scholarly journals The Origins of the Mental Health Act 1983: Doctors in the House

1984 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bluglass
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
Legislative Changes ◽  
Law Making

The role played by the House of Commons in the legislative process has been steadily changing since the Reform Acts of the nineteenth century. Previously, most of the Commons' legislative work consisted in passing private measures initiated and introduced by individual Members of Parliament concerned with, and knowledgeable about, local issues which required change. The growth of an increasingly vocal and educated mass electorate, the pressures of mass-membership political parties, and the increasing specialization of an industrial society, all increased the need for wider legislation, particularly for public social measures, and its initiation passed from the hands of individual members to the Government Parliament as a law-making body moved towards a more formal constitutional and legal role. Its twentieth century task is more often the legitimation of legislative changes originating elsewhere.

The Role of Select Committees

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meg Russell ◽  
Daniel Gover
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Ban ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Legislation

This chapter explores the various means by which specialist select committees in both the House of Commons and House of Lords interact with and influence government legislation. The development of select committees is widely seen as important at Westminster, having encouraged greater expertise and specialization among members, and cross-party work. Yet the select committees have only a limited formal role in the legislative process, because the ‘committee stage’ occurs elsewhere. Nonetheless, this chapter shows extensive select committee influence on the 12 case study bills. The committees can be important to setting the policy agenda, informing members, influencing debate, encouraging amendments, and—potentially—supporting the government. This particularly applies to the constitutional committees in the House of Lords, and select committees conducting pre-legislative scrutiny of draft bills. However, other committees can also be important, as demonstrated by the Commons Health Committee’s intervention over the smoking ban in the Health Bill (2005–06).

10. The House of Lords

2019 ◽  
pp. 207-228
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
The Public ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government

This chapter studies the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Lords largely relies on patronage. Members of the Lords come from a variety of backgrounds with wide-ranging expertise, and are appointed by the Queen on the Prime Minister's advice. They can be nominated by political parties, by the public, or by themselves. The House of Lords is an important revising and scrutinising chamber, but it is also subordinate to the democratically elected House of Commons. The Lords' main functions are scrutinising and challenging the government, investigating and debating issues of public interest, and scrutinising and revising legislation. While it respects the primacy of the Commons, the House of Lords is also a check on constitutional change by the Commons. The chapter then looks at the Parliament Act 1911, which established the Commons' primacy over the House of Lords.

Measures taken by the House of Commons in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-180
Author(s):  
Sarah Priddy
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Virtual Participation

Abstract As Covid-19 began to change all aspects of daily life, the House of Commons was no exception. The pandemic meant changes to parliamentary procedures such as ‘hybrid proceedings’ that required most MPs to attend the Chamber via Zoom. To track these changes, the House of Commons Library created a spreadsheet to record the COVID-related procedural changes, now published as a “https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-coronavirus-timeline/” timeline on the Commons Library website. This article looks at changes to Commons procedures and practices, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, to allow for virtual participation and remote voting. Although the House of Commons has been significantly impacted by the ability of Members of Parliament to attend Westminster due to the coronavirus, the political parties and House administration have worked together to adapt procedures to allow virtual participation and remote voting at the height of the pandemic in the spring, followed by limited virtual participation in the summer.

10. The Legislature: membership, privileges, and standards

2021 ◽  
pp. 207-242
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
The Public ◽  
Core Business ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Standards Of Conduct ◽  
The Government

This chapter explores the role and membership of Parliament’s two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the operation of parliamentary privilege; and accountability of members. The key functions of Parliament include controlling national expenditure and taxation; sustaining the government; legislating and scrutinising government actions. The House of Commons is the pre-eminent chamber and dominates Parliament. The Commons’ membership consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are democratically elected by the public to represent their interests in Parliament. The membership of the House of Lords largely relies on patronage. Members of the Lords are appointed by the Queen on the Prime Minister’s advice. The House of Lords is an important revising and scrutinising chamber, and while it is subordinate to the democratically elected House of Commons, it is also a check on constitutional change by the Commons. The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 redefined the Lords’ legislative powers over public bills and established the Commons’ primacy. The chapter then considers the operation of parliamentary privilege. Parliament needs parliamentary privilege to conduct its core business effectively, independently, and without fear of outside interference, and to protect everything said or done in the transaction of parliamentary business. Indeed, Parliament is self-regulating and, as a sovereign body, operates outside the jurisdiction of the courts except for the criminal law. Each House has its own standards of conduct and disciplinary powers which ensure accountability.

9. The House of Commons

2019 ◽  
pp. 181-206
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
The Public ◽  
Core Business ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

This chapter explores the membership and functions of the House of Commons. The Commons' membership consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are democratically elected by the public to represent their interests in Parliament. The key functions of the House of Commons include sustaining the government; legislating and scrutinising government actions; authorising taxes and voting for supply to provide the government with the finances it needs to run the UK; facilitating a credible opposition; and ensuring that the voices of citizens are heard. The chapter then considers the operation of Parliamentary privilege. Parliament needs parliamentary privilege to conduct its core business effectively, independently, and without fear of outside interference, and to protect everything said or done in the transaction of parliamentary business. Indeed, Parliament is self-regulating and, as a sovereign body, operates outside the jurisdiction of the courts except for the criminal law.

5. The House of Commons

2021 ◽  
pp. 105-134
Author(s):  
Ian Loveland
Keyword(s):  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Parliamentary Sovereignty ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Modern Era

This chapter examines the relationship between the government and the House of Commons, in order further to develop arguments concerning the doctrines of parliamentary sovereignty and the separation of powers within the contemporary constitution. Consideration is given both to the role played by the House of Commons within the legislative process and its effectiveness as a means to provide scrutiny of and challenges to the ways in which the government exercises its statutory and prerogative powers. The chapter argues that, for most of the modern era, the House of Commons has been a body in which party politics is the dominant determinant both in the legislative process and in respect of executive accountability and asks if we should accept that the Commons is manifestly now a factional rather than national assembly for most purposes. But it is also suggested that it would be premature to conclude that the constitution permits factional concerns to determine both the content of legislation and the parliamentary accountability of government behaviour.

The Parliamentary passage: asymmetric warfare

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Worthy
Keyword(s):  
Veto Power ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Asymmetric Warfare ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
National Media ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government

This chapter examines the legislative process in Parliament. A wide but fragile alliance sought to strengthen the bill but was caught between the desire to move the policy in a more radical direction and the fear that the government would drop the bill that, after all, attracted little electoral support. The FOI bill reached Parliament following two highly regarded committee investigations in House of Commons and Lords. The government faced an increasingly assertive and expert alliance of Parliamentarians in both houses seeking a ‘stronger’ law, supported by campaigns by the national media. The government foresaw a difficult passage (Straw 2012). The government veto power was weakened and clauses made for better balancing tests when decisions to release were even. An ‘ultimate’ confrontation was foreseen for the final House of Lords stage when a cross-party grouping of Peers appeared set to hold out for a much stronger piece of legislation. However, amid rumours FOI would be dropped and behind-the-scenes deals, the alliance in the House of Lords was forced to choose between losing the bill and having a slightly improved Act on the statute books. The FOI bill was then finally subject to an abrupt, curtailed final debate in the Commons.

Parliamentary Debates in Canada (1901–2015)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Florence Vallée-Dubois ◽  
Jean-François Godbout ◽  
Christopher Cochrane
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Partisan Polarization ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Procedural Rule ◽  
Rule Change ◽  
Rule Changes ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This article analyzes the effect of procedural rule change on the dynamics of parliamentary speeches in the Canadian House of Commons between 1901 and 2015. During this period, several new rules were introduced to reduce the opportunities for private members to speak during the debates so that the government could get its business done within an acceptable amount of time. Our analysis looks at the impact of these rule changes on the content and orientation of all individual speeches made by members of Parliament. The results indicate that parliamentary rules had an important effect on the topic and duration of debates. Our findings also confirm that procedural changes contributed to a heightening of partisan polarization in the Canadian Parliament over time and disproportionately reduced the influence of government backbenchers in the legislative process.

The Franklin search in Parliament

Polar Record ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 32 (182) ◽  
pp. 209-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R. Stone
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Main Subject ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Government

ABSTRACTThe record of Parliamentary proceedings relating to the Franklin search covers the period 1848–1863. The main subject of discussion was the need for the government to mount search expeditions, while topics such as rewards for successful expeditions and the question of the provision of monuments to Sir John Franklin also occupied Parliamentary time. Interest in the matter among Members of Parliament crossed party boundaries. Most of the activity was in the House of Commons rather than in the House of Lords, because the former House had control of expenditure. A further reason was that the government was more exposed to questioning in the House of Commons, because, for most of the period, the First Lord of the Admiralty was a member of that House. Lady Franklin also had a wider range of acquaintance in the House of Commons and was able to conduct a lobbying campaign using it as a medium.

10. EU Legislation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Beale ◽  
Libby Kurien ◽  
Eve Samson
Keyword(s):  
Direct Access ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the ways in which the UK Parliament formally constrains the government and engages with European Union (EU) institutions. The House of Lords and the House of Commons both have processes to ensure that legislation proposed at the EU level has been properly reviewed before it takes effect in UK law. The ‘scrutiny reserve’, which stipulates that ministers should not agree to proposals under scrutiny, is used to elicit information about the government's negotiating position. Parliament also has a role in examining EU legislation and providing direct access to European institutions. The chapter first provides an overview of the EU legislative process, focusing on three principal EU institutions: member states, the European Parliament (EP), and the European Commission. It also considers the formal role of national parliaments in the EU legislative process, the UK Parliament's scrutiny of the EU legislation and its effectiveness, and parliamentary scrutiny after Brexit.

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