Difference between Parliament and Legislature:
Legislature:
The term legislature comes from the Latin term for carrier or proposer of law.
Transition from legislator (single actor) to a legislature (institution).
Function:
The function of a legislature is to make authoritative determinations of what the law will be for a political community. The process of law-making cannot be completed without the authorisation of the representative assembly.
Legislature is a ‘law affecting’ body, not a law making one. [1]
Types:
Parliament: to parley (French)
Congress: going or coming together (Latin)
Assembly: to assemble (French)
Parliament:
Parliament is the legislature in the UK.
Evolution:
Beginnings:
The idea of a Parliament emerged in 13th century when the king needed the assent of knights and landowners to raise taxes under the Magna Carta. The first assembly was in 1265.
Later, 2 chambers were created. One for nobility and clergy and the other for knights and burgesses (representatives of citizens from each county). The concept of the people was quite narrow and unrepresentative in Parliament.
17th Century:
After the Civil War and Glorious Revolution, Parliament became a check on executive power.
The House of Lords still dominated the House of Commons.
19th Century:
Over the course of the 1800s, the party system develops in the House of Commons, which the executive government are drawn from.
The power began to shift from the House of Lords to the House of Commons as an increasing number of common people are granted the right to vote.
Expansion of Franchise (Right to Vote):
After industrialisation, the urban population was left without a vote. Only around 4% of the British population were enfranchised (able to vote).
Reform Act 1832 increased electorate by 49%.
Reform Act 1867 increased electorate by 90%.
The Representation of the People Act 1884 enabled the majority of working-class men to vote.
Since the Acts was passed by a Tory government, it signifies that they had adopted the view that they could still win an election even with expanded franchise. [2]
20th Century:
The House of Commons continues to have more power than House of Lords. Under the Parliament Act 1911, the House of Lords loses its veto power.
Further Expansion of Franchise:
The Representation of the People Act 1919 gave women the right to vote.
Functions:
‘for redress of all grievances, and for the amending strengthening and preserving of the laws, Parliament ought to be held frequently’ [3]
Relationships:
Parliament provides for the convenient and non-violent setting to exchange political views between the government and their opposition. It is the mediator.
Function of Representatives in Parliament:
Representative Function:
Parliament is constituted to represent the voice of the people. This creates an obvious issue whereby MPs must decide whether they primarily represent their constituency’s interests, or that of the whole nation.
MPs as Representatives, not Delegates:
MPs are responsible to Parliament because they make their own decisions; they are not merely following the will of their constituents or political party.
A representative is not a delegate – they can impart their own judgement.
‘Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and he betrays you, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion’ [4]
‘The first duty of a member of Parliament is to do what he thinks in his faithful and disinterested judgement is right and necessary for the honour and safety of Great Britain. His second duty is to his constituents, of whom he is the representative but not the delegate.’ [5]
Elective Function:
Parliaments are partially elected by the people. While the House of Commons is elected, the House of Lords and monarch are not. MPs are voted into the House of Common under 'First Past the Post' system.
Furthermore, the 'First Past the Post' voting system means that the number of votes and the number of seats for each party do not necessarily proportionally correlate. Therefore, public opinion is not proportional to Parliament’s makeup.
Recruitment Function:
Political leaders recruit and socialise through Parliament.
Parliament serves as a space where the government recruits its cabinet. The opposition also recruits a shadow cabinet as a government in waiting.
Communication Function:
Parliament links political process: voters, parties, organised interests and government are all convened through Parliament.
The public can watch the proceedings of Parliament either from the public gallery or other electronic mediums (EG: TV, online, radio etc.).
Constituents can contact their MP so that they may address issues in Parliament.
Legislation and Scrutiny Function:
Parliament scrutinises legislation and executive functions on behalf of citizens. Parliament holds the government and its policy to account.
‘In specifying legislation as the last of his five functions, Bagehot was making a point. In the dignified version of the constitution, Parliament is the supreme, all-powerful legislature. But in the efficient—‘what actually happens’—version, Parliament does not play any major role.’ [6]
Some bills are extremely complex. If the general public and politicians cannot fully grasp the complexity of it, then there is debate as to whether it can be properly scrutinised. On the other hand, laws ought to be complex enough to be certain to uphold the rule of law.
Opportunities for Scrutiny:
Select Committees
Public Bill Committees
Party Committees
Question Time
Parliamentary Government:
Parliament does not legislate itself but enables the government to pass legislation according to its policy. It is a ‘policy influencing’, not a ‘policy making’ system.
‘The legislature itself does not seek to generate—or make—policy. It lacks the political will, the institutional resources or even, in some cases, the constitutional power to do so. Legislatures with little or no policy effect exist mainly to give assent to measures laid before them.’ [7]
Policy does not originate from Parliament. As the government has the majority, it is their democratic right to put forward this policy. Parliament should be seen to enable this.
‘Legislation must be promoted through and approved by Parliament, but it may be more accurate to say that Parliament does not in any substantive sense legislate; it mainly legitimates.’ [8]
‘we at no time stand so highly in our estate royal as in the time of Parliament; wherein we as head and you as members are conjoined and knit together into one body politic’ [9]
What Parliament Should Do [10]:
Create and sustain government.
Ensure the business of government is carried out.
Facilitate a credible opposition.
Ensure government actions and measures are sufficiently scrutinised by Parliament.
Ensure the voices of citizens, individually and collectively, are heard and redressed where required.
Models and Styles of Legislature:
Westminster Model:
EG: UK, Commonwealth etc.
Power:
A single-party government is in power the majority of the time.
Committees mirror the makeup of Parliament.
Discipline:
Strict party discipline is accompanied with plenary debates. The aim of this is to prevent factions breaking out within each party. Conflict of policy should be between parties, not within them.
Availability of Seats:
There are less seats available in Parliament than there are MPs. This deliberately aids the efficiency of the House of Commons.
‘If the House is big enough to contain all its members nine- tenths of its debates will be conducted in the depressing atmosphere of an almost empty chamber. The essence of good Commons speaking is the conversational style . . . the facility for quick informal interruptions and interchanges . . . requires a fairly small space and there should be on great occasions a sense of crowd and urgency. There should be a sense that great matters are being decided by the House.’ [11]
Congress:
EG: USA.
Power:
The congress is granted the legislative function by the constitution.
Discipline:
Cohesive and disciplined parties have not emerged at a federal level.
Powerful committee system.
National Assembly:
EG: continental Europe.
The terms denoting political standpoint (EG: ‘left’, ‘center’, ‘right’ etc.) derive from the French assembly, where representatives are arranged in a semi-circle.
Power:
Coalition governments are in power the majority of the time.
Discipline:
Parties are cohesive and disciplined.
Interparty negotiations are confined to government formation. After the government has been formed, the executive is the primary negotiation site.
Resources:
References:
[1] Philip Norton [2] Martin Laughlin, The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press 2013) 55 [3] English Bill of Rights 1689 art 13 [4] Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol (1774) [5] Winston Churchill, Duties of a Member of Parliament (1955) [6] Martin Laughlin, The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press 2013) 59 [7] Philip Norton, Parliament in British Politics (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 2005) 61– 2 [8] Martin Laughlin, The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press 2013) 60 [9] Henry VIII Tudor, Speech to Parliament (1543) [10] The Commission on Strengthening Parliament [11] Winston Churchill, A Sense of Crowd and Urgency
Comments