Ascendant Assemblies in Britain

8/11/2019 Ascendant Assemblies in Britain

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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

Documents

Ascendant Assemblies in Britain