LAW 1021

Constitutional Law

Parliament
Three different units in Westminster Parliament – House of Commons, House of Lords and the
Crown.
Parliament is the legislative branch of the three branches of government and one with the most power
– other two are judiciary and the executive.
Magna Carta 1213 – Limited the powers of the Crown. Monarchy has now been limited to the extent
that it’s a ceremonial role (summons parliament, dissolves parliament – all the MPs vacate their seats
and try to fight for them back through public vote, passes Royal Assent to acts) but beyond that, the
Monarch doesn’t have that much power. It’s really Westminster Parliament that has the most power.
Great Reform Act 1832, 1867 and 1884 – extended voting rights to more and more people across
England and Wales.
Representation of the People Act 1918 – All men in England and Wales had the vote, and women had
the vote for the first time as long as they fulfilled certain criteria (e.g. over the age of 30, owned
property, etc.)

House of Lords
Crossbenchers – neutral party members who are neither supporters of conservative nor labour.
Very limited power – mostly a revising chamber – i.e. scrutinise legislation that’s been put
forward by House of Commons.
Made up of former political/academic grandees – former prime ministers, secretaries of state,
distinguished scholars, scientists, physicians, very high level of expertise across a wide range
of issues.
Introduction of uncontroversial legislation. Academies Act 2010 and Local Government Act
2010.
Constitutional check on House of Commons.
Salisbury Convention – the Lords won’t vote down a piece of legislation that’s been approved
from the House of Commons if that legislation comes from – only really applies when
governing party doesn’t have majority in the House of Lords (a government whose manifesto
did not secure majority support). Note that the Salisbury Convention does not apply when
there’s a minority government in the House of Commons.
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 – removed veto power from House of Lords. HoL is unable to
veto legislation and can only delay it. Most legislation will start in House of Commons, then
go through the House of Lords, who can’t strike it down, but can suggest that House of
Commons to change it. Lords has up to a year of delaying power – after that year is up, House
of Commons can continue to go through with it should they wish to.

House of Commons
 Most powerful branch of Westminster Parliament because it’s the only democratically-elected
one. House of Lords MPs aren’t elected.
Holds the government to account, scrutinises and passes legislation and representation of the
government.

Legislative Process:
 Starts in House of Commons
 Goes through House of Lords where it’s scrutinised, and amendments are suggested
(legislation sometimes bounces back between Lords and Commons over and over again
because amendments keep having to be made – parliamentary ping-pong)
 A lot of legislation now is made by devolved legislative bodies (i.e. legislative bodies in
Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland)
o English MPs cannot vote for devolved legislature; however, Scottish, Welsh and
Northern Irish MPs can vote for English legislature – Westlovian Question/English
Votes for English Laws
o McKay Commission – certain people want to move to a more American/federal
constitution, where Westminster Parliament will be the federal body, and Scottish,
Welsh and Northern Irish Parliaments are state constitutions.
 Both Houses have committees which are quite powerful:
o House of Commons has Departmental Committees – e.g. education committee,
finance committee, intelligence committee, etc. Where there’s a govt department,
there’ll always be a committee in Commons to scrutinise that department and shadow
them.
o House of Lords has Thematic Committees – e.g. themes of Europe, science,
economics, communications, the UK constitution and international relations. These
are the main things that the House of Lords scrutinise – they look at government
policies.
o Joint committees of both houses to look at certain issues at a certain time.

Parliamentary Reforms
To what extent does the executive simply dominate Parliament?
Tony Blair’s government in 1997 were democratically elected and formed the majority of government
in Commons, meaning they could pass virtually any legislation they want without any opposition to
challenge it.
Argues that, instead of separation of powers, this moves towards unifying power.
House of Commons Backbench Business Committee – gives backbencher MPs more power and
influence – e.g. to bring forwards debates of their choice. Before this, the government controlled the
whole timetable for when Parliament met. Because of this, less powerful MPs have had more control
which the government can’t shut down.
Petitions Committee – body charged with overseeing the new e-petitions system and recommending
petitions for debate in Westminster Hall on Monday. If you get 10,000 signatures for something, you
get the government’s attention. If you get 100,000 signatures or more, it has to discussed in the House
of Commons and government action/legislation could proceed from it.
Accountability…
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards:
  Investigates allegations that MPs have breached the Code of Conduct (sets out the standard of
behaviour that all MPs are supposed to abide by)
Committee on Standards in Public Life:

 An advisory body – not as powerful as Parliamentary Commissioner for standards.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority:

 Looks at MPs’ expenses – can investigate MPs for misconduct, in which case it can refer
them to PCS.
Recall of MPs Act 2015
Prior to this, a sitting MP could not be challenged for their conduct. After this statute became enacted,
it became possible for an MP to lose their seat because of misconduct. They’d be removed from their
seat and have to fight for it again. If an MP is convicted of an offense and given a custodial
sentence/suspended by Parliament, or convicted under Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, an action
can be triggered to force the MP in question to face the electorate in a by-election and fight for their
seat. Compels MPs to stick to code on conduct.
Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011
Makes it clear that all governments have a five-year window to achieve their legislative programme.
Creates more certainty – allows opposition parties to prepare for next elections, because they’re
timetabled, unlike how it was when the PM could call for an election at his/her whim. Can lead to the
paralysis of parliament – a deadlock, such as the Brexit negotiations. Parliament is stuck in limbo and
can’t proceed.
The Early Parliamentary General Election Bill – basically a circumvention of the Fixed-Term
parliaments Act 2011. A later Act of Parliament will always take precedence over an earlier Act of
Parliament – so BJ was able to convince enough MPs to pass this legislation, which allows for him to
be able to dissolve Parliament. Under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Acts 2011, you have to have he
vote of two-thirds of MPs. This Act hasn’t been repealed, the 2019 Act only applies to here and now.
Once it is passed, the PM can call an election.
The Westminster Electoral System
An MP has to get more votes than their opponent to get elected.
Pros: easy for voter to understand, anyone can go out and vote provided you’re registered to do so.
Very simple system, easy for anyone to understand.
Cons: an MP can be elected even if a majority of overall people in a contingency didn’t vote for them.
Doesn’t reflect true voting patterns across the UK. Also harder for smaller parties to break into the
House of Commons through this system because most people will continue to vote for larger parties
like labour and conservative, and to a lesser extent, lib-dems. Not representative of electorate as a
whole.
House of Lords Reform
Arguments to have the House of Lords abolished. The main reason for this is because the House of
Lords is unelected, unlike House of Commons.
Some say it should be retained because there’s so much concentrated expertise and knowledge there
that could supplement the legislative process. Also hereditary peerages (i.e. if your parent dies, you
inherit their peerage, without necessary experience or knowledge). Very undemocratic.
House of Lords Reform Act 2014 – terminates peerage if a Lord of peer has been convicted of a
serious criminal offence.
House of Lords Expulsion and Suspension Act 2015 –
Lord Spiritual Women Act 2015 – Lords spiritual a mainly clergy peers, mainly from the Church of
England. Lords Temporal – there for political reasons. Frustration over the fact that the majority of
the Lords Spiritual were male and there weren’t enough females. Church of England then allowed
females to become bishops.