research on uk parliament’s origin and institution maggie lee 23 rd jan. 2014

Research on UK Parliament’s Origin and Institution

Maggie Lee

23rd Jan. 2014

The Role of Parliament

Main Roles of Parliament

Holding the government to account

Scrutinise what departments are doing and how they are spending public money. They do this by asking questions in the House of Commons and working on committees which run investigations and make recommendations to the government

Making and amending laws

Most of the draft laws going through Parliament (called ‘bills’) will be government bills but everyone in Parliament can debate about them and vote on them

Representing UK Citizens

All MPs are voted for and it is their job to support and represent their citizens. You can contact your MP no matter what your age. MPs will often help with issues that people may not be able to get their local council to help with

The Role of Parliament

MPs

Party SeatsConservative 303Labour 257Liberal Democrat 56Democratic Unionist 8Scottish National 6Independent 5Sinn Fein 5Plaid Cymru 3

Social Democratic & Labour Party 3

Alliance 1Green 1Respect 1Speaker 1Total number of seats 650

CONTENT

Structures and Dependence in Parliamentary

Development

Parliamentary Supremacy and Role of NPC

Future of Parliament

Enlightenment

Structures and Dependence

in Parliamentary Development

Origin Depended on the Throne

Development Relying on the Class

Struggles and Religion Conflicts

The Centrality of Authority Relying on

the Parliament’s Own Reforms


Birth of the UK Parliament

It developed naturally out of the daily political needs of

the English King and his government. The first known

official use of the term Parliament was in 1236. The

word Parliament means an event arranged to talk and

discuss things, from the French word "parler"

Changes under Edward I

Edward I made the meeting of Parliament a

more frequent event and over the course of

his reign of 35 years (1272-1307) he

summoned it on 46 occasions


Medieval Parliament

Medieval Parliament as a royal palace, playing an

important role in royal life through the centuries

The Origin Depended on the Throne

The Development Relying on

the Class Struggles and Religion Conflicts

The Conflict between the King and the Parliament

The reign of Charles I, beginning in 1625, deteriorated

into civil war and regicide. But the republic set up in

his place was ousted by military rule under Oliver

Cromwell. The 20 years from 1640 to 1660 probably

saw the most radical changes ever in the membership,

duties and nature of the upper house

Religious Conflict



Glorious Revolution: The conflict between

Catholics and Protestants; In 1688 the King was

forced to flee London. After ‘Glorious Revolution’,

Whigs and Tories draw up the bill of right



Marxist interpretations: the events of the English

Revolution as a class war, with the merchant and

commercial classes supporting Parliamentary

liberty and giving rise to a new Parliamentary class

linked to protestant economic expansion

The Reform Acts and representative democracy

The Centrality of Authority

Relying on the Parliament’s Own Reforms

House of Commons: From the 18th century onwards, the

social changes brought about by industrial growth and the

decline of agriculture meant that the demographic

landscape of Britain was altered. With these changes

came demands from the working and middle classes for

equality and fairness. It took many years for a more

representative Parliament to be achieved

Reform of the House of Lords

The Centre of Authority

Relying on the Parliament’s Own Reforms

The House of Lords has existed since the middle ages

but its composition and powers have gradually evolved

1911, Parliament Act, replaced House of Lords veto over legislation with the power to delay passage of Bills by two years

1949, Second Parliament Act, reduced House of Lords delaying power to one year

Parliamentary Supremacy and Role of NPC

Legislation

Scrutiny

Debates

Legislation

Legislation: Start in House of Commons

1 First ReadingIt is the first stage of a Bill’s passage through the

House of Commons - usually a formality, it takes place

without debate, The short title of the Bill is read out and is

followed by an order for the Bill to be printed2 Second ReadingIt is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the main principles of the Bill. The Government minister, spokesperson or MP responsible for the Bill opens the debate. The official Opposition spokesperson responds with their views. The Commons decides whether the Bill should be given its second reading by voting


3 Committee stage (Commons)Line by line examination of the Bill. Most Bills are dealt with in a Public Bill Committee. Amendments for discussion are selected by the chairman and only members can vote on. A minority of Bills are dealt with by a Committee of the Whole House. Consolidated Fund Bills do not have a committee stage at all

4 Report stage (Commons)Chance for the whole House to discuss and amend the Bill. All MPs may speak and vote, the debates may be spread over several days. All MPs can suggest amendments to the Bill or new clauses (parts) they think should be added


5 Third reading (Commons)

Debate on the Bill is usually short, and limited to what is actually in the Bill. Amendments cannot be made at third reading. At the end of the debate, the House votes on whether to approve the third reading of the Bill

6 'Ping Pong'

Ping-pong refers to the to and fro of amendments to Bills between the House of Commons and the House of Lord. In the end, Both Houses must agree on the exact wording of the Bill


Case Study----Ping Pong

In 2005, the final stages of the Prevention of

Terrorism Bill are good example. The Commons sat

from 11.30 a.m. on Thursday 25 March until nearly

eight o’clock in the evening of Friday 26 March, and

during that time the Bill went back and forth between

the Houses seven times with proposals and counter-

proposals being considered each time. The Lords

finally gave in Bill

Scrutiny

Scrutiny has become more and more prominent in

the work of Parliament in the last half-century

Scrutiny

1 Questions

‘Question Time’ is an opportunity for MPs and Peers to

question government ministers about matters for which

they are responsible:

Oral Questions

Written Questions(Answers)

Prime Minister's Question Time

Scrutiny

2 Vote(Motion) of No Confidence

A parliamentary vote which when passed would

demonstrate that the elected parliament no longer

has confidence in the appointed government. "No

Confidence" leads to compulsory resignation of the

council of ministers or dissolution of Parliament

3 Select Committees

There is a Commons Select Committee for each

government department, examining three aspects:

spending, policies and administration. These

departmental committees have a minimum of 11

members. Findings are reported to the Commons. The

government usually has 60 days to reply to the

committee's recommendations

Scrutiny

4 Pre-appointment hearings

Hearings enable select committees to take evidence

from candidates for certain, key public appointments

before they are appointed

Hearings are in public and involve the select committee

taking evidence from the candidate and publishing a

report setting out the committee’s views on the

candidate’s suitability for the post

Hearings are non-binding

Hearings have been introduced on a pilot basis

Scrutiny

Debates

1 Conception and Role

Debates are an opportunity for MPs and Lords to discuss

government policy, proposed new laws and current

issues. Debates are designed to assist MPs and Lords to

reach an informed decision on a subject. This decision is

then often expressed in a vote (called a 'division'), for or

against

Debates

2 Rules

During a debate, the speaker calls MPs in turn to give

their opinion on an issue. MPs must get the Speaker’s

attention(called ‘catching the Speaker’s eyes’) and

usually stand, or half-rise from their seat. They may

also write in advance to indicate their wish to speak

MPs address their speeches to the Speaker. Normally

MPs will speak only once and must observe the

courtesies of debate. There are certain conventions

MPs must follow, like ‘Will the honourable Member… ’

Debates

3 Case Study

The House of Commons voted against the Government motion on Syria by 285 votes to 272 (division 70)

MPs debated a motion on Syria crisis and military

action in the House of Commons on Thursday 29

August 2013. Prime Minister, David Cameron,

opened the debate. Leader of the Opposition, Ed

Miliband, responded on behalf of the Official

Opposition

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130829/debtext/130829-0004.htm

How NPC Running?

The National People's Congress (NPC)

is the national legislature of the People’s

Republic of China

NPC

Seats 2,987

How NPC Running?

Scrutiny of NPC

1 Deliberation over Work Reports of People’s Governments,

People’s Courts and People’s Procuratorates

2 Examination and Approval of Final Accounts; Deliberation

over Reports on Implementation of the Plans for National

Economic and Social Development and the Budgets,

Reports on the Work of Auditing

3 Inspection of the Enforcement of Laws and Regulations

How NPC Running?

Scrutiny of NPC

4 Keeping on File and Reviewing of Regulatory Documents

5 Questioning and Addressing Inquiries

6 Investigation into Special Issues

7 Deliberation and Decision on Proposals for Removal from Office

How NPC Running?

Legislative Procedures

1 Getting onto the agenda

2 Deliberation of Bills

3 Passage and Publication

Future of Parliament

General Introduction of the Parliament

Reform since 1950s

Next Possible Steps of Reform

General Introduction of the Parliament Reform since 1950s

1958, Life Peerages Act

1963, Peerages Act

1978, Radio broadcasts of House of

Commons became permanent

1979, Reform of Select Committee

system in House of Commons

1986, Televised coverage of House of

Lords became permanent


1989, Televised coverage of House of Commons became permanent1999, House of Lords Act, reduced the number of hereditary peers in the House of Lords to 92, pending further reform2002, Changes to hours of sitting of House of Commons 2005, The Constitutional Reform Act, created a separate Supreme Court and the Lord Chief Justice replaced the Lord Chancellor


2010, Reduction of government influence

over select committee membership; New

Backbench Business Committee increases

backbench influence over parliamentary

timetable

2011, New Public Reading Stage

introduced for Bills; Reformed ‘e-petitions’

system gives citizens the chance to raise

topics for debate


1 To Curb the expansion of the power of the Executive- separation of powers

the executive and legislature are fused. The

Prime Minister and ministers are MPs (has a

large majority of seats). The executive is

therefore present at the heart of Parliament

Problem

Solution A Enhance the scrutiny of delegated legislation.

Backbench Business Committee can

completely control the agenda of the legislation


1 To curb the expansion of the power of the Executive- separation of powers

B The Commons, rather than the Prime Minister, decide on the dissolution of parliament and the timing of general elections

C Most of the leaders of Select committees could be from opposition parties. Enhance the power of scrutiny of shadow government


2 To enhance the scrutiny of society

MPs are usually responsible for the party, instead of the constituency

Problem

Solution A put ‘Public Reading’ into a law

B the constituency has the right to vote on whether remove their elected MPs from their posts

C Emphasize the scrutiny of public media, like ‘The expenses scandal’


Case Study: The expenses scandal

Early revelations: the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, ranked homes in order to maximize the financial benefits

In May 2009 the Daily Telegraph began to publish the full details. MPs had been able to claim back the cost of the most mundane domestic items

the 2000 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) came into full force in 2005, campaigners and journalists had sought to obtain details of parliamentary expenses claimed by senior politicians

The greatest damage caused by the expenses scandal related to parliament itself. The speaker of Commons was forced to resign and several ministers resigned from the government


3 To reform of the voting system of the House of Commons

‘Parliamentary Voting System and

Constituencies Act 2011’

the Act resulted in introducing the Alternative Vote

system for the UK Parliament and reduce the number

of Members of Parliament from 650 to 600, the result

of alternative vote referendum 2011 is worrying, 68

percent voted No and only 32 percent voted Yes. So

the future of the reform is definitely gloomy


4 To carry on the further reform of the House of Lords

To An Elected Second Chamber: wholly elected or an 80% elected chamber?

Number of members: 250-300 ?

Voting System: First Past The Post, Alternative Vote, Single Transferable Vote (STV) ?

Tenure: a single, non-renewable term of 12-15 years?

Enlightenment

How to represent the people or constituents effectively

Enlightenment

How to make law in a more rational way

How to reconnecting Parliament and the public

How to check on the government efficiently

‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’

Conclusion

‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country’

THANKS

research on uk parliament’s origin and institution maggie lee 23 rd jan. 2014

Documents

word parliament

class struggles

meeting of parliament

term parliament

new parliamentary class

class war

uk parliaments origin

parliamentary liberty