appellants5
versus Her -a&esty.s Attorney 8eneral 4@espondent5,
HouseofLords, ession #$$:;$%, UIHL :%, 1>
"ctober #$$:!
N1:Liaison 'ommittee, hi(ting the alance elect
'ommittees and the E+ecutive, H' >$$, 1FFF;#$$$M
Liaison 'ommittee, hi(ting the alance Un6nished
usiness, H' >#1, #$$$;$1!
N1%Lucinda -aer, -odernisation ofthe Houseof
'ommons 1FFD;#$$:., Houseof'ommons @esearch
Paper $:R?%, #$$:, p! ?F!
N1D2or more on the uestion ofefciency versus
scrutiny in modernisation, see Ale+andra Ielso, The
-odernisation 'ommittee )ho 3eeds 7tK. unpublishedpaper, University oftrathclyde!
N1Philip 3orton, Parliament in ritish Politics,
asingsto*e, Palgrave, #$$:, p! >:!
N1Fee note #!
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N#$ecretary oftate (or )ales, etter
8overnance (or )ales, 'm! %:#, 9une #$$:!
N#1)ales Of6ce, Peter Hain Pledges ill (or
Primary Powers., Press 3otice, 11 9uly #$$:,httpRRwww!walesof 6ce!gov!u*R!
N##'ommittee on the etter 8overnance (or )ales
)hite Paper, @eport, 3ational Assembly (or )ales,
eptember #$$:, httpRRwww!wales!gov!u*R!
N#>Anthony Iing, -odes ofE+ecutive;Legislative@elations 8reat ritain, 2rance and )est 8ermany.,
Legislative tudies uarterly, 1R1, 1FD%, pp! 11;>?!
http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-20-1http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-21-1http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-22-1http://www.wales.gov.uk/http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-23-1http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-20-1http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-21-1http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-22-1http://www.wales.gov.uk/http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/1/173.full?sid=3fe9bdb9-7aac-4665-895e-028addbfdd06#xref-fn-23-1