Evaluate the view that although the House of Lords has less power than the House of Commons, in
practice it exerts more influence on government decisions.
The House of Lords and House of Commons form parts of parliament. They have many functions.
Bing passing legislation. And the other being scrutinising the government.
The House of Lords does exert influence on government decisions because the government
doesn't have a majority in the House of Lords. No majority in the second Chamber and the
government is constantly aware that they may face defeat in the Lords. Moreover the Lord
scrutinise legislation more effectively and make more hostile amendments. This is because
pairs are independent and there is no fusion of power this can be seen through ping pong
which is when bills bounce rapidly between the two chambers. For example, the prevention
of terrorism bill in 2005, Ping Pong for 30 hours. This shows that the House of Lords does
have an impact on government decisions.
However, in nature the House of Commons is more powerful. The Lords does not have power to
veto legislation or amend finance bills, whereas the House of Commons can. The 1911 and 1914
Parliament acts remove power in the House of Lords to veto bills and make amendments to finance
bills. The government also doesn't have to take on board amendments the House of Lords make
Ultimately, parliamentary sovereignty means the House of Commons is more powerful. Therefore
the House of Lords does not have a lot of influence.
The House of Lords does exert influence on the government because party loyalty is weaker and
peers are more independent. In the House of Lords peers are less likely to follow a party line, and
they are immune from patronage. The houses of Lords is an independent legislative chamber.
Furthermore, the House of Lords is unaccountable to the electorate, so pays less likely to follow
party line as well as crossbenchers who do not belong to a party or follow the party whip. In the
house of lords there are 181 crossbenchers and they prevent the government forming a majority.
Contrastingly, in the Commons, due to the first past the post electoral system, prime ministers tend
to gain a large majority. Peers can use their expertise freely. For example, conservative peers voted
against the 2015 tax credit card which doesn’t follow normal conservative ideologies. Therefore,
they use their expertise rather than professional duty as peers political career are not the primary
job.
However, the unelected nature of the House of Lords means they do not influence government
decisions. The House of Lords has a lack of authority to challenge the government as the Commons
has electoral mandate. Legislation by the House of Lords can be thrown out at reading stages. This
was seen when the House of Commons overturned 5 amendments to the EU Withdrawal Agreement
the House of Lords has no public mandate. Therefore the unelected nature of the House of Lords
means they cannot exert a large influence on government decisions because they lack power.
Overtime, it can be seen that the House of Lords does exert influence in the government because
there's been more defeats in the House of Lords than the House of Commons. Defeats are more
likely in the House of Lords. For example, the coalition government suffered 100 defeats in the
Lords, compared to six in the House of Commons. The power of the House of Lords can be seen in
recent years due to weak parliamentary standing of government. Moreover committees are more
active in the HOL as they have more time to research and debate and have specific expertise.
However, the extent to which the House of Lords can influence the government is limited due to the
Salisbury Convention. The Salisbury Convention means the Lords cannot oppose the manifesto
commitments so the government can pass manifesto bills without scrutiny from the Lords because
practice it exerts more influence on government decisions.
The House of Lords and House of Commons form parts of parliament. They have many functions.
Bing passing legislation. And the other being scrutinising the government.
The House of Lords does exert influence on government decisions because the government
doesn't have a majority in the House of Lords. No majority in the second Chamber and the
government is constantly aware that they may face defeat in the Lords. Moreover the Lord
scrutinise legislation more effectively and make more hostile amendments. This is because
pairs are independent and there is no fusion of power this can be seen through ping pong
which is when bills bounce rapidly between the two chambers. For example, the prevention
of terrorism bill in 2005, Ping Pong for 30 hours. This shows that the House of Lords does
have an impact on government decisions.
However, in nature the House of Commons is more powerful. The Lords does not have power to
veto legislation or amend finance bills, whereas the House of Commons can. The 1911 and 1914
Parliament acts remove power in the House of Lords to veto bills and make amendments to finance
bills. The government also doesn't have to take on board amendments the House of Lords make
Ultimately, parliamentary sovereignty means the House of Commons is more powerful. Therefore
the House of Lords does not have a lot of influence.
The House of Lords does exert influence on the government because party loyalty is weaker and
peers are more independent. In the House of Lords peers are less likely to follow a party line, and
they are immune from patronage. The houses of Lords is an independent legislative chamber.
Furthermore, the House of Lords is unaccountable to the electorate, so pays less likely to follow
party line as well as crossbenchers who do not belong to a party or follow the party whip. In the
house of lords there are 181 crossbenchers and they prevent the government forming a majority.
Contrastingly, in the Commons, due to the first past the post electoral system, prime ministers tend
to gain a large majority. Peers can use their expertise freely. For example, conservative peers voted
against the 2015 tax credit card which doesn’t follow normal conservative ideologies. Therefore,
they use their expertise rather than professional duty as peers political career are not the primary
job.
However, the unelected nature of the House of Lords means they do not influence government
decisions. The House of Lords has a lack of authority to challenge the government as the Commons
has electoral mandate. Legislation by the House of Lords can be thrown out at reading stages. This
was seen when the House of Commons overturned 5 amendments to the EU Withdrawal Agreement
the House of Lords has no public mandate. Therefore the unelected nature of the House of Lords
means they cannot exert a large influence on government decisions because they lack power.
Overtime, it can be seen that the House of Lords does exert influence in the government because
there's been more defeats in the House of Lords than the House of Commons. Defeats are more
likely in the House of Lords. For example, the coalition government suffered 100 defeats in the
Lords, compared to six in the House of Commons. The power of the House of Lords can be seen in
recent years due to weak parliamentary standing of government. Moreover committees are more
active in the HOL as they have more time to research and debate and have specific expertise.
However, the extent to which the House of Lords can influence the government is limited due to the
Salisbury Convention. The Salisbury Convention means the Lords cannot oppose the manifesto
commitments so the government can pass manifesto bills without scrutiny from the Lords because
