41 British politics

A

B

C Influencing political decisions

www.parliament.uk

Ordinary citizens in the UK can have their say in political life in a number of ways. They can: • Lobby1 MPs and Members of the House of Lords (who are known as peers) about a particular issue. • Petition2 the House of Commons to tell MPs about views on an issue and request action. • Comment on legislation3 going through

Parliament during the committee stage4 of a

Public Bill5 in the House of Commons. • Submit evidence to a Select Committee6 inquiry scrutinising7 the work and policies of the government. 1 try to influence the opinions of

MPs and Lords 2 formal process involving sending a written appeal to an MP, following a set format, which is then presented to the

Commons by the MP 3 possible future laws 4 period aft er a proposed law has been discussed by Parliament when it is looked at in detail by a group of people 5 proposal for a law currently under discussion 6 committee that checks and reports on some aspect of government work 7 looking very closely at

Lobbying and petitioning

Methods of lobbying vary and can range from sending letters, making presentations, providing brie ng1 material Methods of lobbying vary and can range from sending letters and making presentations to providing briefing1 to Members and organised rallies2. Often the result lobbyists are seeking for the MP or Lord to vote a certain way material to Members and organising rallies2 . Oft en the result lobbyists are seeking is for the MP or peer to on a speci c issue. However, this decision will ultimately3 be down to4 the MP or Lord’s own judgement and the vote a certain way on a specific issue. However, this decision will ultimately3 be down to4 the MP or peer’s in uence (if any) that existing party policy will have on them. own judgement and the influence (if any) that existing party policy will have on them.

1 informational 2 large political meetings or demonstrations 3 in the end 4 the responsibility of

The public can petition the House of Commons to make MPs aware of their opinion on an issue and to request action. All that’s needed is that the petition is properly set out1 and has the signature and address of at least one person. A petition can also be created and submitted online, as an e-petition. The text of the petition is published in Hansard2 . There is a procedure for petitions in the Lords, but it is very rarely used. Generally, MPs will present3 all petitions they receive from their constituents4. MPs present petitions by either giving a short statement in the debating chamber of the House of Commons or by simply placing the petition in the Petition Bag (which hangs behind the Speaker’s5 Chair). If a petition gets 100,000 signatures, the government will respond and it will be considered for debate. A copy of the petition is sent to the appropriate government department. Government departments are expected to off er observations6 on all substantive7 petitions.

1 in the correct format 2 the off icial record of parliamentary business 3 make something known 4 people who voted for them, people in their constituency [political region] 5 MP with responsibility for controlling the way parliamentary business is done 6 comments 7 of significance

Select Committees

There is a Commons Select Committee for each government department, examining three aspects: spending, policies1 and administration. Some Select Committees have a role that crosses departmental boundaries2 , such as the Environmental Audit3 Committee. Other Commons Committees are involved in a range of ongoing investigations, such as allegations4 about the conduct5 of individual MPs. Lords Select Committees do not shadow6 the work of government departments. Their investigations look into specialist subjects, taking advantage of the wide-ranging7 expertise8 of the Lords and the greater amount of time (compared to MPs) available to them to examine issues. Committees in the House of Lords concentrate on six main areas: international relations, the European Union, science and technology, economic aff airs, communications and the UK constitution9 .

1 off icial plans of action 2 deals with diff erent departments 3 closely examines environmental consequences of government decisions 4 complaints that have not been proven 5 behaviour 6 follow closely to see how a job is done 7 covering many subjects, diverse 8 high level of knowledge or skill 9 full set of laws of a country

41.1

41.2

41.3

41.4

41.5

Are these statements about the texts true or false? Explain why.

1 A lobbied MP has to do what his or her constituents request. 2 MPs make a statement in the Commons about all the petitions they receive. 3 You can read Hansard to find out what has been happening in Parliament. 4 Government departments should comment on all the petitions they receive. 5 The Environmental Audit Select Committee shadows a specific department. 6 Select Committees do not look at how individual MPs behave – that is up to the law courts. 7 Lords are felt to have more time to give to committees than MPs. 8 Lords Select Committees focus on the same key areas as those of the Commons.

Match up the words to make collocations. Note that not all the nouns are in bold on the opposite page.

1 debating 5 wide-ranging a chair e stage 2 select 6 Speaker’s b department f policy 3 committee 7 party c material g expertise 4 government 8 briefing d chamber h committee

Now choose one of the expressions from 41.2 to complete each sentence.

1 MPs discuss proposed legislation in the of the House of Commons. 2 Before Question Time in Parliament, Ministers have to read a lot of provided by their advisers. 3 She was elected to the House of Lords because of her . 4 Many journalists gave evidence to a investigating the behaviour of the press. 5 I am not quite sure what is on renewable energy. 6 The bill has had two readings in the House of Commons and is now going through the of procedures. 7 The is situated between the two sets of benches in the Commons so that its occupant can more easily control the debates. 8 The Treasury in the UK is the which deals with the country’s finances.

Complete these sentences with words from the opposite page.

1 The of individual MPs may be investigated if it is thought they have not behaved honestly. 2 There have been a number of claiming that the Speaker is not doing his or her job properly. 3 On this particular issues, it is to the individual MP how he or she votes. 4 It is the role of the Health Select Committee to the work done in the Department of

Health and to deal with any relevant issues arising from that. 5 A petition to Parliament has to be out in accordance with strict rules. 6 The work of this committee is complex because it departmental boundaries. 7 There is a lot of in the House of Lords because of the very different professional backgrounds among its members. 8 This committee the decisions made by the Department of Transport.

Over to you

Answer these questions about politics in your own country. • How easy is it for ordinary citizens to lobby MPs? • How easy is it for ordinary citizens to petition MPs? • Does the legislative process have a committee stage? • Do ordinary citizens play any part in committee decisions in relation to government?